St Elmo Board of Education Approves Several Building Upgrades
BY MARK HOSKINS
The St. Elmo Community Unit School District #202 Board of Education met for the monthly meeting on October 21. Among several items discussed, the board voted to approved several upgrades throughout the district’s buildings.
The board approved the hiring of Total Resurfacing out of Louisville, IL to paint 16 classrooms and the hallways at the elementary school. All of this painting will be done at a cost of $6,690.
Next the board approved a motion to hire Mason’s Masonry Restoration, Inc. for tuckpointing and cleaning of the southeast section of the high school building. The work will be done at a cost of $49,487. Superintendent Travis Portz reported that this will be paid for with a $50,000 match grant the district has received.
Finally in new business, the board approved the purchase and installation of a new sound system and projector screen in the elementary school gymnasium. The equipment will be purchased from Pro Wire who will also install the new sound system and screen.
“The old system was very bulky and really was just out-dated so it was time for an upgrade,” stated Portz. The whole project will be paid for in grant funding.
Following closed session, the board approved two new hires for the district. Dona Adams was approved for employment as a substitute cook, pending a background check and employment history review. Madison Thompson was approved for hire as a high school English teacher, effective January 2, 2025, pending a background check, employment history review, and completing of state requirements.
During the consent agenda items, Portz informed the board that he is looking into options to replace the scoreboard in the high school gym. “The scoreboard is on its last legs and its been giving us a lot of problems lately,” said Portz. “And with the IHSA adding the shot-clock in ‘26/’27, we will need to address the scoreboard sooner rather than later.”
Portz reported that there are plenty of different options for scoreboards available with the base models starting around $30,000. He plans to work through this winter, gathering opinions throughout basketball season before making any decisions on a new purchase.
“The best technology would be great, but we also need to make sure we have the people to run the board as well as making sure it makes sense money-wise,” said Portz.
A new scoreboard, when ordered, would take around eight weeks to arrive.
High School principal Brian Garrard was absent from the meeting, but informed the board of an inquiry he received from the University of Michigan, wanting to hold a survey of seniors in St. Elmo. The district would receive $500 for letting the university come conduct this survey, with all students given the option to opt out of the survey.
The next St. Elmo Board of Education meeting is
scheduled for November 18 at 7:30 p.m.
