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Saturday, July 23, 2016
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State aid increases for Hall Superintendent search is on By Becky Kramer news@bcrnews.com
SPRING VALLEY — The Hall High School Board has a budget for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Mike Struna said at the Wednesday, July 20, school board meeting he was happy to report the education budget was agreed upon for the entire fiscal school year.
“The good news is that our state aid will increase in Fiscal Year 2017 by $179,000 due to increased enrollment and a growing amount of students at the poverty level. The bad news is that we did not receive our last quarterly payment this summer,” Struna said. Hall will be receiving $6,119 per student which will not be prorated for the first time in several years. Struna also informed the board the school received its first installment of county property taxes. He thanked Bureau Coun-
ty Treasurer Courtney Mabry for her quick payment, which actually arrived a week earlier than expected. Struna said, “By having our tax money, we will not need to borrow additional money to pay the bills this month. We will be able to repay the money we borrowed earlier in the month and only had to pay interest for one month.” Struna also updated the board on the proposed co-op soccer program. Struna suggested to DePue to pay a percentage of the total costs of the program, depending on the number of
Hall students participating. DePue Board of Education will be discussing the proposal at its Wednesday night meeting as well. This would be a two-year agreement. Currently there are 12-15 boys from Hall interested in joining soccer in addition to any incoming freshmen. The board agreed to the proposal as long as it was charged per student, rather than pay half of the costs. The superintendent search is underway in Spring Valley. The board is beginning to look at
options to begin their superintendent search. Struna will be retiring at the end of the 2017 school year. Regarding transportation, Greg McCook approached board concerning the activity bus. He works for Midwest Bus Sales in Princeton and would like the board to consider using his company to lease the activity buses, instead of going to Kankakee. McCook said, “I’d like to see my tax money spent in Bureau County instead of Kankakee.”
Hall Page 3A
Community, parents rally around teacher
Sheer delight at the Bureau County 4-H Fair
LaMoille School Board hears concerns about its hiring process By Zachary J. Pratt news@bcrnews.com
child through the investigation and criminal court process. “We make it more of a soft place to land. We make it so a child only has to tell their story one time. Before children’s advocacy centers, they’d have to go from place-to-place, from the police officer to the coun-
LAMOILLE — As the LaMoille Community Unit School District brings in a new teacher, community members Inside voiced their unease about the n The district district’s choice, is purchasing instead stating new textbooks, their support for Page 4A a community member they believe should have been hired. Community members and other concerned parties attended the LaMoille School Board meeting, Thursday, July 21, to explain why they believe the district should have picked Pam Schneider for the open teaching position. Community member Chris Tornow motioned at the audience, stating it was a small sample of the support for Schneider. He voiced his belief that when a small community can support those within it, it becomes stronger. Furthermore, he expects someone hired from outside the community might use the opportunity to gain experience and then move on, leaving the district once again without a teacher. “Some people will be here, get their experience, and move on,” Tornow said. “This could be a stepping stone.” He related this point back to the community aspect, in that someone from the community is likely to stick around, pointing the subject back in support of Schneider. “Pam’s part of the community and will be here for the long-term,” Tornow said.
Advocate Page 4A
Teacher Page 4A
BCR photo/Dave Cook
A wool coat won’t be missed during the hot weather at the Bureau County 4-H Fair that’s taking place at the fairgrounds and ends on Sunday, July 24 with the horse gaming events that morning. The Sale of Champions is set for Saturday. The public is invited to come and check out the 4-H members’ projects. There is no admission fee to attend.
Children’s advocate addresses council King: ‘We make it more of a soft place to land’ By Goldie Rapp grapp@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — Braveheart Children’s Advocacy Center is working hard to have more of a presence in Princeton. Year 170 No. 88 Two Sections - 28 Pages
On Monday, July 18, Constance King, a representative with the center, spoke to the Princeton City Council about how it currently serves Bureau County and its wishes to expand services in the area. The children’s advocacy center’s main office is located in Cambridge, however, the center serves five counties, includ-
ing Bureau. The center has a satellite office at the Princeton Police Department but is looking to move into an office outside of the station. The center serves children who have become victims of sexual abuse, severe physical abuse or have witnessed a traumatic crime. Advocates at the center provide support to the
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