Is your child smart enough to enter kindergarten before age 5? Highland is considering allowing it.

Eleven policies are up for review in the Highland School District, and two of them could let students get into school sooner.

The policies entered into the first reading phase of review during the Highland School Board meeting on June 25.

The recommended policies were on a new list released by the Illinois Association of School Board's Policy Reference Education Subscription Service, according to the district's Superintendent Mike Sutton. PRESS is resource for school administrators, school board members, and school attorneys looking for well-reasoned sample policies and procedures plus the legal rationale and references supporting them.

"The only significant thing in any of those new policies is the kindergarten policy," Sutton said.

Currently, district policy states that to be eligible for kindergarten a student must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1 of the start of the school term. For first grade, the age is 6, also on or before Sept. 1. However, a recommended update in policy states: "Based upon an assessment of a child's readiness to attend school, the district may permit him or her to attend school prior to these dates."

Another recommendation would alter entry into the Accelerated Placement Program, which placing qualified students in classes above their current grade level in one, or multiple, subjects.

The policy outlines that the program may include, but is not limited to, accelerating students in single subjects, and whole grade levels, and early entrance to kindergarten or first grade. The program would also not be limited to students who have been identified as "gifted and talented." It would include all students who demonstrate high ability and that may benefit from an accelerated program.

The policy states that the program should also implement:

• decision-making processes that are fair, equitable, and involve multiple district administrators, teachers, school support personnel and parents and guardians;
  
  
• notification processes that notify parents and guardians of a decision affecting student participation in the program
  
  
• an assessment processes that include multiple valid and reliable indicators; and
  
  

As for how young students can be when entering school, Sutton said that the policy recommendation was not very clear.

"It doesn't really define it," he said.

Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Derek Hacke that the district is not sure what to make of these new policy suggestions.

"It's very new, and we haven't discussed what it's going to look like in the district. We have some work to do developing procedures before I have anything to share." Hacke said.

Other policies up for review are:

1. 2:105 School Board—Ethics Gift Ban;
2. 4:80 Operational Services—Accounting and Audits;
3. 4:140 Operational Services—Waiver of Student Fees;
   
   
4. 6:60 Instruction—Curriculum Content;
5. 6:120 Instruction—Education of Children with Disabilities;
6. 6:130 Instruction—Program for the Gifted;
7. 6:240 Instruction—Field Trips;
8. 6:250 Instruction—Community Resource Persons and Volunteers;

9. 7:165 Students—School Uniforms.

Many of the updates are changes in language, grammar or additions for cross reference. However, another update in Instruction-Curriculum Content states that before completion of the fifth grade, students will be offered at least one unit of cursive instruction.

Changes to Instruction-Community Resource Persons and Volunteers allow resource persons and volunteer to assist in times of violence or traumatic incidents in the district by providing crisis intervention services to lessen the effects of emotional trauma on staff, students, and the community, provided the volunteer meets qualifications established by the Illinois School Crisis Assistance Team Steering Committee. Additional updates to the policy state that the superintendent shall follow board policy regarding convicted child sex offenders, screening and notification to establish procedures for securing and screening these people.

The policies will enter into a second reading phase at the next board meeting on July 23, after which the board will vote to approve the policies.

Amended budget

The board approved an amended budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 after a brief public hearing, where there was no comment from the public.

"We are required to amend the budget when actual expenditures are expected to exceed the budgeted amounts," Bair said.

Bair prepared amendments to the district's Education, Operations and Maintenance, Tort Immunity and Working Cash fund budgets.

Bair said the changes to the Education Fund are primarily due to a technology purchase of new interactive white boards, costs to add a new show choir program, playground costs and an additional student private facility placement during the year. However, Bair said the extra $11,000 from playground costs, which was not covered by the districts Pre-K grant, may be offset by an additional allocation from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Bair said he included $100,000 in the district's amended revenue, as well as an evidence-based funding allocation of $145,000.

Bair suggested that the district may need to partially abate $1250,000 from the Working Cash fund to maintain a positive balance in the Education Fund, therefore Bair made the amendment to both funds. The board approved the partial abatement of the Working Cash Fund during the meeting.

In the Operating and Maintenance Fund, Bair said an additional $172,500 is due to completed projects, or projects the district expects to "get a jump on" before June 30. Of this amount $43,500 is offset by city tax increment financing (TIF) funds. Bair also relayed that the district refunded the city $30,000 for its initial contribution to a corner property at Highland Middle School, which was done several years ago.

"They no longer have an interest in the property," Bair said.

An additional $200,000 in the Tort Immunity Fund was included for legal obligations, according to Bair.

Grant received

Hacke reported that the district has received word of its Early Childhood Block Grant, which it wrote for around the start of 2018.

"I guess there is good news and bad news," Hacke said.

Hacke reported that the district received about double the funds it has received in the past.

