Flossmoor School District 161 renewed the transportation contract with Kickert School Bus Lines at the Monday, May 8, meeting.
The contract for 2023-2024 includes a 6.5% increase over the last agreement. This adjustment comes after significant increases in the 2022-2023 academic year. It does not reflect the two or three routes the district hopes to add in the fall.
Superintendent Dana Smith and Humanities Teacher Linda O'Dwyer with the seventh grade History Day Performance Team (from left) Ezra Raftery, Isabella Davies, and Zephyr Peters. (Chris Weber/H-F Chronicle)
Due to the expiration of the previous contract, District 161 negotiated its contract with Kickert on a year-to-year basis. Additional buses will be added in the next school year to alleviate congestion. The number of routes had been reduced in previous years when driver positions were difficult to fill.
As part of the new agreement, the district and Kickert also agreed on accountability standards and penalties for not meeting those standards.
In other news, District 161 recognized two #AboveAndBeyond winners for the third quarter of the 2022-23 school year for their hard work and dedication: Teachers Danielle Callahan at Heather Hill and Lisa Ciesielski at Flossmoor Hills.
The 2022-23 Math Bowl participants also were recognized at the meeting. The regional South Cook competition took place on April 27 and 28. Division A placed fourth and Division D placed fifth. Josiah Sharp and Emilio Gaytan each received Most Valuable Player Awards, and Langston Graham earned a fifth-place individual award. District 161 team members include:
- Division A (Grades 1 and 2): Connor Cheung, Evan Smith, Emilio Gaytan, Oladayo Laosebikan, Joshua Garrison, Chimerenma Oji.
- Division B (Grades 3 and 4): Langston Graham, Neal Hall, Raheem Sokoya, Jackson Symowicz, Eric Almond, Avery Cheung.
- Division C (Grades 5 and 6): Munachiso Achara, Connor Boyko, Ava Lee, Josiah Sharp, Simon Reyes, Braden Whitmore.
- Division D (Grades 7 and 8): Josephine Baxa, Blake Ceiley-LoGalbo, Makhi Fox, Isaac Hernadez, Chimdalu Okafor, Daniah Spraggins.
The district recognized the three Parker Junior High School teams that qualified to participate in the National History Day state competition. The eighth-grade exhibit team reached the state finals. The eighth-grade performance team placed first and will advance to the next round of competition in College Park, Maryland, in June.
- Seventh Grade Performance Team: Isabella Davies, Ella Linde, Isaac Hernandez, Zephyr Peters, Ezra Raftery.
- Eighth Grade Exhibit Team: Quentin Betts, Kolby Daniels, Jaylan Gardner, Christian Sally.
- Eighth Grade Performance Team: Violet Bivens, Abigail Mullin, Kamryn Nelson, Eleanor O’Shea.