From new district leadership to revised COVID-19 guidelines, the Columbia School Board is navigating returning to normalcy while the current fiscal wraps up.

The board approved an amended 2021 fiscal year budget Thursday night. Despite uncertainty caused by the pandemic, Columbia School District Superintendent Chris Grode was pleased to report the amended budget was in the black in almost every category. 

“There were a lot of ulcers last year because we needed to do stuff for COVID, and I had no idea if we were going to get (enough) money for it,” Grode said. “You have to do what’s best for kids, (so) I was thrilled today when I saw we were actually in the black.” 

Such COVID-19 related expenses included plastic barriers, personal protective equipment, disinfectant atomizers to clean buses between trips and additional cleaning supplies. Additional personnel were also hired mid-year to take over remotely teaching young students. The district received Emergency Relief Grants, which made it so the district did not have to rely on reserves. 

Because the socioeconomic status of a community largely dictated how much funding its district would receive, Grode was not able to predict the exact amount of funding Columbia would receive. 

The operations and maintenance budget category, which includes maintenance needs of buildings, was the only major one that ended up in the red. This was due to bonds the district sold in 2019, which made the fiscal year 2020 revenue in this category larger, yet roof work on the high school paid for with these funds was not done until late summer, after FY20 had ended. As a result, the budget appears in the red.

“The budget looks like it overspent, but this was a planned situation,” Grode explained. 

Columbia Assistant Superintendent Courtney Castelli bid the board farewell Thursday after serving the district for 13 years. Castelli’s resignation was approved at a previous board meeting. East Alton School District Curriculum Director Alyssa Smith will take her place, while Castelli will become a superintendent in Smithton. 

“I look forward to continuing our interactions as superintendents, but the handoff is going to be very smooth, and I appreciate everything that Courtney has done,” Grode said. 

A need to fill vacancies within the district was also stressed. With many cooks retiring, the district needs five cooks. In addition, they are also looking to employ three bus drivers and two monitors. While Grode understands not everybody has a commercial driver’s license, he said this should not be too big of a hurdle. 

“It’s a unique job because you work in the mornings and you work in the afternoons and then you have mid-day off, so it takes a certain schedule to be able to do that, and it is seasonal work,” Grode said. “We’ll assist you to get your CDL, so if you’re interested and you don’t have your license, we will assist you.” 

Students will be returning to entirely in-person instruction in the fall, but exact quarantine protocol has not yet been established. Grode said he expects the Illinois Department of Public Health to soon announce masks are recommended, not strictly required. 

“We are really excited to move from crisis management back to education,” Grode told the board, later adding that “as far as educational administration, we’ve all been commenting on the fact that you don’t wear it anywhere else. You don’t need to wear them in restaurants anymore, or when shopping anymore.”