After stating the district mission statement and saying the Pledge of Allegiance, the Committee of the Whole meeting began at six p.m on March 3.  The meeting was followed by a short, special meeting for the members of the board of education.  After the academic spotlight, which recognizes students in the district for sports, academic, or volunteer achievements, the meeting was open to public comments.

The topic of students parking in Del Webb was brought up among the Huntley residents who spoke,

“Our young people know how to avoid a $100 ticket,” said a Sun City resident. “We are asking for a small amount of money to put up a fence. They [students walking to the high school] make smart comments and are yelling. That’s harassment!”

The parking issue is one that is disrupting the Dell Webb residents. It is being discussed whether or not to ban parking in Dell Webb.  Both the district and the Huntley police are working together to find a solution to this issue.

On a more positive note, Chesak’s first grade teacher Christine Laird briefly brought up the transition from tablets to Chromebooks.

“It’s like Christmas to them,” said Laird. “I even gained back an hour of instructional time.”

Shortly after, the gifted program was brought up.

“We want to start testing our students at second grade,” said Chief Academic Officer Dr. Erika Schlichter. “This way, they can in the gifted program by third or fourth grade.”

The committee discussed that people are moving to the school district for its gifted programs, which began in 2014.  According to Schlichter, students who are supposed to go to Heineman Middle School will end up going to Marlowe Middle School for the gifted program that is offered there.  The district will begin looking at students in the second, third, and fourth grade to qualify for the program.

Following the fiscal and human resources committees, which talked about budgeting, finances, and teacher contracts, the Building and Grounds Committee brought up the Huntley High School construction updates.

Doug Renkosik was looking to seek approval of proposed contracts, and provided bid results for the Gym Floor Recoating and Refinishing, which is to be approved by the board at their next regular meeting.

According to Renkosik, there is a plan to extend the authorization of the administration to spend more money in order to repair emergency equipment, as well as sprinkler repairs throughout the high school.  All of these proposed changes will be happening within the next year or two.

The next Committee of the Whole meeting will be held at the district office at six p.m. on April 7.