MM_042017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

8 | April 20, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger NEWS mokenamessenger.com Summit Hill School D161 Board of Education Officials review school lunch program’s future Megann Horstead Freelance Reporter The prospect of losing the opportunity for federal reimbursement loomed over the Summit Hill School District 161 Board of Education at its April 12 meeting, as officials weighed in on low student participation in the lunch program and actions the district should take moving forward. “The bottom line is the vision of our current lunch program [and] the vision of the National School Lunch Program [are] very different,” Superintendent Barb Rains said. The lunches provided at Summit Hill schools are prepared by Quest Food Management through an agreement formed with Union School District 81 in Joliet. In November, the program was reviewed for compliance with National School Lunch Program requirements. That audit is performed once every three years. “The result of that was findings that were mostly easily correctable,” Director of Business and Transportation Doug Wiley said, noting that the reviewer raised some concerns that could not be addressed through corrective action through the administrative review. “We chose to run those through their complaint process. Really, the focus of those issues were why the participation in our program was low, even among the free and reduced.” Rains said the district had tried to cater the program to the entire population, but it didn’t work. Wiley said the district has many students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch but choose not to participate. To date, there are 210 students participating in the program. “The crux of this is the fact that we’re trying to provide lunch to the folks who need it, whereas the National School Lunch Program is more interested in providing school lunch to the entire population, which is not something we can accommodate,” Wiley said. The MINI’s are coming. The MINI’s are coming. Saturday, May13 th MINI of Orland Park Wiley said if the board does nothing to align the program to fit the spirit of the National School Lunch Program, the district could lose more than $20,000 in funding. The Illinois State Board of Education offered a number of suggestions to Summit Hill to gauge why participation is limited. This included efforts to offer families the added option to purchase lunch daily rather than one month at a time, open up test tastings, and conduct parent surveys both from the free and general lunch populations. Wiley said officials will need to determine if they wish to stay in the program. “The only part that would be changed if we left the program was we wouldn’t get the federal reimbursement for those lunches,” Wiley said. “We’d still get the direct certification list. People would still apply at the beginning of the year for free lunch if they’re interested.” The healthy food requirements would need to remain in place. Wiley said the district could choose to run a more robust lunch service, but that would require additional staffing they don’t currently have. Board President Rich Marron negated the idea, saying there are a number of variables at play. “We’re not going to stop going through Union, [with whom] we have the intergovernmental agreement,” Marron said. “We can’t manage this on our own, because the guidelines are too restrictive. You have to [have] a specialized kitchen to work within them. We can’t do this daily, because we’d have to hire a fulltime person, and we’d end up losing money. “The question is, really, if we do some taste testing and a survey, is that enough to make this go away?” Marron asked, noting that the reviewer could continue to have concerns. “Then, I think the answer is there for us.” Summit Hill officials came to a consensus that nothing is changing on the front end with the lunch program. The difference is that the district may not seek reimbursement. Budget items discussed Summit Hill officials also took a look at the district’s proposed budgets for technology and operations and maintenance. Wiley presented to the board a proposed technology budget, excluding salaries and benefits, accounting for nearly $700,000 in expenditures. Spending includes plans to employ 234 student tablets, along with contractual services for access points. “That’s half of what was proposed,” Wiley said. “Once we have the budget fully compiled, we can determine if there’s room to include more tablets.” This year, Summit Hill purchased 729 tablets. “That leaves us roughly 650 tablets short for the district,” Wiley said. Other items highlighted in the technology budget include three copy machines and two intercom system replacements. To get the tablets and access points ready for the 2017-2018 academic year, district officials intend to take board action at the next regular meeting to ensure that work is performed during the summer. Summit Hill officials said they still have five years before they’ll start needing to budget for replacement tablets. As for the district’s operations and maintenance budget, school officials identified two main projects they’ve wrapped up, including roof improvements at Dr. Julian Rogus School and installation of a condenser unit at Hilda Walker. “They’re done, they’re on track to start [when] school gets out,” Wiley said. Other projects the district is considering include replacement of windows at Arbury Hills School and tiles at Indian Trail School. The board will consider the adoption of budgets for technology and operations and maintenance at its April 26 meeting. Summit Hill officials approve supplemental busing program The Summit Hill School Board authorized a supplemental busing plan for students who live within 1.5 miles of their school and do not cross a hazardous road as defined and certified by the State. Those interested will be subject to a set of guidelines requiring registration and a fee of $250 per student per school year. The fee can be waived or altered for individuals who demonstrate hardship. “[We’re] not adding bus routes, because increased bus routes will lead to direct cost to the district that we then can’t recover,” Please see D161, 13
mokenamessenger.com mokena the Mokena Messenger | April 20, 2017 | 9 from the $180’s Designed With You In Mind New Homes, home to fit your Old-Fashioned dreams and desires. Quality n Our open floor plans allow you to customize your n Ranch and 2-story townhomes feature a first floor In an established neighborhood on Joliet’s West Side, these gorgeous master along with additional bedrooms. ranch and 2-story designs are built the way they used to be. n Townhomes worth the drive, and the ultimate in • Energy Star rated, with 2x6 construction easy-living luxury. • Great neighborhood, close to public and parochial schools and the University of St. Francis Ranch and • Experienced builder with tradition of quality communities Two-story Townhomes in Chicagoland suburbs HOMER GLEN from the mid $300’s Raynor Park in Joliet: Take Rte 53 to Theodore St. in Joliet, turn west 1 mile to Hosmer St., Located on turn the south East 2 Side blocks of to Parker model Rd. at 1315 at 146th Hosmer St. St. (across Open the Sat street & Sun, from 12-5Culver Park). Sales Off ice is at 14640 Aster Lane in Homer Glen. Phone: 630-323-7600 www.greystonehomesllc.com Phone: 630-381-1100 Open Fri. – Tues. 11-5 www.amberfieldcommunity.com or by appointment. New Location In Mokena! SAVE 20% on your pick up order* Code: EAST0212 Expires: 04/30/17 19806 S Wolf Road Mokena, IL 60448 815-469-1151 edible.com *Valid on pick up order only. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Restrictions may apply. See store for details. Edible ® , Edible Arrangements ® , the Fruit Basket Logo, and other marks mentioned herein are registered trademarks of Edible Arrangements, LLC. Serving Fresh Fruit Smoothies & Froyo Fruit Blends !
Page 1 and 2: Eyes on the road Village Board urge
Page 3 and 4: mokenamessenger.com news the Mokena
Page 7: mokenamessenger.com MoKENA the Moke
Page 15 and 16: mokenamessenger.com mokena the Moke
Page 17 and 18: mokenamessenger.com school the Moke
Page 19 and 20: mokenamessenger.com sound off the M
Page 21 and 22: ‘Oh, what a beautiful day’ Linc
Page 25 and 26: mokenamessenger.com life & arts the
Page 27 and 28: mokenamessenger.com dining out the
Page 37 and 38: mokenamessenger.com Classifieds the
Page 49 and 50: mokenamessenger.com SPORTS the Moke
Page 51 and 52: RIZZACARS.COM mokenamessenger.com m

MM_042017

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?