Dist. 428 moves meetings

By Andy McMurray

Some people dread Mondays – but members of the District 428 School Board will have one less thing to do on Mondays, beginning in January.

The board voted unanimously to change school board meeting dates for 2005.

Beginning Jan. 18, the board will meet Tuesday nights instead of Monday nights, Superintendent Paul Beilfuss said.

The board recommended the change after a self-evaluation in October, Beilfuss said. The change will allow board members to attend other community meetings, including City Council meetings.

The meetings’ structure also will change.

The first meeting of the month will be a work-study session, Board Secretary Holly Wallace said. The second meeting will be the regular business/action meeting.

The board also considered a proposed two-year school calendar at Monday’s meeting.

The professional relations committee put together a two-year calendar instead of a single-year calendar, said Jed Dunbar, assistant superintendent of human resources.

The board had planned to vote on the calendar. Wallace said she thought the calendar vote should be postponed to give the public a chance to give input.

DeKalb High School Principal Larry Stinson updated the board on the diversity committee at DHS, 1515 S. Fourth St.

The committee is fact-finding and asking for information regarding the question of race and sexual orientation issues at the high school, Stinson said.

The committee plans to survey students at DHS Wednesday, he said. The 60-question bubble-style surveys will be given to about 1,500 students.

In other action, the board recognized athletic teams from Clinton Rosette Middle School and DHS.

CRMS football coach Dan Weller introduced the 7th and 8th grade conference champion football teams.

The dual championship marked the first time both grades from the same school won since the conference was established, Weller said.

Michael Wolf, DHS’ girl’s cross country coach, awarded team members with certificates for finishing 27th at the IHSA AA girls varsity state meet last week.