Manhattan School District’s board heard comments from two concerned parents about bus transportation — one telling the board how her five-year-old kindergartner was let off alone at the wrong stop.
Cheryl Pristas explained that when the bus arrived, her daughter, a five-year-old, was not on the bus. The bus driver allowed her to look for her daughter, thinking she may have fallen asleep — except she was nowhere to be found. The bus driver thought she might have gotten off at the wrong stop. Pristas exited the bus to look for her daughter, and the bus continued on the route.
It turned out her daughter, indeed, had gotten off at the wrong stop, at the opposite end of the subdivision. Pristas’ daughter had crossed an intersection alone and walked approximately 528 feet, per her calculations. She was grateful to have found her daughter, sobbing and alone, but unharmed.
“She’s not allowed to go outside by herself. She’s not allowed to walk to a neighbor’s house without a grown-up. She’s five. We have seven registered sex offenders with Manhattan addresses. Two of them live in Brookstone Springs subdivision. We do not live in a safe world, and our five-year-old should not have been out by herself, completely alone, to walk down the road crossing an intersection,” Pristas told the board.
Pristas was accurate in her assessment — the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry reflects the data she provided, and the two registered sex offenders who live in Brookstone Springs subdivision live on the street where she said her daughter was let off the bus.
She explained she contacted the bus barn immediately, emailed the school administration and the director of LW210 Transportation. Everyone responded except the director of transportation, Pristas said.
Like Pristas, Katie Pavur, a parent in the district, expressed concerns about transportation, primarily about tardiness. Pavur wanted to know if the district had explored other bus companies, what the board considered when signing the agreement with the transportation company, and what the district intended to do to remedy the situation.
Both Pristas and Pavur remarked that while they were satisfied with the district official’s responsiveness to transportation concerns, the lack of communication from LW210 Transportation was problematic, and they wanted answers.
Outside of the board meeting, several parents took to social media to express frustrations with the transportation company.
“I know we have some serious concerns with our transportation, and we share our families’ frustrations and your concerns with that,” Supt. Dr. Damien Aherne said.
“We do continue to work closely every single day with Lincolnway 210. We had a meeting just today at Lincoln-Way Central to move closer to our expectations. We’re not softening on our expectations, which is very simply that our buses need to be on time, and our kids need to be safe,” Aherne added, noting they will continue to work with the transportation company and communicate progress.
District Audit Report
Lauterbach and Amen, LLP, completed their audit report for the district and issued a clean opinion, “other than the modification due to the basis of accounting for cash basis,” audit manager Allison Kmen told the board.
“We have one repeated comment from prior years, which is just for the capital asset policy. Here we’re just looking to see a policy that includes updated thresholds and useful lives for each asset category. And we will work with the district in order to get that implemented, hopefully next year,” Kmen said.
Strategic Plan Progress, Budget Finalized and Approved
Aherne reported progress on the strategic plan for the district.
“Our strategic plan is basically focusing on four major areas, which are rigorous curriculum and engaged learners, supportive and inclusive environment, operational excellence, and safe learning spaces,” Aherne said.
Based on staff recommendations, the district is prioritizing key tasks to reach the goals of the strategic plan, which include: curriculum alignment and cohesiveness, student supports and present leadership, recruitment and onboarding and systems and procedures, and safe and functional facilities and safety systems and practices.
Aherne noted although these tasks have been prioritized, it does not mean they are neglecting other areas. They are simply prioritizing these currently. He also reported on his personal goals as superintendent and how he is working toward them.
With regard to the budget, Aherne noted contract negotiations affected the budget the most, but that they were close to what was expected when the tentative budget was posted in August.
He reviewed the budget in close detail, reviewing each line item and explaining what had increased and why. Of particular note, Aherne explained that local funding was the bulk of the district’s revenue.
“Our total revenues last year were just over 30 million, almost 30 and a half million. Our projected revenues for this year are 31 and a half, which is about a three and a half percent increase from last year,” Aherne explained, noting revenues are broken out among local, state, and federal revenue.
“So our local revenues this year are $21 and a half million, at about 68 percent. And state revenues come in at about $9.3 million at 30 percent, while our federal revenues are $650,000.
Overall district expenditures are at $41.5 million and, of that, the largest expenditures are salaries, employee benefits, purchase services, and other objects.
A public hearing was opened, but there were no public comments regarding the budget, which passed unanimously.
Other News
Board member Erica Aultz reported on the Lincoln-Way Special Education board meeting, noting they also passed the budget and had a successful start to the year. She also shared that the safety committee will be focusing on updating policies to align with state law and local requirements, including, for example, the threat assessment policy.
Vice President Emily Wesel provided a recap of the Illinois School Board of Education and reported they are in the process of reviewing policies.
Board member Chris Boswell explained they will be moving forward with Press Plus to update board policies. The yearly subscription will be $3,005, but there will be a one-time fee of $7,670 to update the policies and get everything up and running. The district currently uses press, which does not include any policy updating, and pays $1,055.
Aherne also shared that the district will be switching to Board Book Premier to post agendas, minutes, and other documents. He explained it was much easier to use, a cleaner platform, and it’s more user-friendly on the public side.
Additionally, it would work better with iPads, saving on printing costs associated with distributing all the documents to the board. The board received this as a positive step in the right direction, with Aultz stating she was excited for the change.
The board approved several resignations and new hires before adjourning the meeting.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.