By Andrea Arens

Two visitors took the opportunity to speak and both brought up some important topics of conversation.

Nicole Green addressed the board asking them to consider allowing homeschooled children to participate in extracurricular sports. Currently, Peotone does not allow homeschooled children to participate. Green pointed out that Manteno does, with stipulations.

Both the IESA (Illinois Elementary School Association) and the IHSA (Illinois High School Association recommend homeschooled children be allowed to participate but only with fairly stringent guidelines, such as curriculum approval, an established method to monitor academic progress, and a certification the student is meeting the minimum academic eligibility standards for participation. The school itself would be required to keep all the records in order to verify compliance.

Green suggested this could be accomplished with a weekly email from the parent and urged the board to consider her request.

Melissa Eaheart also spoke regarding the condition of the baseball fields. She said many games have been canceled due to conditions. The baseball fields, in which the school district teams play, are located on park district property.

There is an historically long relationship between the park district and the school district regarding shared property and who is responsible for upkeep. Blue Devil Drive, a shared road between the park district and the school district, has fallen into disrepair due to the conflicts of both taxing bodies deciphering who should be responsible for what.

Eaheart said, “The varsity baseball field is in absolute, terrible shape. We have not been able to hold outdoor practices. We’ve had home games moved to opposing teams fields, which is unfair to the kids. We have had parents offer to pay for and maintain, and the park district told us no. So, this is just a back and forth issue.” Eaheart said the parents are willing to fundraise to help, as well.

Board President Tara Robinson said the board would like to put together a committee on their end to meet with the park district and hammer it out. She said, “There definitely needs to be some partnership on what that’s going to look like.”

That committee meeting is scheduled for May 4, at 6 p.m.

Board member Roger Bettenhausen spoke at the end of the meeting and mentioned, ideally, building the fields for the school district instead of sharing with the park district. Funds for that could come from bonds or possibly a referendum. Bettenhausen added it didn’t make a lot of sense to invest in the park district fields since the size dictated they couldn’t host regional or tournament games on those fields.

Bettenhausen also spoke about a letter sent by the board attorney regarding a complaint that had been made regarding banners or signs being displayed in the classrooms. Bettenhausen suggested the board work towards drafting a board policy of a “sterile classroom” suggesting that nothing be hung in the classrooms that didn’t relate to education. Bettenhausen said it created an undue burden on administration to determine what’s acceptable and what’s not in the classroom.

Stoub countered, “So you would depersonalize the teachers? Well, I also think it would give credence to the classroom and depersonalize the teachers, which is exactly the opposite direction of the benefit of the children. I think to give a child who has been marginalized historically, a giant gleaming hope that somebody recognizes them in a world where they’re often not, helps that child. I think we spend a great deal of time here, at this meeting, discussing the social and emotional stress the children are facing. We’ve implemented a great deal of investment to protect them in every way we can. And what you’re talking about is giving recognition to a group of the majority that historically has not been marginalized and taking away from those who have.”

Bettenhausen countered that making the classroom environment educationally focused, excludes no one. 

In other board news, the approval of recommended new stipend positions for teachers for grade level and department team lead positions at $1,500 annually was approved, with the lone no vote cast by Board Member Jodi Becker. Both positions would report to the Director of Curriculum and Instruction and would be responsible for scheduling team and department meetings and communication between staff and administration.

“At the previous school board meeting, I voted no for the Team Lead position and the stipend to support the position. Since August, we have voted six stipends into the budget in addition to the existing two-page list of stipends. As far as the position description, I feel we already have team leads, with the time spent on institute days, common plan days, improvement days, departmental meetings, staff reviews, curriculum agendas, etc. At this time, I do not believe in additional management. I do believe we need to start supporting our security measures, another SRO.

  • September – PES Yearbook Stipend, $1,177.79. I don’t even believe in a yearbook until JH/HS. Give the kids something to look forward to.
  • November – Yoga Club, $442.38. We have a yoga business in town.
  • December – eSport, $550.06, HS Art Club $1,128.85. We have art classes, the park district might even have something or be able to do something. 
  • March – Team Sponsor, $2,522.63.
  • April – Team Lead, $1,500. Stated above.

There are valid reasons behind the stipends and their positions; there also is validity to security and other issues,” she said.