Chester school board talks testing

With a light agenda, the Chester District 139 Board of Education spent much of its Tuesday meeting discussing testing in the district.

Curriculum Director Shirley Stegmann stressed that the district needs to have a "testing plan" in place, especially considering the uncertainty of whether the state will pay for students to take the ACT.

The short-lived Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) high school exams were ditched by the state this year after data showed mostly abysmal results and a student preference for taking a college entrance exam offered at school.

This spring, the state will switch to giving high school juniors the rival SAT as the standardized exam, but the Chester BOE members debated whether to also offer the ACT - widely used for college eligibility by Midwestern institutions - to all juniors.

Board member Troy Clendenin stated there needs to be a testing system that established trends over a long period of time and not one that would change every few years.

"We haven't had what we call 'consistent' data for a few years now," Stegmann said.

Clendenin also called the SAT more "East Coast" than the ACT.

"If you're looking to get into Harvard or Yale, they're looking for a SAT score," he said.

Stegmann said that other than the ACT Aspire, an exam that costs $25 per student, there is no formal assessment at the high school freshman level.

Sophomores take the pre-ACT or pre-SAT exam, also for a cost. Stegmann said she recommends students take both pretest exams to determine which one they are stronger in.

Stegmann noted that the ACT would cost $42.50 per student without the writing portion and $58.50 with it. With 90 students in the junior class, the cost to the district could be substantial.

"As an educator, I think everybody should do it," said Board Member Debi Caraway.

Board Vice President Tom Welge expressed concerns about the dollar amount involved, but the board generally seemed in support of offering the ACT.

"It's a lot of money, but it is for the kids," Clendenin said.

Stegmann noted that the juniors would take the SAT on April 5 and the ACT two weeks later on April 19.

In his report to the board, District Superintendent Rick Goodman stated he was "very concerned" about the English department at Chester High School and asked if bringing back a teacher was a possibility.

Last spring, the board voted to dismiss English teacher Mike Springston as part of the district's cost-cutting effort to conform to the guidelines of the Illinois State Board of Education's deficit reduction plan.

That left the school with only two English teachers.

"I think the kids are suffering because we don't have enough English teachers," Goodman said.

With class sizes at 31 or 32 students, CHS Principal Dr. Sarah Gass stated she hoped the situation could be remedied.

At the end of the meeting, Clendenin brought up some wish list items related to W.O. Smith Field. The first was a desire to replace the scoreboard and the second was to finally add permanent bathrooms to the home side of the facility.

"It's needed replacement for a number of years," he said in regard to the scoreboard, noting that the 25-second clock was inoperable at times last season.

Clendenin said funds from the county's 1 percent sales tax could be used for the project as well as for the bathrooms, which has a spot already designated underneath the bleachers.

"To me, it's worth at least discussion," he said.

Clendenin said he envisioned a bathroom building similar to the one that borders Sparta High School's football field. Goodman cautioned him not to get too extravagant with it as he stated that when he was at Red Bud, the district built a concession building that ended up costing $750,000.

"It's been something that's been on the back burner," Clendenin said. "I think we have one of the nicest facilities in Southern Illinois and one of the worst bathrooms in Southern Illinois."

Goodman said that he would put the items on the December agenda for discussion.

Roundup

• In his report, Goodman stated that the district had received three bids for lawn services, with the bids to possibly be discussed during the January meeting.

• Goodman also stated that negotiations on the district's bus contract start in January. He said he is requiring two main things in the bids - activity buses and camera-equipped buses.

• Bills and payroll were approved as read by the board.

• The board approved surplus inventory as submitted, the 2017 Board of Education meeting dates and the first reading of board policies as presented.

• The board approved employing Maribeth Lawrence as the CGS 5th/6th grade girls basketball coach for this season.

• The board approved maternity leave for Sarah Surman beginning February 24, 2017 up to 12 weeks through FMLA.

• The board accepted the resignation of Charnelle Lilley as CHS paraprofessional effective Nov. 10.

• The board approved reassigning Kim Gross from CGS paraprofessional to CGS secretary effective Oct. 31.

• The board approved reassigning Jamie Ennis from CGS secretary to 7 ½ hour paraprofessional at $9 per hour effective Oct. 31.

• The board approved reassigning Krista Krieg from CHS cafeteria aide to 7 hour paraprofessional at $9 per hour pending certification.

• The board approved employing Elisha Gaertner as CHS 4 hour cafeteria aide at $8.25 per hour effective Nov. 16.