Construction Season at 207-U

By Andrea Arens

The June 17 board meeting started off with a presentation from Bear Construction on the multiple projects in the district. From Blue Devil Drive to remodeling administration offices at Connor Shaw, Bear was updating progress on all. The biggest project was the tear out and repaving of Blue Devil Drive, which  is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks.

The board went on to approve several other expenses unanimously, such as lodging fees for conferences and new staircase railings at the high school for $47,209.

A new therapy dog program also unanimously was approved. The handlers are employees of the district and recently had their pets complete programs to become therapy dogs. The new therapy dog program would provide a $750 annual budget for reimbursement of dog care items utilized on district property, such as crate, grooming care, bed, water bowl, etc. The district also will maintain insurance covering the therapy dog’s activities while on district property. The staff member will remain the owner of the dog and be responsible for certification and coordination of activities.

The 207-U Board also unanimously approved a teacher mentoring program called The Blueprint Program. In the program, veteran teachers will receive a stipend to mentor new teachers in a “pathway to a successful start as a Blue Devil.” Building mentors would receive $500, department/grade level mentors would receive $750 to mentor one teacher and $1,000 to mentor more than one teacher.

The student council sponsor at the high school will receive a generous boost to their stipend thanks to a unanimous vote of the board. The stipend was listed in the contract as $3,500 but will receive a $1,500 increase to $5,000.

Working cash funds were abated as well with $1,000,000 moved to capital projects and $19,124.33 from Working Cash Bonds Series 2020 moved to the Education Fund.

An agreement with Nania Energy Advisors for a Distributed Generation Energy Services Agreement to provide consulting services regarding solar on-site distributed generation energy installation was tabled by Board President Tara Robinson. Robinson suggested the agreement be voted upon at the same meeting the solar panel plan was voted on so as not to be stuck with the $10,000 fee Nania charges if the client does not move forward with the solar project.

Kankakee Area Career Center’s Students of the fourth quarter were Kadyn Holetzky for Cosmetology and Andrew Morales for Medical Terminology.

Junior High Student of the Month was seventh grader MaKayla Kraft.