PCHS head football coach dropping football to focus on academics

The Pinckneyville Community High School Board of Education last week decided to release science teacher Tod Rushing from his duties as varsity head football coach. Superintendent Keith Hagene said the board decided Rushing was needed more elsewhere.

"It is a new era of academic accountability at PCHS. We are in an academic crisis situation here. Our students are currently testing at a very low level and we must take corrective action. We are trying to put our core academic teachers in situations where outstanding classroom instruction can be their number one priority," the district said in a written statement. "And as a district, We must put teachers in situations where they can devote 100 percent of their energy to make sure they are effective classroom educators. Our kids deserve to have the best teachers. We are risking their future if we can't make tough decisions to try to move towards this goal. We place large amounts of extra curricular responsibilities on some of our teachers who also have the most demands placed on them in the classroom and that is not fair. We have to keep excellence in classroom education as our number one priority.

Excellence in Education...No Excuses."

In other business, the board:

• appointed Stuart Morgenstern and Andrea Keene to the PCHS Education Foundation for three year terms and accepted the resignation of Craig Williams from the board.

• hired Katie Smith of Mascoutah as a new School Counselor. Smith had previously worked in the Collinsville School District.

• heard that bus drivers Lylia Hagel and Bonnie Tedder will retire at the end of this school year.

• employed Tyler Bullock as Assistant Baseball Coach.

• agreed to allow Band Director Stephen Cannedy to consult with Tamaroa School District on their music program.

• approved Rob Simpson as a chaperone for the overseas trip to England, Ireland and Spain in 2013. Spanish-teacher Marilyn Smith will also chaperone.

• agreed to work with Prairie State Insurance Cooperative on a risk management plan. The district is required by the state to have such a plan on file. The last plan was completed in 2002.

• amended the school calendar to move two half service days from April 26 and May 10 to April 19 and May 3. The Prairie State Achievement Exam will be held April 23 and 24.

• authorized Superintendent Keith Hagene to begin work on the 2013-2014 budget.