With little on the agenda, it was a rather brief meeting for the Columbia School Board on Feb. 15, though discussion did touch on construction and the facility study at Columbia High School, and two district employees were noted for receiving statewide recognition.

Following a February building report concerning activity at Parkview Elementary, Columbia Assistant Superintendent of Schools Alyssa Smith provided her monthly report touching on district shout-outs, administrative work and general activity in the district.

She closed her report with commendations for Heidi Klein and Kurt Steve, two individuals in the district who were recently honored with an Award of Special Recognition on the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2024 Those Who Excel & Teacher of the Year List.

Klein is an eighth grade English Language Arts teacher at Columbia Middle School. Smith offered Klein high praise given her excellent work as a member of the faculty.

“She does a phenomenal job,” Smith said. “She says she’s retiring after next year. I think everyone’s telling her we’re not gonna let her retire after next year. But she just does an outstanding job.”

Steve serves as the director of maintenance and grounds throughout the district, and Smith similarly commended him for the energy and commitment he shows in his work.

“He’s another one that, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard him say ‘No’ or ‘I can’t do that,’ it’s always a ‘I’ll figure it out. I’m on it right now. No problem,’” Smith said. “And then, as he’s telling you that, he’s already rushing off to the next project.”

Prior to his report, Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode offered an example of Steve’s work in the district. With one of the HVAC systems at the high school not working, Steve was able to reach out to friends in the community to get hold of a new unit for half price.

Klein, Steve and others recognized by the ISBE will be honored with a presentation and banquet in Bloomington in May.

“We have amazing people in our district, but it’s awesome for the rest of the state to start to see some of the amazing people that we have,” Smith said.

For his report, Grode touched on a number of subjects, the first being ongoing progress on the CHS parking lot which he said he hopes is completed around mid-March.

He also recalled a change to district policy made by the board in January which allows employees who live outside of the district to have their children attend Columbia schools at no cost, just as if they lived within the city.

Grode said that, with changes recently made to Illinois High School Association rules, it would seem that these students would also be allowed to play on district athletic teams.

He also mentioned that he had received word about a memorial scholarship being established in the name of Matilda and Edward Doerr, with $150,000 to be awarded to CHS seniors by the end of the current school year.

Grode punctuated this scholarship discussion by noting that students – and perhaps parents themselves – should reach out to district guidance counselors to take advantage of this funding for their college tuition.

Board discussion at the end of the meeting centered entirely on the high school facility study, with Grode explaining that those working on project plans are currently focusing on phase two which concerns the CHS gymnasium.

He further noted that bids for phase one – which covers the academic wing, administration offices and the auditorium – will hopefully be out to bid in the summer, with a clearer picture of phase two allowing for the district to better establish the overall project budget and begin phase one.

Columbia School Board President Greg Meyer offered some thoughts as well, pointing to the good work being done by the many individuals and groups involved in the project.

“Every detail is just nailed down to the nth degree,” Meyer said. “We spent a lot of time today on what’s the area going to look like when we start the building, where do we need to build temporary sidewalks, how do we keep the community off the construction area and how do we separate these things. A lot of thought’s going into it. It’s not just a willy-nilly kind of deal that we’re jumping into.”

The only action item presented to the board concerned the calendar for the 2024-25 school year.

As Grode explained, the year would start with teacher institutes on Aug. 13-14 and students starting on Thursday, Aug. 15. The first semester would end Dec. 20, providing two full weeks for Christmas break.

Teachers would return Monday, Jan. 6 with students coming Jan. 7, and the projected end date – provided there are no emergency days – would be May 20.

Grode said the calendar had been thoroughly discussed with the teacher association, and Smith noted parent-teacher meetings as well as sports and other schedules were taken into account, and the board ultimately approved the calendar.

“You try to balance the first semester with the second semester, the number of days,” Grode said. “There’s always oddities that happen… It’s not the world’s best calendar, but it’s not the world’s worst calendar either.”