Grigsby Intermediate School has experienced sig-nificant traffic congestion since the start of the school year. The congestion has caused back-ups on Cargill Road at drop off and pick up times. At the Board of Educa-tion’s August 27th meeting, the Board approved a plan to add a road from the circle drive behind Grigsby to Pon-toon Road. The new road will allow traffic to reach school from either Cargill Road or Pontoon Road. Adding the road will allow the District to route the school’s twenty three buses through the front drive off of Cargill Road and route parent pick up and faculty traffic through the new road. Cost of the project is ex-pected to be approximately $200,000. According to Brad Eavenson, Director of Build-
ings and Grounds, the District can pay for the project with the proceeds of bonds issued specifically for the purpose of build-ings and construc-tion. The use of the bonds may cause the Board to delay some of the projects it current-ly has planned, but Eavenson believes that is necessary. “This is a criti-cal enough issue with com-plaints from neighbors and general traffic that we need to address it now,” Eavenson said. “The Board also be-lieves this will create a safer atmosphere at drop off and pick up times.” Construction for the pro-ject is in process. It has been delayed slightly because of
the weather, but the Board expects that the new parking lot will be completed this semester. When completed, the District will send letters to Grigsby parents notifying them of the new traffic flow.
Board Pursues Plan to Relieve Grigsby Traffic Congestion
Volume 1, Issue 2
The Warrior Chronicle
Board of Education
Beverley Scroggins,
President
Meghan Daily,
Vice President
Ron Dillard,
Secretary
Jerry McKechan
Carolyn Yates
Matt Jones
Kathy Hagnauer
Board of Education of Granite City School District No. 9
November 6, 2013
Central Office Administration
Jim Greenwald,
Superintendent
Dennis Burnett,
Director of Finance
Jim Parker, Director of Human
Resources
Cindy Gagich, Director of Secondary
Education
Nancy Levault, Director of Elementary
Education
Don Harris, Director of Accountability/
Assessment
Paula Hubbard, Director of Special Educa-
tion
Brad Eavenson, Director of Buildings and
Grounds
Zack Surre,
Director of Technology
The Board Adopts FY 13 Audit and FY 14 Budget, With Deficits
Frohardt School and Shop and Save teamed up to make a scale size American flag to honor veterans. The red stripes are composed of the Frohardt students, teachers and staff signatures, and the stars display the names of Shop and Save employees. Shop and Save displayed the flag behind the bagging areas.
Page 2 The Warrior Chronicle
The Board of Education
published its fiscal year 2013
Audit and adopted its fiscal
year 2014 budget at recent
Board meetings. The audit
and the budget document the
concerns the Board has ex-
pressed for the last year. The
District is facing a significant
decrease in revenue.
“Property taxes have de-
creased. State aid has de-
creased. But our expenditures
have not,” said Superintendent
Jim Greenwald. “In the 12-13
school year, we spent $5.75
million more than we took in
and sold working cash bonds
to make up the difference.
This year, we are looking at a
budget that shows that we are
projected to spend $2.7 million
more than we take in, and
that’s before we negotiate any
salaries with employees.”
The Board expects a report
from the administration in
December, which will show
how we can eliminate the defi-
cit over a two year period. The
Board wants to balance the
budget by FY16 to ensure that
the District is financially stable
for years to come.
“We borrowed $9.75 mil-
lion dollars to buy us time and
we have about $4 million left,
but it won’t last long if we do
not close the budget gap,”
Greenwald said.
The Board faces additional
obstacles regarding closing the
budget deficit, particularly in
terms of state funding. The
state held funding flat for FY
14, but the state anticipates
another 3% cut for FY15.
“If we were receiving all of
our general state aid, we
wouldn’t be in this position,”
said Greenwald.
Additionally, the Board is
currently negotiating salaries
with all of its Unions.
“If we give any salary in-
creases, it will increase our
budget deficit,” said Stephanie
Jones, chief negotiator for the
Board. “We want to be fair to
and honest with all of our em-
ployees. The more money we
give in raises this year and next
year, the more likely cuts will
have to come in other areas,
such as reductions in staff and
programs.”
