On Monday, July 29, Kaneland Community Unit School District 302 hosted its scheduled board meeting at 6 p.m. in the sixth-grade team room at Kaneland Harter Middle School. All board members were present.
On the agenda for New Business was the Kaneland High School track. Assistant Superintendent for Business Dr. Jackie Bogan updated the board and public on how the replacement process is going.
“As part of this track project, [we] are going to be installing two additional lanes on a lane straightaway,” Bogan said. “There’s also concrete curving on the inside of the track for drainage, and they have also updated the look of the track as well as where the triple-jump runways are within the track. And then they relocated the pole vault and long jump to outside of the track.”
Even though demolition and installation was successful, the process was stalled due to weather conditions.
“On July 15 and 16, we did have some slow work because of the storms that came through,” Bogan said. “Because of the water, they had to halt the work for a few days as that water cleared.”
Despite the minor setback, the timeline for the track project remains the same as initially planned and is projected to be done by Aug. 8 or 9. Yet, before the athletic department announces the final date, they need to discuss a possible contract with a track surface company in order to have a warranty in case there will be any needed repairs.
“We ended up receiving two different proposals from two different cooperatives,” Bogan said. “Both were competitive [and] both contained a five-year warranty on the work that covered defects and materials. [It is recommended] that the project be awarded to Track Surfaces Company out of Elburn in the amount of $344,494.”
After a lengthy discussion, the contract with Track Surfaces Company was approved with a vote of 6-0.
The next important aspect of the agenda was talking about the addition of 9th and 10th grade to the Kaneland IgKnight Personalized Learning Academy (KIPLA) for the 2025-26 school year.
“We are identifying four core classes, [such as] math, social studies, language arts and science, that are going to be housed at KIPLA,” Director of Educational Services Dr. James Horne said. “Students would then be transported back and forth to the high school to obtain elective classes.”
Registration would open Sept. 3, 2024, and would close on Nov. 29, 2024. Any interested families will be given resources to help them decide if they want their child to enroll.
But, with KIPLA adding two more grade levels to the program, it comes with a price.
“Essentially, the range we have right now for total estimated expenses is $326,000-$592,000,” Bogan said.
This price would depend on how many students enroll in the KIPLA program.
After board members discussed the potential price range, they had a question directed to the administrators regarding the suitability of students and how they would be recommended to the program.
“Just to clarify, it’s going to change the overall cost per pupil when you move them in, and it’s not necessarily going to reduce from the high school,” Board of Education president Adam Gonzalez said. “It’s just going to change the figures across the board because we still have to employ those teachers.
Bogan answered and said that Gonzalez’s interpretation was correct.
After further discussion, members of the board decided that no action is currently needed regarding the expansion of KIPLA.
Once the discussion of KIPLA was over, the board approved two motions..They decided that there would be the addition of one more psychologist for the middle school and high school. This staff member will be going back and forth and talking with both middle schoolers and high schoolers. This motion was approved with a vote of 6-0. There was also the approval of adding another full time employee at John Stewart Elementary due to the influx of kindergarten students. Adding another employee was approved with a vote of 6-0.
Items moved to the next meeting agenda include the discussion of transportation for students. This involves students, such as those in middle school, who ride the bus to the high school and get off to catch a new bus to their home.
The next board meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 12.
