Steeleville Board of Education approves Columbia's Perandoe withdraw
<span>STEELEVILLE -- The Steeleville District 138 Board of Education met in regular session on Monday at Steeleville High School with only one action item on its agenda.</span>
<span>The board was scheduled to consider and approve a resolution approving an agreement for the withdraw of Columbia District No. 4 from the Perandoe Special Education District.</span>
<span>"It was in the best interest of Perandoe to allow the withdraw," said District Superintendent Stephanie Mulholland during the meeting, highlighting staff members retiring at key times as part of the reason. "I think it's going to be just fine without knowing who's going to move in (to the district) next year."</span>
<span>"(The withdraw) is in their best interest and ours."</span>
<span>In an interview after the meeting, Mulholland said she wanted to make sure there was no loss of services to District 138 students before the board approved the withdrawal.</span>
<span>"By March we have to give out personnel notices to people who would be losing their positions," she said. "We were working on a time to look over that and really, everything has worked out pretty well with retirements and people taking other jobs.</span>
<span>"There will be very little loss of employment for people, which is great."</span>
<span>In the fall, District 138 voted not to approve the withdraw, a decision that was also echoed by Chester District 139.</span>
<span>"Students should not be able to tell a difference," Mulholland said. "In Steeleville, we have occupational therapy and physical therapy one day a week and that's on Wednesdays. It may be a different day next (school) year, but we'll still have the minutes that needed for each student on their IEP."</span>
<span>IEP is an Individualized Education Program that defines the individual objectives of a child who has a disability. It is mandated by the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA), which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990.</span>
<span>"The primary difference is financial and that is something we've worked through pretty well," Mulholland said.</span>
<span>Chester District 139, Chester Non-High District 122, Coulterville District 1, Prairie du Rocher District 134, Red Bud District 132, Sparta District 140, Valmeyer District No. 3 and Waterloo District 5 are also in the Special Education District with Steeleville.</span>
<span>"(The District) has been the schools that are members right now since it started," Mulholland said. "I can recall a couple of years ago Dupo expressed an interest in joining our district and we said no.</span>
<span>"Location-wise, it wasn't going to be a good fit, which from Steeleville to Dupo is a big area."</span>
<span>Mulholland said Perandoe employed a full-time psychologist in Columbia.</span>
<span>"Now, that position will be cut and everybody else's services will stay the same," she said. "There really should not be any difference that anyone from the outside looking in can see, which is great."</span>
<span>The board also agreed to discuss the date of Steeleville High School's graduation at its next meeting, which is set for Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 1.</span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2e46b8a3-05e3-340f-d31a-16dd732f9961"><span>"So far, we are days ahead of where we were a year before," Mulholland said. "We'll see where we are in the next four weeks."</span></span>