Students in Evanston/Skokie School District 65’s summer school may have to wait even longer for their summer vacations to begin.
The District 65 school board likely will extend summer school this year to meet state funding requirements after discussing the possibility at its meeting Monday night.
If the district extends its summer program by three days, it will qualify for $250,000 in state funds. That sum would cover the 500 students who will be required to attend the 5-week session that begins June 13.
Summer school is currently scheduled to last 81 hours, but the state-funded Summer Bridges program requires at least 90 hours of instruction.
District 65 Literacy Director Ellen Fogelberg answered questions about the change at the meeting.
“I think it has great promise for us,” Fogelberg said, adding that the money will help alleviate the district’s summer school costs.
Fogelberg suggested the idea to the board before a formal proposal is ready so the approval process can take less time. The change could be approved before parent-teacher conferences in two weeks, when teachers will recommend or require that students attend summer school.
In other business, the board:
_Ѣ Approved the budget calendar for 2001-02 to begin the budget process. The calendar sets a timeline for development of the budget, which the board is scheduled to approve Sept. 24.
_Ѣ Approved a contract for playground renovations at Willard Elementary School. The contract was awarded to Pinel Andrews for $211,950.
_Ѣ Approved a contract for the third phase of the district’s $3 million Referendum Technology Plan, which will rewire all D65 classrooms to handle increased demands on electricity when all phases have been implemented. Shoreline Electric will carry out the third phase at the cost of $701,765.
_Ѣ Discussed concerns about parents not knowing teachers’ e-mail addresses. Marshall Rosenthal, the district’s director of communications, told the board that he will try to list teachers’ e-mail addresses on the district’s Web site soon. Addresses follow the format: (last name)(first initial)@d65.k12.il.us.