For the past year, Hacke said the district got about $192,000. With this money, he said the district was able to employ two teaches, two paraprofessionals and a part-time parent educator. Additional resources were also to put into a playground at Highland Primary School and putting in playground at Alhambra Primary, according to Hacke.

This year, the district should receive about $405,000.

"We wrote for $833,000 grant," Hack said.

Hacke said the funds will allow the school to up two additional blended classrooms at Highland Primary School. The funds will also allow the district to apply more time for a parent educator, and add a part-time instructional coach.

"We might be able to squeeze out a little transportation, hopefully," Hacke said.

The reason the district originally wrote for a larger grant sum was due to transportation costs, according to Hacke.

"We're not going to get all of that but we are gong to get more than what we had," he said.

Personnel changes

The board approved one retirement:

• Robert Vance, a physical education and business teacher at Highland High School, will retire at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.

The board approved six resignations:

• Tyler Jewell, a assistant band director and general music, and elementary band teacher at Highland High School, Grantfork Elementary School and Alhambra Primary School;
• Kristen Reed, a part-time technology teacher at Highland Middle School;
• Mallory Kunz, a program assistant at Highland Primary School;
• Sam Weber, an eight grade and junior varsity baseball coach at Highland Middle School and Highland High School; and
• Greg Exton, a girls softball coach at Highland High School.

The board approved six new personnel members:

• Sarah Schmidt will teach kindergarten at Highland Primary School;
• Michaela Davis, a color guard coach at Highland High School;
• Danielle Case, a co-student council advisor at Highland High School;
• Stephanie Buchtel, a co-student council advisor at Highland High School; and
• Carrie Eilerman, a volunteer dance team coach at Highland High School.

The board reinstated one employee:

• Katherine Wiese, from part-time early childhood teacher to a full-time pre-k teacher at Highland Primary School.

The board approved one change in assignment:

• Kelsey Newcomb will move from color guard coach to volunteer color guard coach at Highland High School.

Athletic facility update

Sutton provided a brief update regarding a proposed athletic facility project. He said that the district recently held a meeting with individuals who are interested in the project.

"We talked about different aspects of this building that needed to be included in the design," Sutton said.

Those items included ceiling heights, office and storage spaces and a potential location for the trainer's office. Sutton also relayed that there are wishes to include a "history display wall," that will showcase trophies and achievements of Highland athletic teams.

"Just to give it that historic look when you walk in that says, 'Hey, this team has got it going on,'" Sutton said.

Sutton also said that a decision still has to be made on whether or not to rotate the face of the building toward the school entrance or the football stadium. However, before a location is definitively decided, Sutton said it has to determine whether or not a utility line runs under the project's location.

"Until we know what utilities and lines run through there, we are not going to know how we have to locate the building," Sutton said.

There will another presentation on the project during next month's board meeting.

Meanwhile, stadium locker room renovations are underway.

Director of Building and Grounds Jeff Williams said the walls of the locker rooms have been removed plumbing an electrical work has started, painting is almost complete and workers are getting ready to put epoxy flooring down. Williams also relayed that lighting fixtures have been ordered.

As for the old double-stacked, wooden lockers, they have been removed and will be relocated to the freshman locker room. Williams said the new lockers should arrive on July 30.

No heating, venting, and air conditioning work will be done this year, according to Williams. But he said that roofing and HVAC work will be considered for next year.

"It's 100 percent turnover of air, but it's not what we want long-term," he said.

Grant applications approved

The board approved all of the districts applications for Highland Area Community Foundation grants.

Sutton said that the board must approve all of the grant applications prior to submission. The applications are due on July 15.

This year, there are three grants being applied for in the subjects of high school science and math, and a grant for third grade education.

Apptegy contract approved

The board approved a contract with Apptegy, a software app developer for K-12 school. The business is helping the district create an app as was discussed by a board in a prior meeting. It was suggested that the app be made to help improve communications between parents and other stakeholders.

The development contract will cost the district $38,000, which includes an $8,000 development fee and $30,000 for three Thrillshare desktop and mobile publishing platforms.

The contract outlines that $18,000 of the cost will be due 60 days from signing, and $10,000 will be due one and two years from the agreement's first bill date.

Sutton said the district hopes to have the app become live in July.

SRO agreement approved

The board approved an amended intergovernmental agreement with the city of Highland regarding the district's new school resource officer.

The agreement describes the cost sharing between the city and the district, for which the district will pay 75 percent of the position and the city will pick up the rest. The contract also includes specifics on responsibilities of the district and the city pertaining to the position.

The Highland City Council approved the agreement during a meeting on June 4. Afterward, the council made slight a slight amendment to the agreement regarding allocation due to a small miscalculation, according to the city's Director of Finance Kelly Korte.

The SRO contract between the school and city is for five years.

Health/Life Safety resolution

The board approved a Health/Life Safety emergency board resolution.

The resolution includes the cost of additional work that was required when issues were identified with brick walls at Highland Elementary School. The building's original parapets, which were constructed in 1936, were noticed to be deteriorated and falling during a current roofing project. The resolution stated that the repair and replacement of the parapets must take place immediately.

