The Taylorville School Board met this evening at 6 PM via Google Hangouts for all visitors. The meeting started off by recognizing the retiring staff. Staff members who were recognized include JoAnna Griffiths – 33 years with the district, Susan Jackson, Sarah Marsaglia, Dana Schmid, and Paul Held – 31 years with the district, and Karla Koenig – 20 years with the district. 

The School District also received a few donations. Diamond Bros. made a $500 donation for Tommy TV. First National Bank of Taylorville made a $5,000 donation to offset COVID-19 related expenses. The boys and girls basketball teams were also recognized by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association as two of the top academic basketball programs in the state. The boys finished 1st in Division 6 and the girls finished 3rd. 

The Board also approved the unit office move to the high school. The approximate cost of the move is $38,000. The Board also approved and adopted the PRESS administrative procedures to align with policy updates, approved the final fiscal year 2020 Public School Calendar, and approved the bid for liability insurance for a total cost of $144,958.00.

Under new business, there was the first read of board policy updates, the board also reviewed and approved the food service renewal contract. The contract includes a 3.1% increase in meal rates for the upcoming school year. The board also approved the consolidated district plan. 

The majority of the meeting was spent discussing COVID-19 and the plan for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Dr. Chris Dougherty started out by discussing the state’s recommendation of updating the remote learning plan for the upcoming school year.

Some in-person activity will be allowed with this new plan like IEP meetings and behind the wheel driving. Registration for the upcoming school year will be done by remote and then in-person registration with social distancing for anyone who wasn’t able to register via remote will be done in August.

Dr. Dougherty doesn’t expect anymore recommendations from Governor Pritzker until after June 26th, so they will put together a remote learning plan, a hybrid that includes both remote learning and in-class learning, and a full return to campus plan. 

The next Taylorville School Board meeting is set for Monday, July 13th.