The Danville District 118 School Board has given final adjusted approval of an $8.9 million dollar gutting and remodeling of the northern section of Danville High School, remembered by many as the extension put on the building in 1972. This will mean completely redone art and science rooms, and 118 Building and Grounds Director Skip Truex says Danville‘s own Schomberg and Schomberg Construction will be handling the project. Truex says he’s had his eyes on this for a while.
AUDIO: Four years, at least four years. Everything goes out to bid, of course, because we’re a public entity. You know, we’re a school, so you have to put everything out to bid. Am I satisfied with who the contractor is for the work? Yes, absolutely.
The project will begin this summer and last about 18 months. The final approved adjusted amount includes items such as new furnishings, while Shomburg and Shomburg’s portion of the work comes to $8.4 million.
Also during Wednesday night’s board meeting, required updates to discipline and restraint policies for all students, needing to be submitted to the state by July 1st, were passed. Director of Special Education Molly Bailey explains.
AUDIO: We’re required to submit a plan to them to reduce the number of restraints, timeouts, and isolated timeouts. A child that’s in eminent danger of harm to self or others is when you would; you know it’s a last resort. But they’re recommending that we put just as many proactive measures in place, use our strategies to deescalate the student, and maybe remove other students from the situation.
Board member Johnnie Carey said districts like 118 and others all over the state are doing all they can to bring in assistance for troubled students, such as with mental health services. But no matter how much they do, difficult problems still exist, and those with the Illinois State Board of Education need to realize that.
AUDIO: Sometimes I feel like that the people that are putting in these recommendations haven’t been in schools in a while, or have never been in schools. And so they don’t exactly know what the climate is right now. And so, I know that we are looking at protecting all children, making sure that everyone is safe. And I want to do that. But I also want to protect our staff.
Finally, recently elected president of the Danville Education Association Allen Rivers passed out hard copies of results of a “climate of the district” survey taken by DEA members. Rivers says, he definitely has goals for better unity, more communication, and more meetings to find solutions to problems during the upcoming school year.
AUDIO: We are separate entities, but at the end of the day we are one school district; the staff, the administration, and the school board. And I think if we all work together to make this better for the students and the staff, I think things will go a lot better.
One adjustment was made to the school calendar. District 118 students will now report for the fall semester on Friday, August 12th. It will be an early dismissal day.