"They don't build them like that anymore for a reason," Williams said.

Sutton said the resolution will allow the district to us its Health/Life Safety money to pay for the work, which was about $43,800.

As for precautionary measures, barriers were placed for protection on the ground, according to the resolution which also states the masonry and roofing contractors are working together to replace the deteriorated materials and to keep the building protected from the weather.

Once the parapets are completed, the original roofing work will continue.

Health/Life Safety survey request

The district approved the request for an extension for the projects that are not completed on its Health/Life Safety survey.

The district asked for an extension until August 2019 at each of the district's schools. The listed reason for extension was financial constraints except for Highland Middle School, which shows three projects are waiting on pending approval of a maintenance grant.

Sutton said that the district has asked for an extension on an annual basis.

2018-2019 meal prices

The board approved a 10-cent increase to the district's school lunch meal prices. There was no increase approved for breakfast prices.

The increase moves lunch prices from to $2.80 in grades six trough 12 and to $2.70 for kindergarten to fifth grade.

Sutton said that the district is still not charging the required rates to continue qualifying for the National School Lunch Program, a federally assisted meal program that helps to provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children during the school day. Due to this, the district's Business Manager Tim Bair recommended the increase to help the district continue toward that rate.

"We're not making that much ground, but at least we aren't losing ground," Bair said.

Athletic official fees

The board approved new official fees for the 2018-2019 school year based on recommendation from athletic directors at the middle and high schools.

The only official fees that went up at the high school were for soccer officials, which rose about $5. Now for varsity/JV games the nightly rate is $105, and varsity only games are $65.

At the middle school, there were several small official fee changes in baseball, softball, cross county, basketball and volleyball. The nightly rate for these officials went up in a range of $1 to $5.

"Overall, our annual costs are projected to increase about $500, or about 1 percent, if we make the proposed changes," Bair said in a memo.

Tax compliance report

The board authorized the district's post-issuance tax compliance report.

"This is an annual report that we do to indicate that we are in compliance with the tax law for the bonds we have issued in the past," Bair said.

Prevailing wage rates resolution

The board approved a resolution pertaining to prevailing wage rates. The district is required to do this on a yearly basis to match the rate district contract workers are paid to those determined by the Illinois Department of Labor.

The rates are available on the district's website.

Bowling agreement

The board approved a bowling agreement between the district and Poplar Junction, a bowling alley located at 301 Poplar St. in Highland.

The bowling alley allows the Highland High School bowling team to use its facilities at no charge. However, the agreement is still approved every year, according to Sutton.

The agreement states that the district agrees to pay coach's salary, and initial cost of transportation to bowling meets, whereas Poplar Junction provides lane time for practice and meets, and will turn over any money to the district that is received from the Southern Illinois High School Bowling Conference to help pay for the cost of transportation.

The agreement also states that the student provides their own uniforms and any equipment deemed necessary.

Approved depository resolution

A resolution with a list of approved depositories was authorized by the districts. Every year, the district has to approve this is, which shows the depositories the district can use for its accounts.

"I believe the list is unchanged from last year," Sutton said.

This list includes The Stearns Bank NA, Farmers and Merchants Union Bank, Illinois School District Liquid Asset Fund Plus, First Internet Bank of Indiana, California First National Bank, TAB Bank, State Bank of Texas, Community Bank of Trenton, First County Bank and Bradford National Bank.

Bonds renewed

The board approved the renewal of the district's Treasurer's Bond and Activity Fund Bond for Bair. Sutton said the district does this every year to be protected from any liability.

Fund transfer

The board approved the designation of interest in the district's Debt Service Fund in order to transfer interest income from the fund to the Education Fund.

The district is allowed to transfer interest earned from its Debt Service Fund to the Education Fund, but it must be identified every year.

"We do this for the money that we spend with the banks to manage our bonds," Bair said.

Insurance renewed

The board approved the renewal of the district's property casualty insurance, which is covered by Affiliated Insurance Agency, according to Bair. This package covers commercial property, equipment breakdowns, inland marine, general liability, crime, auto, educators legal liability, and education excess liability.

The insurance renewal came in at an about 9.2 percent increase to $240,338. Bair said that the district had feared that the increase may have been higher.

"Not our best, but certainly not our worst," he said.

The largest increases in coverage were in the inland marine and legal liability categories. Bair relayed that the inland marine category increased due to theft in the industry as a whole. But, the legal increase is due to the district's recent lawsuit.

"On the plus, side our workers' comp is down 21 percent, which reduces insurance costs by about $9,300," Bair said.

Overall, the board approved Bair's recommendation of renewing Affliated's Property Casualy Package, Treasurer's Bond, and Catastrophic Student coverage for 2018-2019, and the Illinois Public Risk Fund for workers' compensation.

This story was originally published July 2, 2018 at 10:51 AM.