Thursday, August 16, 2012
New Lenox District 122 Approves a $59.2 million budget for 2012-2013
Michael Sass, superintendent for New Lenox Elementary District 122, vehemently expressed annoyance at the Will County Treasurer Steve Weber for delaying distribution of $1.4 million of 2011 tax dollars. Usually, school districts get 49.75 percent of the collected tax dollars by the end of June. This year on June 28, the district received only 45.78 percent. The additional $1.4 million was distributed by mid-July, business manage Harold Huang said at the board's Aug. 15 meeting. Although the delay caused some budget gaps in terms of the fiscal year, which ended June 30, it didn't seriously impact the district. Even in consideration of the earned interest, the district lost only $450 as a result of the delay. However, Sass asked "if there …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The New Lenox school board approved a new contract for Associate Supt. Peggy Manville, who will become the next superintendent effective July 2014. Supt. Mike Sass will move to associate superintendent for that final year of his contract.
Looking for a smooth transition when Supt. Mike Sass retires after the 2014-15 school year, the New Lenox school board approved a contract Monday for his predecessor: current associate superintendent Peggy Manville. In addition to approving a new contract for Manville, the board amended Sass' contract so that he and Manville will swap positions in Sass' final year before retiring. "We've been very pleased with how the district is running and the position it's in, so we wanted a nice, smooth transition," board president Nick DiSandro said. So for the next two school years, everything will be the same. Then, in the 2014-15 school year, Manville will step into the superintendent role and Sass will become the associate superintendent. For …
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
District 122 Supt. Mike Sass discusses what's new about this upcoming school year, and what his top priorities are.
Editor's note: Every day this week, we'll publish a new Q&A with someone involved in New Lenox School District 122. Check back each day for a new interview. When Mike Sass became the superintendent at New Lenox School District 122 a decade ago, about half the district's revenue came from the state and the biggest priority was finding land for new schools. Fast forward 10 years, and state funding has dropped a bunch. The economic slowdown has stunted growth, and thus the need for more schools, so the focus now is on finances and the upkeep of existing buildings. Sass spoke about the upcoming school year, his priorities and what's new and exciting in the district. Previously: Nick DiSandro, D122 school board president: 'We're Trying to Make …
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Monday, July 11, 2011
The Board of Education will meet to discuss the district's five-year financial forecast, the superintendent's evaluation and more.
The New Lenox School District 122 will meet tonight to discuss future financial planning and the evaluation of Supt. Mike Sass. The meeting is one of two strategic planning sessions the school board holds every year. The other, held in January, largely addresses upcoming budget solutions. At this meeting, according to the agenda, the board will get an update on the district's five-year financial forecast, as well as discuss strategy development for a bond/interest fund and facility needs plus related funding options. The board meets today from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Haven Administrative Center, 102 S. Cedar Road. There will be a brief break for dinner at about 5:30 and the board will meet in executive session at about 6:30, but the …
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Thursday, June 16, 2011
The school board discussed revisiting changes to district busing schedules this winter.
Despite concerns over the changes to District 122 bus schedules, school board members agreed Wednesday that it would cause more harm than good to reverse the decision it made in February. The school board voted to save about $372,000 by cutting 19 buses and 16 drivers, a result of dropping off grades 4-6 first at 7:30 a.m. and making start times for kindergarten and junior high the same later in the morning. Member Maureen Broderick said she wanted to address the issue again because it’s something that was brought up by a lot of voters when she ran for re-election. “A lot of parents were concerned with what we’ve done," she said. "We’re creating a bit of an issue with the day care situation.” But there are too many logistical issues to …
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Follow some complaints over the board's responsiveness at meetings, new board President Nick DiSandro hopes to create more dialogue.
New District 122 school board President Nick DiSandro said communication was what he wanted to improve most when he was elected to the board last month. Less than a week after taking a seat on the board, he's asking the board to revisit its policies in regard to public comments and board interaction with residents at meetings. Under the school board's current policy, the board is allowed to listen to public comments but not provide feedback. "To open the lines of communication between the board and our community, we have decided to revisit the policy and see if there isn’t a better way to have an open dialogue," DiSandro said in a news release. At last week's school board meeting, an exchange occurred that most exemplified the ire of some …
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Thursday, April 21, 2011
Get a recap of what happened at Wednesday's District 122 school board meeting.
At a relatively quiet District 122 school board meeting Wednesday, one resident tried to make a loud statement by chewing out administrators and board members for their conduct and people who ran anonymous smear campaigns during the election earlier this month. Resident Denise Swider spoke for at least five minutes during the board's public comment portion and chided board members for perceived in-fighting. "The actions of board members have mirrored that of children," she said. "This takes away from the task at hand: caring for the children" She said to stop approving salary increases and accused the board of not being fiscally responsible. She also said she thought there have been no concessions on the part of the administration, and …
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011
You may submit questions to the Patch editor and we'll ask them in our next video.
In this week's video column, Mike Sass, superintendent of the New Lenox School District 122, answers questions from parents regarding some of district's budget reduction plan. The Board of Education voted Tuesday to cut $2.5 million from the budget, and Sass talks about plans to change the bus schedules, rent part of the Cherry Hill Kindergarten and eliminate certain positions. For our next video, you may submit questions and we'll ask Sass for the answers. To submit questions, e-mail me at michael.sewall@patch.com and include your full name, a phone number and any other pertinent information. We will need a phone number in case we need to clarify or verify any information from your question.
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There were slight tweaks to the busing plan presented last week, including that no child will be picked up earlier than 7 a.m.
Despite an outpouring of parent concerns and questions, the New Lenox School District 122 approved schedule changes for student transportation. A $100 busing fee increase, however, was voted down. The district expects to save about $372,000 by minimizing the number of buses and drivers needed by staggering start times. This was part of a $2.5 million budget reduction plan approved by the Board of Education on Tuesday night. The savings would come from cutting 19 buses and 16 drivers, a result of dropping off grades 4-6 first at 7:30 a.m. and making start times for kindergarten and junior high the same later in the morning. Because so many parents were upset with the district's original proposal to have grades 4-6 dropped off at 7:20 a.m., …
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
The district wants out of its current contract with Just 5 Clicks so it can switch to PowerSchool.
New Lenox School District 122 Superintendent Michael Sass said officials are trying to get out of a contract with student data warehouse Just 5 Clicks, but it hasn't yet had the cooperation from the company to do so. The district wants out of the contract because it is purchasing PowerSchool, a system which would perform all the functions of Just 5 Clicks as well as other capabilities. District officials discussed the contract at a Board of Education meeting last month. "We're preceding with doing PowerSchool right now, and we're just planning on having a transition," Sass said. "We're not sure when that transition will take place." Officials from Barrington-based Just 5 Clicks did not return calls for comment. In the past month, the …
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IPA Drone
3:46 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012
I agree first cut should be administrative salaries and not the teachers. If he did not see the reduction in revenue from state and federal dollars it shines a spotlight on his managment skills. The well is running dry! more ›