School board approves GEA Contract, shares aspirations with Legat Architects

The District 205 Board of Education approved the two-year agreement with the Galesburg Education Association at Monday night’s special meeting. 

Board members approved the agreement with unanimous consent, however, there was short discussion regarding early dismissals on the school calendar.

Superintendent Dr. John Asplund went over the decision to keep the calendar the way it was since the school year had already gotten underway.

“So when we approved the calendar last year we didn’t know what it was going to be, so [there are] some things on there, like the half days we put in there, cause we didn’t know. We’re going to keep those since the board already approved them,” Asplund said to board members. “Another example, Columbus Day. We wouldn’t have had to do it. It’s already in the adopted calendar so we’re going to go ahead and recommend to keep that on the calendar this year, but next year we’d have the freedom not to.”

A majority of the special meeting was meeting with Legat Architects regarding the facilities study that was being put together.

Legat made a presentation regarding work they’ve done in Illinois school including in Mundelein and Moline.

Board members were asked to share their backgrounds, hopes, and highest priorities for the district.

Board President Tianna Cervantez said that she wanted the community’s history to play a larger role in the future of the district, not limited to just facility improvements but curriculum as well. She mentioned underground railroad stops, and boxcar communities as examples of the area’s ties to history. She also said that she wanted classrooms to breed creativity, and for students to grow innovation in school spaces.

She also wants to reinforce how important the railroad is to the community and spoke on Galesburg’s unique proximity to many areas of commerce and trade.

“I think that we are uniquely situated with [U.S. 74], and the railroad, and the Mississippi River, that we actually have a lot of area for growth in the areas of commerce and things like that, but because our town has experienced the recession it’s hard for people to see the advantages that there are in being located here.”

Other members spoke about what they wanted to see as well. Board member Rod Scherpe said he wants Galesburg’s schools to be a destination for people who want to raise a family, adding that school safety was a priority for him. He wanted the schools to be safe, but not feel like a prison.

Another newer board member, Vicki Banks, said she felt that vocational training needed to be a focus too, adding that the school should be able to connect students to career paths.

Dr. Asplund stressed the importance for the board to come to a decision regarding the facilities plan, “this would be a great time to set a course.” As he worded it, a concern of his was “some of the decisions that may have been made historically were looked at in a time span of like two years and didn’t really talk about the things we’re trying to talk about here and look at the bigger picture.”

Legat collected the data and informed board members that they’ll take information gathered from the two previous facilities meetings, and the next coming up on August 23rd, and formulate strategies to present at a future meeting.

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