ABOVE: Full School Board Attendance at Wednesday night District 118 meeting; Superintendent Dr. Alicia Geddis was absent.
Although the previous District 118 School Board meeting included a call from the board for Superintendent Dr. Alicia Geddis to return to working on site after significant time working remotely due to alleged threats and concerns about her safety, Geddis was absent from the Wednesday night (Dec 18th) Board meeting. All board members were there, but during “Board Comments” there was no mention by anyone about the lurking issue involving Dr. Geddis.
Board president Dr. Randal Ashton had little to say afterwards; except that there was still no solid date established for Geddis’ return, and things are still being worked out.
AUDIO: Dr. Geddis is at home….wherever she….I don’t even know where she’s at. But she’s just been working remotely, and we hope to see her back. When we get everything resolved; put together to everyone’s satisfaction, we hope to see her back.
Another familiar issue at Wednesday’s meeting was DHS Science teacher Anna Kelly once again saying the district is not communicating with her and not responding to her when it comes to her severe health issues that come from an aggressive cancer gene that runs in her family. A major part of her dispute has been the district’s lack of a policy that would allow other employees to give their sick leave time to her, after hers runs out. Numerous board members expressed sympathy and support for Kelly and her family during “Board Comments.” But are any changes being considered? Dr. Ashton said that’s also being looked at.
AUDIO: I don’t have much to say on that at this time. I mean, we’re working on that; that’s all I can say. There’s things behind the scene, and we’re working on it.
Meanwhile, there has lately been a lot of social media complaining about District 118 busses putting three students to a seat instead of two. Assistant Superintendent John Hart says three per seat is allowed by state statute. But at the same time, that can be unrealistic for older and larger kids. Therefore, Hart says discussions are going on with First Student Bus Service about making route adjustments so there’s less crowding; and also about purchasing some additional buses. He says after the holiday break, some changes could get rolling.
AUDIO: We have some buses that maybe have 20 students on them. So we just divide up the route a little bit, and then we would be transporting students that way and try to get it back down. I’ve already met with First Student, and changes are in the works. So I look for us, when we come back, that we will not have that issue; at least not with the older kids. A lot of our elementary schools have three to a seat now, and always have.
The state statute on capacity comes from the Illinois State Board of Education.
