A special Meeting of the Grade Site Configuration Study Committee
Fieldcrest Community Unit School District 6 was held at the Fieldcrest High School library in
Minonk on July 27, 2004 to finalize plans for a public forum on possible grade school site configurations.
The Committee developed a chart to show current student population and projections for 2004-2005.
There will also be a chart to indicate differences in Revenue (income) as part of the various funds for the District,
but more importantly, for the Education Fund.
The three configuration proposals will be shown on large charts indicating low, medium and high savings for
each of the proposals. No monetary figures will be indicated. EAV charts and a revenue
expenditure bar graph will be displayed on poster board to give the public graphic information on
the three different grade school site configurations being considered.
Some of the examples of cost-cutting measures acted upon by the Board of Education are the following: phasing out
7th period preparations, reducing grade level sections in the elementary and middle schools, elimination of middle
school art and home economics, elimination of sport and activity transportation shuttles, elimination of Smart Start
and Kort, elimination of Industrial Arts at the high school and elimination of Assistant Principal at the high
school, elimination of elementary physical education and music, and reducing overall music personnel by one FTE
(full time equivalent), reduction of cafeteria and custodial staff, Humanities program and librarians in the middle
school. Last, all extracurricular funding by the Board of Education has been eliminated for the 2004-2005 school
year. The above personnel and program reductions were accomplished over the course of the 2002-2005 school
years.
The committee set the following dates, times and locations for the community presentations: August 2 at Toluca
Legion, August 4 at Wenona City Hall and August 10 at Minonk High School. All times are from 7:00 - 9:00 pm.
The community will view the posters explaining the information on the proposals. The Board will gather the comments and make a decision on which proposal (if any) to implement for the fall of 2005.
The final meeting of the Grade Site Configuration Study Committee will be Tuesday,
August 17th @ 7:00 PM in the high school library.
The three proposals being considered are shown below.
Description of Proposal (#3)
Maintain a K-4 in Minonk,
Toluca, and Wenona, and consolidate grades 5 & 6 in Toluca and grades 7
& 8 in Wenona, high school in Minonk
Utilize the gymnasiums in
Toluca and Wenona primarily for junior high sporting events, equally
distributing girls/boys games between the two.- Utilize the gymnasium at the
high school in Minonk primarily for high school sporting events.
Impact to Families
-
Students will bus to outlying
communities, beginning with grade 5
-
K-4 students will attend school in
their community
-
Students in the same family could
be attending school in 4 different buildings in 3 different towns (currently
attend in 3 bldgs in 2 towns or 2 bldgs in 2 towns)
-
Change affects 5-8 student
population
Impact to Students
-
Keeps grades K-4 in communities
with current class size trends
-
Students will remain with
Kindergarten peers for all 13 years; Minonk 5th grade class will not
split
-
Students will transition to a
larger student body in 5th grade
-
Minonk students will experience 3 building
transitions; Toluca students 2 building transitions, and Wenona students 3
transitions (one transition back to a previous building)
-
Students could be subject to
larger class sizes at the 5-8 levels
-
Combination of two junior high
extra curricular programs into one could increase the number of students on the
team and result in fewer competitive playing opportunities (See intramural note
under -Other Ideas.-
Impact to Communities
-
Minonk, Toluca, and Wenona will
all have elementary schools thru grade 4
-
Toluca has upper elementary (5-6)
-
Wenona has a junior high (7-8)
-
Minonk has a high school (9-12)
-
Minonk, Toluca, and Wenona will
all have sporting events scheduled for their communities
Impact to Education
-
Class sizes could be equalized in
grades 5-8
-
Self-contained classes could be
used in 5th and 6th grade (6th grades
currently pass from class to class)
-
Increased teacher collaboration
possible in grades 5-8
Financial Implications
Savings
-
Number of sections in grades 5-8
could potentially be reduced by one each, for a total of 4, resulting in a
savings of 4 teacher salaries. (provided class sizes of 30-35 are utilized in
grades 5-8)
-
Elimination of coaching and busing
costs for one junior high athletic program. (The district is not currently
paying for said program, but an improvement in finances might allow that.)
-
Consolidation at grades 7-8 allows
for one band and one chorus, potentially resulting in a teacher savings of 2
class periods.
-
More efficient use of special
education staff could be possible in grades 5-8 resulting in possible reduction
in force (Subject to specific student needs in those grades)
-
Lowest potential savings of 3
plans
Costs
-
Add an additional science lab at
the Wenona building
-
Minimal up-front moving cost
-
It could become necessary to make
all buildings ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant (possible with
any change from the current configuration)
-
Little cost to adapt rooms
-
District could need 5
administrators
Other
-
The establishment of an intramural
program would provide an avenue for the district to continue offering sports
opportunities to the students
-
Bigger team pool available at
junior high level; but school size changes to AA classification at junior high
level
Description of Proposal (#5)
Maintain a K-2 in Minonk, a
3-5 in Toluca, and a 6-8 in Wenona, and high school in Minonk.
Utilize the gymnasiums in
Toluca and Wenona primarily for junior high sporting events, equally
distributing girls/boys games between the two.- Utilize the gymnasium at the
high school in Minonk primarily for high school sporting events.
