5 Things You Might Have Missed at Last Night's D122 School Board Meeting

Aside from Wednesday night, the District 122 Board of Education approved funding for various building projects, voted to pay for a school police office liaison, and set new ground rules for public comment at meetings.

1. Approval of Building Project Payments

The board approved more than $600,000 in payment to P.T. Ferro Construction Co. and more than $60,000 to Matthew Paving for repairing the Spencer Campus parking lot. The board also approved more than $57,000 in payment to Bisping Construction for drainage improvements at Oster-Oakview School, as well as $63,500 in payment to “D” Construction Inc. for repairs to the Tyler Bentley parking lot.

2. $25,000 For School Resource Officer

The board unanimously approved funding for a New Lenox police officer who will act as a liaison in the school district. The district will pay the New Lenox Police Department $25,000 for the 2011-’12 school year, when in the past the NLPD had funded the position entirely. One of the main responsibilities of the school resource officer is to lead the Character Counts program, which is similar to the national Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program.

Supt. Mike Sass said it is fair for the district to fund the position since the officer mainly works in the schools.

“I feel it would be appropriate for us to share a small portion of those costs … We’re getting the bulk of the support,” Sass said.

3. New Certified Staff, Website

Also at Wednesday night’s school board meeting, District 122 spokeswoman Jenny Zimmerman introduced four new certified staff members. They include Kimberly Jones, a social worker at ; Stephanie Schmidt, a school psychologist at and ; Megan Lupei, a third grade teacher at ; and Alan Didier, a life skills teacher at and . Didier will be teaching in the same room in Martino Junior High where he studied ten years ago.

Zimmerman also noted that D122’s new website is up and running.

4. Recycled Guardrails Installed

Facilities Director Bob Nelson informed the board that guardrails have been installed along roads near Nelson and Oster-Oakview schools for safety purposes. For the project, guardrails that were originally in front of the were recycled, and other parts were donated.

5. New Rules For Public Comment

The board unanimously approved a policy requiring members of the public to follow a set of guidelines when speaking at school board meetings. One rule allows the board president to deny a member of the public from speaking on a topic he or she has spoken on at a meeting within the past two months. Another guideline directs public commenters to “conduct oneself with respect and civility toward others and otherwise abide by Board policy.”

BONUS: Revised Board Meeting Schedule

Regular board meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the . Here is the new schedule:

Oct. 19, 2011
Nov. 2, 2011*
Nov. 16, 2011
Dec. 14, 2011
Jan. 25, 2012
Feb. 1, 2012*
Feb. 15, 2012
March 21, 2012
April 18, 2012
May 2, 2012*
May 16, 2012
June 20, 2012

*Indicates Committee of the Whole meetings