Frohardt Students Join Forces with Shop & Save Employees to Honor Veterans
Student Timothy Burton, 8th grader at Coolidge Junior High School was recognized as one of ten finalists for the “Do the Right Thing” award on Oct. 15th at Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. Timothy assisted an elderly couple whose car had broken down on an old country road. The were without their cell
phone. He rode his bike home over a mile and called AAA for the couple and returned to keep them company until the AAA truck arrived. He refused to accept any type of monetary reward from the couple. Timothy was also recognized by the Board of Education at the October 29, 2013 Board Meeting.
Student Honored as Finalist for “Do the Right Thing” Award
Barb Bilbrey Retiring After 35 Years, 1 month of Service
District Involved In Recycling and United Way Fundraising
“We are teaching
students more than
reading, writing, and
arithmetic. We also
teach them how to be
good citizens,” said
Director of Academic
Accountability and
Assessment.
Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 2
If you have been to
visit any one of the last
nine Granite City School
District Superintendents,
you have met Barb Bil-
brey. She has served the
School District as the Su-
perintendent’s Secretary
and Board Secretary for 35
years and one month. She
will be retiring at the end
of December.
“Barb has been the
right hand of the Superin-
tendent and the Board for
so many years, no one can
remember what the central
office is like without her,”
said Jim Greenwald, Su-
perintendent. “There are
not words to express the
District’s gratitude for her
years of service and dedi-
cation. She will be missed
and we wish her all of the
best in her well-earned
retirement.”
Barb and her husband
Lee live in Granite City.
With the free time retire-
ment will bring, Barb and
Lee plan to travel. If
you’re in the central office
before the Christmas holi-
day, stop by and wish
Barb all the best in her
retirement!
On Saturday, November 2,
2013, the Granite City School
District held the first of two
Recycling Drives for the school
year. It was a beautiful Novem-
ber morning and a number of
people came out to support
their favorite school.
Participants were able to
pick the school that they want-
ed their recycled items to count
toward. The District collected
aluminum cans, shoes, electron-
ic equipment and textiles.
The District collected a total
of 111 pounds in aluminum
cans, with Frohardt Elementary
School collecting the most at 41
pounds. A total of 157 pairs of
shoes were collected, with Fro-
hardt Elementary collecting the
most at 79 pairs. A truck load
and a half of electronic
equipment items and multi-
ple boxes and bags of textiles
were collected, with all of the
District schools chipping in.
The District also raised
funds this year for the United
Way, donating $42,814.
“We think it is important
that our students understand
the impact that they have on the
community,” said Don Harris,
Director of Academic Account-
ability and Assessment. “And
we think it is important that the
community gets involved with
our students. We are teaching
students more than reading,
writing, and arithmetic. We also
teach them how to be good
citizens.”
The Granite City School
District appreciates the commu-
nity’s support and hopes to see
your support continue.
Board and Teachers Continue to Negotiate Over Salaries
Page 4 The Warrior Chronicle
The Board and the Granite City Federation of Teachers have
met frequently since August to try to reach agreement on sala-
ries, but believed it was time to get a mediator involved to help
the parties come to an agreement. The Board and the Union
began the mediation process on November 6, 2013, in order to
negotiate salaries for the current school year.
While no agreement was reached at the first mediation ses-
sion, the Board is optimistic that an agreement can be reached.
If an agreement cannot be reached through mediation, the Illi-
nois Educational Labor Relations Act requires all parties to post
their final offers with the Labor Board.
“The Board believes that its current offer is fair and in line
with what other school districts are giving,” said Board Chief
Negotiator Stephanie Jones. “The Board’s goal is to create fi-
nancial stability in the school district. It believes that it can give
small raises to its employee groups and still do that.”
Over the years, the teacher’s union has negotiated a salary
schedule that has step increases. The Board would like to move
away from that salary schedule for this year, in an effort to keep
the budget deficit as small as possible.
The negotiating team for the teachers and the Board have a
long-standing good relationship and are each fighting hard for
the best interest of the District and its students. The Board is
proud of its teaching staff and their dedication to the District.
