THURSDAY
July 2, 2015 • 75¢
SERVING OSWEGO, MONTGOMERY AND BOULDER HILL FOR MORE THAN A HALF-CENTURY FROM THE PRESIDENT
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Mud volleyball tournament
John Rung
Local news remains our focus Last Friday, we were thrilled to welcome the Kendall County Record, Plano Record, Sandwich Record, and LedgerSentinel into the Shaw Media family. Kathy and Jeff Farren purchased the Kendall County Record in 1973 and have published award-winning newspapers for the last 42 years. It was a pleasure getting to know Kathy and Jeff over these past few months. We are honored that they selected our company to continue their legacy in Kendall County. Shaw Media owns many other Northern Illinois publications, including the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb County, The HeraldNews in Will County, the Morris Herald-News in Grundy County, the Kane County Chronicle in St. Charles, the Lake County Journal in Grayslake, the Northwest Herald in McHenry County, The Daily Gazette in Sterling, The Telegraph in Dixon, and the two dozen weekly papers in Suburban Life Media that encompass communities in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will counties. All of our publications focus on local news – the information residents cannot find anywhere else. Like the Farrens, the Shaw family knows a little something about having deep roots in a community: Shaw Media’s first publication – The Dixon Telegraph and Herald – began publishing in 1851. Benjamin Flower Shaw, then 20, became the owner and editor. B.F. Shaw would later work with Abraham Lincoln to solidify the Republican Party in Illinois.
See LOCAL, page 2
Steven Buyansky for Shaw Media
Dominic Gallo of team D1 Bound of Oswego peers through his mud-speckled glasses June 27 during the Oswego Optimist Club Mud Volleyball Tournament at Allied First Bank on Orchard Road in Oswego. Teams of youths from throughout the area competed in the annual benefit tourney. More photos on page 7.
District 308 ranking priorities Full-day kindergarten, attendance boundary lines among issues By NATALIE STEVENS news@kendallcountynow.com Full-day kindergarten, early child programming and redrawing attendance boundary lines could top the list of priorities for the School District 308 Board of Education for the 2015 -2016 school year. Last week, the board discussed a list of possible priorities and initiatives they would like to see addressed. Board President Matt Bauman asked his board colleagues to rank the items before their next meeting later this month. Bauman said the process of prioritizing goals began two years ago and the suggested priorities, which included items like increasing average daily attendance, an evaluation of the kindergarten program and school start and end times, were sorted by importance and spread
“If we’re facing boundary lines, then tackle whatever topics you need prior to flipping the switch on them. Take the Band-Aid off at one time rather than having to come back.” Matthew Wendt District 308 superintendent
out over a two- to three-year timeline. Superintendent Matthew Wendt said several of the 50 possible priorities listed are nearing completion, like the 2020 strategic plan he estimated was about 90 percent finished. Others are more administrative
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Celebrate the Fourth in Oswego City’s Independence Day Eve fireworks show planned for Friday / 3
Vol. 57, No. 27 • 3 sections
goals. “Now it’s important to refocus on direction and keep in mind not only what we choose to spend our time and resources on, but how many.” Wendt said the priority for early childhood programming would be one of the administration’s top five on which to focus. “We might be at a standstill in the district,” Wendt said, citing growth being hampered by the facility space at Brokaw Early Learning Center. At last count, there were more than 60 students on the waiting list to get into the program, Wendt said. He asked the board what they would like early childhood learning to look like in 2020. Board member Danielle Paul said she believes early childhood programming needed a “serious look” sooner than later. “We need to look at it for the following fall,” she said.
Wendt said it would be difficult to talk about early childhood programming without reaching kindergarten after a point. “And once you open the kindergarten programming topic, that will take on a new life,” Wendt said, citing several topics of the full- and halfday discussion, whether it should be offered at East View or home schools and depending on that decision could open up the boundary line discussion and facility use. “There are a lot of people … that would say if we accomplished those four items between now and June of next year, we have been very successful,” Wendt said. “Those are bigticket items.” Wendt added that boundary lines do not have to change for the 201617 school year, but that there will be more “forced decisions” if they don’t.
See PRIORITIES, page 2