Brussels school board gathers for July meeting
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By Caitlin R. King
Brussels Community Unit School District 42 school board held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. in the elementary school cafeteria.
The board first approved the teacher retirement system supplemental savings plan, which they discussed in June.
The board also approved raising the hourly rate of the district’s attorney to $200 per hour. The monthly retainer rate will not change. The board will revisit this rate in the 2025-2026 school year.
The board approved the fuel bid with Tri-County FS for the 2022-2023 school year, with board member Anita Baecht noting, “they’re always there when you need them.”
The board also discussed updates to the school handbook. They ultimately decided to hold a special meeting on Aug. 4 at 6:30 pm.m. to discuss and finalize these updates for the school year, which begins on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
The board voted to increase the fee for out of district students to take driver’s education at Brussels. For the summer of 2023, the fee for in-district students is $125 and the fee for out-of-district students was $150.
The board voted to increase the in-district rate last summer, but did not increase the out of district rate. The board voted to make the prices equitable to the increase made last summer. The updated rates for driver’s education is now $125 for in-district and $175 for out-of-district. The rate increase will go toward the instructor and fuel costs.
The board also discussed an update to the speech/language services in the district. In the past, Brussels and Calhoun school districts have shared a speech pathologist, but starting with this school year, Calhoun has decided they needed a full-time pathologist for their students.
As a result, Brussels will now utilize an online program, Therakids, for speech and language services. Therakids is based out of Godfrey. Students will meet with a therapist online and live, utilizing a service like Zoom or Google Meets. Therapists will also visit in-person when needed to perform evaluations.
The board believes that the cost of the program will actually save the district money compared to the previous partnership with the Calhoun school district. The board will reevaluate the program’s success next summer.
The seventh and eighth grade Meet the Teacher night and Freshman/New Student Orientation are scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. The first day for teachers is Monday, Aug. 15. The school year officially begins on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
The school board meets on the third Tuesday of every month. They will hold their next regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. in the elementary school cafeteria at 128 School St., Brussels, IL 62013. More information can be found on their website, www.brussels42.net.