“The Board’s most recent offer would give each teacher,
$750,” Jones said. “The cost to the Board would be half of the
step cost. It won’t change the fact that the Board will have a
budget deficit and a revenue problem, but it will keep the gap
between revenues and expenditures at about $3 million. It
would decrease the number of cuts the Board will have to make.
The Board made this offer to maintain jobs and to maintain
programs in the District.”
If the Board and the teachers cannot reach an agreement on
salary after the posting of final offers, the teachers will have the
ability to go on strike. The Board will continue to keep the
community posted on negotiations through newsletters and the
District’s website. The Board does not want a work stoppage
and has faith that the teachers and the Board can find common
ground. The Board remains open to different ideas that will
provide each teacher with a raise and continue towards the goal
of financial stability.
As part of our District’s compliance with the federal No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001, children in Grades K-4 are eligi-
ble to receive extra help in the approved areas of Reading and
Math. This after school tutoring program is operated by pro-
viders that have been approved by the Illinois State Board of
Education. We have 33 companies who offer this service to
parents either onsite at an area school or community center
or online where the child works from an electronic device at
home.
The current enrollment period is open until December 6.
Only children who are eligible for the free/reduced lunch
program can participate in this federally funded program.
Information may be found on the District website and has
been sent home to eligible students. Parents must select
three possible providers of interest and return the form to
the Board office by December 6. Programs are anticipated to
start the first of January, meet after school hours and typically
last for a minimum of 30 hours. A student can participate in
only one program per school year. It is anticipated that we
will offer another session starting in early March 2014.
If you have questions about this program, please contact
Nancy LeVault or Margaret Harris in the Elementary Educa-
tion Department, 451-5800, ext. 2026.
Tutoring Available for Grades K-4
Congratulations to Mrs. Stone’s First Grade
Class at Prather who won the school’s pump-
kin decorating contest. Parents and students
voted on the winner and the contest raised
$500 for the school.
District Pilots Mobile Devices, Looks at Network upgrades
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol: 7th Annual Holiday Production
District Offers One of Few Area Gifted Programs
“We are so proud of
all of our student’s
accomplishments,”
said Board President
Bev Scroggins. “As a
former drama teacher,
the high school
performances are near
and dear to my heart.”
Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 2
Mobile Device Pilot. The Board of
Education voted on Tuesday Octo-
ber 29th, 2013 to take the next step in
providing additional technology re-
sources to district schools. The
Board voted to pilot ten Google
Chromebooks and ten Microsoft
Surface 2 tablets for both staff and
students at Worthen and Prather El-
ementary Schools to determine ef-
fectiveness of these devices and to
provide feedback on usability, dura-
bility, and which devices provide the
best tool to assist in online student
assessments and new PARCC
(Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers)
testing requirements.
District Network Upgrades. In
December the District will upgrade
its current fiber optic network from
100mb to 1 gigabit fiber between all
buildings. This plan will not only
expand network bandwidth but will
save the district money on its
monthly fiber optics costs. In this
upgrade, the core network infrastruc-
ture and datacenter infrastructure
will be updated to handle the in-
creased traffic, future upgrades to
the datacenter, and the growing de-
mand for wireless connectivity. This
project is slated for completion by
the start of the second semester.
The High School Theatre De-partment presents Dickens’ classic tale of miser Ebenezer Scrooge. This 60 minute musical production includes district stu-dents, faculty, staff and residents throughout the Granite City com-munity. Tickets may be purchased
via the Theatre Department, [email protected]. Even-ing performances are December 12 – 14, with a Sunday afternoon mat-inee performance at 2:00 p.m. on December 15.
GCSD9 is proud to be one of the re-
maining districts in Madison County of-
fering a defined Gifted Education Pro-
gram. Under the normal curriculum,
teachers provide in-class differentiated
instruction to meet the needs of all chil-
dren – those working below or above
grade level, those with language and spe-
cial needs, etc. In addition to modifica-
tions in the classroom, we are pleased to
offer a program for students in Grades 2-
6 who meet the District criteria for sup-
plemental Gifted Education, called “The
Idea Lab”. Twice a year, students can be
referred for testing to determine eligibility.
