Flossmoor School District 161 soon could have some new faces in the building.
The District’s Board of Education voted 6-0 on Monday, Feb. 8, to approve a staffing plan for the 2021-2022 school year that calls for three additional teachers at a total cost of $210,000. The move is designed to reduce class sizes in grades 1-3 to address potential gaps in learning following remote learning for a majority of the 2020-2021 school year.
Board Member Stephen Paredes was away from the Zoom call at the time of the vote.
The reduced class sizes, previously discussed by the board in January, are designed to allow teachers to effectively create small groups, differentiate instruction and implement other instructional techniques, according to a report by Eric Melnyczenko, the district’s director of human resources.
The board also discussed the possibility of using Swing Education’s pool of “guest” teachers when needs for substitutes arise beyond what District 161’s own pool can handle. In his report, Melnyczenko noted that with a plan to reopen in early March for in-person learning in a hybrid format for some students, the administration is concerned about the existing guest teacher pool being depleted because of COVID-19 and other factors. He noted the district has continued to advertise for and hire new guest teachers when they have applied, but it has not been able to get its pool back to a pre-pandemic level.
Swing, a staffing agency that works with other districts in the area, could provide 28 extra substitutes, Melnyczenko said. He added that District 161 would still “default” to its own pool first, but if no teachers accept the assignments then administrators could turn to Swing for assistance.
Melnyczenko noted the agreement would cost the district money only when guest teachers are used and can be canceled at any time. But when teachers from Swing are used it will cost the district an additional 35% (or $38.50) on top of the district’s guest teacher daily rate of $110.
“There is a little bit of an upcharge with them,” Melnyczenko said.
Board Member Christina Vlietstra asked if Swing does background checks for any guest teachers it might be sending to the school. Melnyczenko said they do.
“They have to go through the same background measures as we would do ourselves,” he said.
Superintendent Dana Smith added the administration has verified that these are teachers outside of the district’s pool. Swing will not be sending the district teachers from its own pool at a premium, he said.
More action and discussion
- The school board voted 6-0 to approve a contract addendum to pay Kickert approximately $90,000 to get transportation up and running again for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, with some students expected to return for in-person learning in early March.
- The school board voted unanimously to accept a $1,500 donation from the National Council of Jewish Women as part of the consent agenda. The donation is intended to be used for social-emotional learning. The funds are to be used to purchase additional Second Step support programs.
- The school board and administrators discussed an agreement with the Flossmoor Education Association and administration, which would allow for up to 10 administrative leave days for an employee who contracts COVID-19 and is unable to telework. It also would provide for two administrative leave days for an employee feeling side effects after receiving the second COVID-19 vaccine dose.
- The school board and administrators discussed the possibility of hiring a summer academy assistant principal for this year’s academy because of the potential for large student attendance in two different learning models: remote and in-person. There would be a $2,500 stipend for this position.