Schools
Board Briefs: District 63 Approves Budget, Gives Superintendent Raise
Also hears report from Stevenson School and learns enrollment is up.
Stevenson stars
Stevenson School in Des Plaines hosted the Sept. 7 East Maine Elementary District 63 school board meeting and offered a presentation on its Positive Behavior Intervention and Support program.
Stevenson Principal Howard Sussman explained the four-star plan, which calls on students to be respectful, responsible, peaceful and united. Students have a “training day” to learn appropriate behavior on the first day of school, a retraining days after winter and spring breaks. Students “caught” doing something right get “gotcha” coupons which are entered into a weekly drawing for a prize.
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It works, Sussman said. The number of discipline referrals dropped from 918 in 2004-05 to 302 in 2010-11, and students now want to get “gotchas” more because they appreciate being told they did something right than for winning prizes.
“Our students are the best behaved of anywhere I’ve ever been, and our teachers are wonderful,” Sussman said.
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Budget approved
The East Maine Elementary District 63 school board unanimously approved its 2011-12 budget, with projected revenues of $44.6 million and projected expenses of approximately $43 million. The numbers have changed slightly from the tentative budget put on public display over the summer as the district was able to make more accurate projections of expected state aid and staffing costs.
No one spoke at a Sept. 7 public hearing on the budget.
Earlier:
Growing enrollment
On the sixth day of school, East Maine District 63’s enrollment was 86 students higher than at the same time last year, Superintendent Scott Clay said. Last’s enrollment was about 3,600 students, so it represents a significant increase, he said.
The largest increase was at Stevenson School, which had 31 more students.
The district has not had trouble finding space because it increased class sizes this year as part of budget cuts approved last spring.
Superintendent gets raise
The East Maine Elementary District 63 school board approved a 2.5 percent salary increase for Superintendent Scott Clay, raising his pay from $173,400 last year to $177,773 this year. The 2.5 percent increase matches the raises given to other administrators in the district. Teachers received a five percent increase under their contract.