For those who meet the entrance criteria,
we offer one hour of supplemental ser-
vices per week. Students who participate
in Idea Lab are expected to maintain their
classroom performance while participating
in the program.
In Grades 9 – 12, we offer our Sec-
ondary Honors Program. This allows
students who qualify based on their GPA
and standardized test scores to participate
in advanced coursework and courses that
may offer college credit. Many GCHS
Secondary Honors students actually grad-
uate with up to one semester of college
credit.
State funding for Gifted Education
ended in 2004 but the staff, administration
and Board of Education felt this was a
valuable and much needed program. The
Board has continued to find ways to fund
this extracurricular program.
All children learn differently and need
to be challenged in a variety of ways. In
Idea Lab, your child might work on a ro-
botics unit, study intensely using a variety
of media forms used by another culture;
they might create and structure their own
city, or study in-depth in a variety of sci-
entific fields. Mrs. Nancy Smallie is the
Idea Lab Teacher for our District. At
GCHS, Mrs. Amy Heath coordinated our
Secondary Honors program. We are very
proud of these programs.
The Board of Education of Granite City Community Unit School District No. 9 would like to honor all of
our students who achieve great things every day. We particularly honor our students who have received
awards during this semester. Below are academic award winners. We also honor athletic and extra-
curricular award winners that are too numerous to mention. Each and every one of you makes us proud!
The Board of Education of Granite City School District No. 9
1947 Adams Street
Granite City, Illinois
618-451-5800
2012-2013 ISAT and PSAE Reading Award Winners
(Underlined Names indicate student received the highest score in their respective grade level)
Third Grade
Nicholas Butchee, Peggy Cook, Drake Crider, Joanie Evans, Natalee McMichael, Kloey Patrick, Ella Ste-
panek, and Maleeya White
Fourth Grade
Alexandra Bequette , Destiny Burkett, Cecelia Francis, Brenna
Gurkin, Riley Hatfield, Evany Her-nandez, Whitney Klee, Cameron
Lovett, and Kyle Robinson
Fifth Grade
Brayden Bennett, Grace Catanzaro, Angelica Dunham, Andrew Ledbet-
ter, Ashlyn Morrison, Kassidy Nunn, and Jacob O’Connor
Sixth Grade
Kaylee Barlow, Kira Brown, Megan Jones, Griffin Petrosky, and Daisy
Tieman
Seventh Grade
Lauren Briggs, Alyssa Comer, Kyle Dvorak, Bailey Jakul, Brooke Mer-chant, Selena Montano, and Evan
Werner
Eighth Grade
Joshua Jacobs and William O’Keefe
Eleventh Grade
Carolyn Leggitt, Katlynn Schrecken-berg,
Paisley Stagner, and Sara Zubi
2012-2013 ISAT and PSAE Math Award Winners
Third Grade
Austin Bartlett, Peggy Cook, Drake Crider, Caden Hibbets, Griffin
James, Andrew Lyons, Luke Miller, and Lily Relleke
Fourth Grade
Noah Brinker, Stephen Glasgow, Alexander Johnson, Brendan
McElroy, Evan Pulliam, Nathan Radev, Trenton Sutter, and Isaiah
Wing
Fifth Grade
Danielle Bequettel, Noah Cain, Kurt Clark, Aaron Dawes,
Stephanie Gudino, Dawson James Riley Johnson, and Ashton McGhee
Sixth Grade
Seth Fourcault and Summer Long
Seventh Grade
Scott Schank, Evan Werner, and Aaron Wood
Eighth Grade
Austin Padgett Nathan Tanthavong
Eleventh Grade
Jacob Cross, Drew Fingerhut, Blake Stermer, Kadi Zezoff, and Sara Zubi
2012-2013 ISAT and PSAE Science Award Winners
Fourth Grade
Brianna Branding, Brenna Gurkin, Cameron Miller, Kile Ridenour, Victor Rodriguez, Evan Pulliam,
and Brennan Whittleman
Seventh Grade
John Kirchner and Aaron Wood
Eleventh Grade
Jacob Cross, Katlynn Schrecken-berg, Tanner Schubert, Marissa Sta-
cy, and Sara Zubi