By Stephanie Irvine
The majority of the Manhattan School District’s board meeting on October 9 was dedicated to celebrating its students’ achievements.
The Manhattan School Board recognized three district students for perfect scores in the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) during the past two years, presenting each student with a special award at the meeting. For the 2024 IAR assessment, the district celebrated Evan Ramel (a current sixth grader) and Sophia Rios (a current freshman at Lincon-Way West). For the 2023 IAR assessment, the district celebrated Jackson Brewe (a current sophomore at Lincoln-Way West).
Director of Curriculum Cheryl Donovan explained that students in third through eighth grades take the IAR assessments in reading and math every spring. The results are then scored up to 850 and ranked based on meeting or exceeding the standards.
“To achieve a perfect score is something incredibly rare, and I’ve been looking at IAR data for a really long time. It’s a gem when you can find someone who can master that level of excellence,” Donovan said at the meeting.
Additionally, the district took time to acknowledge and celebrate the junior high girls’ softball team, the Lady Demons, who made it to state-level competition — a first for the district’s softball team. The girls were treated to a pep rally and parade ahead of the competition. At the meeting, they were given a copy of a featured article about the girls for the Lincoln-Way West Sports Wire and yard signs.
Vice Principal and Athletic Director Gina Burlison noted the girls’ team brought home the first hardware for the trophy case at the new junior high building, and the article and the trophy would be displayed.
Additionally, the district reported the Popsicles with Police event was a huge success, with more than 300 students turning out for the event. Officers of the Manhattan Police Department escorted students from Anna McDonald School on a brief walk to the Manhattan-Elwood Public Library, after which officers read students stories outside the library.
In district news, Superintendent Ron Pacheco noted enrollment is stable at 1,986 students district-wide, and they are working on their tax levy information, which will soon be published.
Pacheco also reported the new auditing company, Lauterbach and Amen, LLP, has begun its work on the district’s audit. He also noted the district’s Illinois report card will be published at the end of October.
The Phase II bid package, totaling $9,446,193, was approved for the new junior high building addition. Pepper Construction was present to answer the board’s questions.
Trustee Terry Doyle asked how long after bid awarding would construction begin, and the representative from Pepper Construction said Bisping still had their equipment on site, so they should be able to get started right away once the permit from the Village of Manhattan is received.
“Just to remind the community that this is the project we’re doing — we had remaining bond proceeds, we came in so under budget on the building that this is our phase two, which is the additional administrative offices, the second gym, and one other piece to it,” Board President John Burke said ahead of the vote.
The board also voted on applying for a $60,000 Illinois Maintenance Grant for Anna McDonald to help offset the cost of maintenance repairs, which was approved by the board.
The district is working with Lincoln-Way Transportation to mediate transportation issues and will implement a new lettering system to help clarify routes.
The board convened for a closed-session meeting and took a few actions following it. One employee (not named) was suspended without pay, and another was dismissed effective immediately. The posting of a full-time maintenance position for the Manhattan Intermediate School also was approved, effective immediately.
Before the meeting concluded, the JV Manhattan Patriots Football Coach approached the board to inquire about allowing the Manhattan Patriots to play home games on the school district’s fields. Burke and Pacheco said the process would involve committee meetings, meetings with building and grounds directors, athletics, determining liability and access, issues and other concerns, and funding contributions.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.