Unit 40 to Study New Building for Grades Pre-K to 5

Effingham Unit 40 school board members Monday agreed to study the pros and cons of a centrally-located building that would house students in Grades Pre-K to Five.

The Board hired BLDD Architects of Bloomington for $8,500 to do the facility research. 

The Unit 40 district has been discussing for many years whether to lessen the number of buildings used to house students. At the same time, work has been done to maintain the existing buildings. Board member Desha Wear, who is a member of the board committee that recommended proceeding with the study, said, "The buildings are in good shape, which is good since this (a new facility) could be a years-long project."

Unit 40 Superintendent Andy Johnson said of securing BLDD rather than utilizing the current architecture firm, "I wanted an outside view." As Unit 40 Board President Jill Wendling put it, "Fresh eyes". 

The proposal will consider a new building, but will also explore adding on to an existing facility. 

No timetable was mentioned to complete the study.

Also Monday, Johnson shared about the beginnings of Little Hearts Early Education Center. Johnson said the current Little Hearts budget is in the black; a grant was obtained that will provide $47,000 every three months; there are currently 22 children of Unit 40 staff enrolled at Little Hearts; there are three openings in the preschool classrooms but it's expected those will be filled once preschool screenings are conducted on September 13; no word has been received on a Preschool for All grant; and an additional grant of $11,000 is being submitted through the Koboldt Foundation for all new technology. The Board plans to tour the Little Hearts facility prior to their next meeting.

Technology updates were also shared, including that junior and senior students got their student devices on Monday. Johnson reported that the district has "really, really amped things up from where we were last year" as far as cybersecurity. 

The Board also placed the tentative budget for the new fiscal year on file for adoption at the September meeting.

In personnel items, the Unit 40 Board hired Mackenzie Koester as a nurse paraprofessional, granted leave of absence to Judy Wall, and accepted a resignation from Tracy Ethridge.