Tagged: Jonathan Heerboth

Two school districts in western Illinois are now on the verge of creating a new athletic co-op.

The West Prairie School Board approved the co-op during a special meeting on April 11. The Bushnell-Prairie City School Board will be asked to do likewise during its regular meeting in April.

The districts already co-op boy’s and girl’s track and will continue to do so. The new agreement will add football, baseball, and softball beginning in the 2014-15 school year.

Teachers in the West Prairie School District will start the school year under a new contract next Tuesday.

Superintendent Jonathan Heerboth says the two sides did not have long agendas.

He says, “For the board I think it was important to try and get some kind of a cap on health benefit costs down the line. And the board bargained hard for that.”

The West Prairie School District has chosen a popular device as its next leap in classroom technology.

High school students will each receive an Apple iPad3 next school year.

Superintendent Jonathan Heerboth said the district has been studying the available wireless devices. He said the district wanted them to be light-weight, robust and have great battery life. The availability of software tipped the balance toward the iPad.

A West-Central Illinois educator says the state's rural school districts will make a case to state lawmakers to stop cuts in transportation funding.

Governor Pat Quinn cut transportation funding by $89 million in July. The cuts caught school districts by surprise.

Some,  like West Prairie, were able to use transportation funds saved from previous years.

Illinois public school districts are preparing next year's budgets. It's a difficult undertaking with state aid still up in the air.

The legislative session will begin several weeks later than usual. It's not known when the governor and the lawmakers might agree on education funding.

General State Aid to school districts was cut 5% for the current fiscal year.

West Prairie Superintendent Jonathan Heerboth said the cuts for next year could be worse.