Impact to Families
-
Students will bus to outlying
communities, beginning with Kindergarten
-
Students in the same family could
be attending school in 4 different buildings in 3 different towns (currently
attend in 3 bldgs in 2 towns or 2 bldgs in 2 towns)
-
Change affects K-8 student
population
Impact to Students
-
Students will remain with
Kindergarten peers friends for all 13 years-
Minonk 5th grade class will not split
-
There is no transition to a larger
student body at any grade
-
All students will experience 4
building transitions
-
Students could be subject to
larger class sizes the K-8 levels
-
Combination of two junior high
extra curricular programs into one could increase the number of students on the
team and result in fewer competitive playing opportunities (See intramural note
under -Other Ideas.-)
Impact to Communities
-
Minonk has youngest elementary
grades (K-2)
-
Toluca has middle elementary
grades (3-5)
-
Wenona has a junior high (6-8)
-
Minonk has a high school (9-12)
-
Minonk, Toluca, and Wenona will
all have sporting events scheduled for their communities
Impact to Education
-
Class size could be equalized in
grades K-8
-
Self-contained classes could be
used in 5th and 6th grade (6th graders
currently pass from class to class)
-
Increased teacher collaboration
possible in grades K-8
Financial Implications
Savings
-
Number of sections in grades K-8
could potentially be reduced by one each, for a total of 9, and could result in
a savings of 9 teacher salaries. (provided class sizes of 30-35 are utilized in
grades K-8)
-
Elimination of coaching and busing
costs for one junior high athletic program. (The district is not currently
paying for said program, but an improvement in finances might allow that.)
-
Consolidation at grades 7-8 allows
for one band and one chorus, potentially resulting in a teacher savings of 2
class periods.
-
More efficient use of special
education staff could be possible in grades K-8 resulting in possible reduction
in force (Subject to specific student needs in those grades)
-
Greater potential savings than
plan #3, less potential savings than plan #6
Costs
-
Add an additional science lab at
the Wenona building
-
Up-front moving costs since virtually every K-8 teacher will need to
relocate
-
It could become necessary to make
all buildings ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant (possible with
any change from the current configuration)
-
Cost of adapting junior high
classrooms to function as elementary classrooms and cost of adapting elementary
classrooms to function as junior high classrooms.
-
District could need 5
administrators
Other
-
The establishment of an intramural
program would provide an avenue for the district to continue offering sports opportunities
to the students
-
Bigger team pool available at
junior high level; but school size changes to AA classification at junior high
level
Description of Proposal (#6)
Maintain a K-4 in Toluca, 5-8
in Wenona, and high school in Minonk. (4th grade could be located in
Toluca or Wenona as space permitted)
Utilize the gymnasiums in
Toluca and Wenona primarily for junior high sporting events, equally
distributing girls/boys games between the two.- Utilize the gymnasium at the
high school in Minonk primarily for high school sporting events.
Impact to Families
-
Students will bus to outlying
communities, beginning with Kindergarten
-
Students in the same family could
be attending school in 3 different buildings in 3 different towns (currently
attend in 3 bldgs in 2 towns or 2 bldgs in 2 towns)
-
Change affects K-8 student
population
Impact to Students
-
Students will remain with
Kindergarten peers for all 13 years; Minonk 5th
grade class will not split.
-
There is no transition to a larger
student body at any grade
-
All students will experience 2
building transitions
-
-Students could be subject to
larger class sizes at the K-8 levels
-
Combination of two junior high
extra curricular programs into one could increase the number of students on the
team and result in fewer competitive playing opportunities (See intramural note
under -Other Ideas.-)
-
Combined junior high may
strengthen music program and increase continued interest
Impact to Communities
-
Toluca has youngest elementary
grades K-3 or K-4
-
Wenona has a junior high (4-8,
or 5-8)
-
Minonk has a high school (9-12)
-
Minonk, Toluca, and Wenona will
all have sporting events scheduled for their communities
Impact to Education
-
Class sizes could be equalized in
grades K-8
-
Self-contained classes could be
used in 5th and 6th grade (6th graders
currently pass from class to class)
-
Increased teacher collaboration
possible at grades K-8
Financial Implications
Savings
-
Number of sections in grades K-8
could potentially be reduced by one each, for a total of 9, and could result in
a savings of 9 teacher salaries. (provided class sizes of 30-35 are utilized in
grades K-8)
-
Elimination of coaching and busing
costs for one junior high athletic program. (The district is not currently
paying for said program, but an improvement in finances might allow that.)
-
Consolidation at grades 7-8 allows
for one band and one chorus, potentially resulting in a teacher savings of 2
class periods.
-
More efficient use of special
education staff could be possible in grades K-8 resulting in possible reduction
in force (Subject to specific student needs in those grades)
-
The closing and/or sale of the
South elementary building is a substantial savings.
-
Greatest potential savings of 3
plans
Costs
-
Add an additional science lab at
the Wenona building
-
Up-front moving cost cost since
virtually every K-8 teacher will need to relocate.
-
It could become necessary to make
all buildings ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant (possible with
any change from the current configuration)
-
Cost of adapting junior high
classrooms to function as elementary classrooms and cost of adapting elementary
classrooms to function as junior high classrooms.
-
District could operate with 4
administrators (as we are currently doing)
Other
-
The establishment of an intramural
program would provide an avenue for the district to continue offering sports
opportunities to the students
-
Bigger team pool available at
junior high level; but school size changes to AA classification at junior high
level
