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Red Hill School District Ready to Give Undivided Attention to its Buildings  Share
The closing of schools in the Red Hill Unit 10 district for the year means that more attention can be given to building projects that were difficult to remedy while classes were in session. During the Thursday, May 21 meeting of the school board, the board agreed to advertise for bids to make repairs to the Sumner Attendance Center heating system. The aging system has been maintained over the past several years through breaks in underground condensate return lines without consequences that could have resulted in the cancellation of school. The ultimate repairs will require rerouting the lines to above ground to eliminate further problems. It is expected that the project will cost around $60,000. More repairs are being planned to ''rip rap'' the ditch on the campus of BGS.
While the school district will be responsible for a portion of the repair work, the city of Bridgeport will also assist in fixing the ditch. As of the meeting date, the state of Illinois owed the Red Hill Unit 10 school district $274,080.31. According to District Superintendent Dennis Kimmel, the state will use stimulus money received from the federal government to make up a deficit of five months owed to the local district, alone. It is expected that the state money will reach the local district by June 30. Department reports were as follows: Pre-kindergarten program Tonya Pauley, pre-kindergarten coordinator, reported that the Monday, May 18 ''family fun night'' had an attendance of 91 adults and 95 children. The RHHS FFA grilled 115 hot dogs and 128 hamburgers for the event. There are 56 available spots for pre-k in the 2009-10 school year. So far, 63 children have been screened and there is a waiting list to attend the classes. Red Hill High School Matt Seaton, RHHS principal, reported that on May 14, 33 RHHS students gave blood during an American Red Cross Blood Drive at the school. During the Tuesday, May 12 Awards night for RHHS students, just dollars under $500,000 in scholarships was awarded to graduating seniors. Last year, $250,000 was awarded by various colleges, universities and businesses to senior. Seaton also said that the 2009 senior class had produced 41 students who earned 3.0 grade point averages or more throughout their high school careers. Results of ''Explore'' scores that compare RHHS students with students nationwide were presented as Seaton reported that members of the freshman class had achieved scores that were higher in all areas of study, including English, mathematics, reading and science, than the national average. The sophomores scored ''remarkably much greater than the national norm,'' he added. Summer school Dr. Barry Edwards, assistant superintendent, reported that 67 students were enrolled in summer school. Usually, he said, there are 100 students in the summer program. However, signups are not complete. A free summer school lunch program is being offered again to all students through the age of 18. They will be served at BGS, beginning June 3 and ending June 30, and the Sumner Attendance Center, June 3 - July 20. In other business, the board: --- approved financing for two busses ($76,721 and $80,621) at an interest rate of 3.48 percent. --- accepted the resignations of Donna Lancaster, retiring cook at SAC, effective July 31, and Piedad Bedoy, classroom aide, effective May 8. --- employed Steven Clodfelter as an ag teacher, Audra Wiley as an RHHS Special Education teacher, and temporary summer custodial workers. --- declared some BGS band equipment as ''surplus property.'' --- approved the employment of ADG (Architecture and Design Group) to perform the mandatory Ten-Year Health/Life Safety Survey at a cost of $4,500. --- will have a public hearing at 7:30 p.m., June 25 for the purposes of amending the 2008-09 budget. The board meeting was also changed to that date with an executive session at 6 p.m. and public meeting, beginning at 7 p.m. Barbara E. Allender is the editor of the Bridgeport Leader.
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