Building Updates
Listed below is a summary of the many building updates and improvements that have been made at Limestone Walters over the last several years. All of these updates have been paid with maintenance grants or district funds on hand.
2008 – New circle drive parking and drainage installed.
2009 – New roof for K – 4 addition.
2010 – New roof for gym and canopy.
2011 – Site improvements. Ball diamond moved and playground relocated. PTO also purchased new playground equipment.
2012 – New two-classroom addition (library and science lab) and increased cafeteria space. New computer network infrastructure was also installed.
2013 – Track and parking lot improvements.
2014 – Electrical lighting updates, gym painted, new outside doors, and a remodeled entry way.
Again, all of those improvements have been made with current funds along with maintenance grants from the state. We have issued no bonds for any of these projects.
One question that is continually asked, “Is the district ever going to get air conditioning?” This topic has been reviewed by the Board over the years but to retro fit our current building for air conditioning is much more complicated than just putting in window units or stand alone units. Schools are under a different health life safety code than your home. There is a ventilation air requirement. This boils down to having a certain amount of fresh air circulating in the room per people and room size, as the window air conditioners just circulate the interior air. Another factor to consider is our current electrical load. At this time the building does not have the necessary electrical power to handle air conditioning for the entire building. Couple that issue with the makeup of the current boiler, furnaces, roof top units, possible additional ductwork, and you quickly realize that installing air conditioning would be a major task. The other issue is cost. Had the Peoria County Facility Sales Tax Referendum passed in March 2014, those funds could have provided the necessary monies to look at air conditioning. Without a revenue stream to pay for a major upgrade of this magnitude, the Board has to weigh is adding air conditioning cost prohibitive? The Board also has to be good stewards of the district’s fund balances. A major unforeseen expenditure could happen at any time. Depleting district fund balances to inadequate levels would not be good practice. However, rest assured the Building Committee will continue to review the possibility of air conditioning in the coming months.
PARRC
This year students in grades 3 – 8 will be assessed with the new state tool, Partnership for Assessments of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC as it is commonly referred. This assessment is a shift change from the ISAT assessment that had been administered in years past. This assessment will be given twice a year. One will be given in approximately March/April and another one in May. Due to our advanced technology infrastructure, we will be taking these assessments on line. Next month I will provide more information about PARCC and what your children can expect to encounter. Our staff is committed to teaching to the new learning standards and providing your children with the necessary skills to be successful. However, please keep in mind that there is more to the school experience than standardized testing. I have attached the follow link to an editorial that was published in the Peoria Journal Star in August of this year.
http://www.pjstar.com/article/20140808/OPINION/140809231/0/SEARCH
CURRICULUM GUIDES
Our staff is in the process of aligning our curriculum to the new Illinois Learning Standards, but this work takes time. We are aligning both horizontally and vertically with the skills needed to be taught at each grade level. Our hope is to have all the curriculum guides on the website as a reference tool for parents to view. These guides will allow you to see what your child is learning and also provide you with some supplementary materials to use with your child.
POLITICAL ISSUES
You cannot live in Illinois without encountering some political issues from time to time. Each year there are always significant pieces of legislation that affect school districts, and this year is no different. With the election of a new governor, the 99th General Assembly is going to have some major issues to address. The majority of these issues deal with school funding. The roll back of the income tax January 1, 2015, the constitutionality ruling on pension reform, and the introduction of SB 16 that proposes allocating general state aid to schools based upon student need, will all be debated. Depending upon the outcomes of these topics, all of these could greatly affect the funding Limestone Walters receives from the state. As more information becomes available, I will continue to keep all of you informed. Springfield will be a busy place this year.
My intent is to update the Superintendent’s Corner on a monthly basis. However, I will always address any new pertinent issues that arise. You are always welcome to send me a note if you have any questions or comments. I will do my best to answer them as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Tim Dotson, Superintendent
Listed below is a summary of the many building updates and improvements that have been made at Limestone Walters over the last several years. All of these updates have been paid with maintenance grants or district funds on hand.
2008 – New circle drive parking and drainage installed.
2009 – New roof for K – 4 addition.
2010 – New roof for gym and canopy.
2011 – Site improvements. Ball diamond moved and playground relocated. PTO also purchased new playground equipment.
2012 – New two-classroom addition (library and science lab) and increased cafeteria space. New computer network infrastructure was also installed.
2013 – Track and parking lot improvements.
2014 – Electrical lighting updates, gym painted, new outside doors, and a remodeled entry way.
Again, all of those improvements have been made with current funds along with maintenance grants from the state. We have issued no bonds for any of these projects.
One question that is continually asked, “Is the district ever going to get air conditioning?” This topic has been reviewed by the Board over the years but to retro fit our current building for air conditioning is much more complicated than just putting in window units or stand alone units. Schools are under a different health life safety code than your home. There is a ventilation air requirement. This boils down to having a certain amount of fresh air circulating in the room per people and room size, as the window air conditioners just circulate the interior air. Another factor to consider is our current electrical load. At this time the building does not have the necessary electrical power to handle air conditioning for the entire building. Couple that issue with the makeup of the current boiler, furnaces, roof top units, possible additional ductwork, and you quickly realize that installing air conditioning would be a major task. The other issue is cost. Had the Peoria County Facility Sales Tax Referendum passed in March 2014, those funds could have provided the necessary monies to look at air conditioning. Without a revenue stream to pay for a major upgrade of this magnitude, the Board has to weigh is adding air conditioning cost prohibitive? The Board also has to be good stewards of the district’s fund balances. A major unforeseen expenditure could happen at any time. Depleting district fund balances to inadequate levels would not be good practice. However, rest assured the Building Committee will continue to review the possibility of air conditioning in the coming months.
PARRC
This year students in grades 3 – 8 will be assessed with the new state tool, Partnership for Assessments of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC as it is commonly referred. This assessment is a shift change from the ISAT assessment that had been administered in years past. This assessment will be given twice a year. One will be given in approximately March/April and another one in May. Due to our advanced technology infrastructure, we will be taking these assessments on line. Next month I will provide more information about PARCC and what your children can expect to encounter. Our staff is committed to teaching to the new learning standards and providing your children with the necessary skills to be successful. However, please keep in mind that there is more to the school experience than standardized testing. I have attached the follow link to an editorial that was published in the Peoria Journal Star in August of this year.
http://www.pjstar.com/article/20140808/OPINION/140809231/0/SEARCH
CURRICULUM GUIDES
Our staff is in the process of aligning our curriculum to the new Illinois Learning Standards, but this work takes time. We are aligning both horizontally and vertically with the skills needed to be taught at each grade level. Our hope is to have all the curriculum guides on the website as a reference tool for parents to view. These guides will allow you to see what your child is learning and also provide you with some supplementary materials to use with your child.
POLITICAL ISSUES
You cannot live in Illinois without encountering some political issues from time to time. Each year there are always significant pieces of legislation that affect school districts, and this year is no different. With the election of a new governor, the 99th General Assembly is going to have some major issues to address. The majority of these issues deal with school funding. The roll back of the income tax January 1, 2015, the constitutionality ruling on pension reform, and the introduction of SB 16 that proposes allocating general state aid to schools based upon student need, will all be debated. Depending upon the outcomes of these topics, all of these could greatly affect the funding Limestone Walters receives from the state. As more information becomes available, I will continue to keep all of you informed. Springfield will be a busy place this year.
My intent is to update the Superintendent’s Corner on a monthly basis. However, I will always address any new pertinent issues that arise. You are always welcome to send me a note if you have any questions or comments. I will do my best to answer them as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Tim Dotson, Superintendent