P.C. discusses report card
The district report card was discussed by members of the Prairie Central Board of Education during the group’s regular November meeting in Fairbury.
Dr. Cathleen Weber with the Illinois State Board of Education called the data “phenomenal” compared to some other schools. The information, which is posted to the website www.illinoisreportcard.com, shows a 90 percent graduation rate, eight percent student mobility rate and nine percent for chronic absenteeism. The district is at 71 percent financial capacity to meet expectations.
The report card shows five commendable schools and one underperforming school, due to math scores from a small group of students with learning disabilities at the junior high. Prairie Central has good student attendance and is just under the state average for class sizes and teacher salaries.
During her superintendent report, Paula Crane updated the board on another successful run at nationals from the Prairie Central FFA chapter.
“We had great success once again,” Crane noted.
“We’ve got an awesome bunch of kids here,” added board president Mark Slagel.
Some of the different FFA team members visited the local Rotary club recently and Crane said they did a great job as their public speaking skills are excellent.
Crane also informed the board that the student information system will no longer be supported and they found a new company although there will likely be a startup cost to put data into the system. The district is exploring different options to stay compatible with the payroll system.
"You might see that coming down the pike,” said Crane. “If we don’t feel comfortable, we’ll put it off until next year but it’s much needed.”
Under new business, the board approved a health insurance plan from Blue Cross Blue Shield. The recommended option is the same plan employees currently have. The district paid $528 per employee last year and this year, the amount is $551.
Board members briefly discussed the levy. Crane explained she levied for less money in Social Security and IMRF since those are healthy funds. She levied more in the education and transportation funds.
“Most of our expenses are employee payroll,” said Crane.
