Parent/Superintendent Meeting in Dixon - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Parent/Superintendent Meeting in Dixon

By Natalie Zarowny
nzarowny@cbs4qc.com

Emotions were running very high Sunday during a two hour question and answer session.

But afterwards, many parents felt disappointed with the outcome.

"I don't think we got anywhere.  I think we went round and round in circles with everything, I think we're at a stopping point, we're stuck," said parent Melissa Brown.

And so did some students.

"They haven't gotten anywhere.  He didn't answer the questions as specific as i wanted them," said 7^th grader at Reagan Middle School, Vanessa Sandoval.

But Superintendent Mike Juenger was more optimistic.

"There are some things that came out loud and clear, and the textbook is an issue, but we will take care of the textbooks," said Superintendent Mike Juenger.

In the meeting, Superintendent Juenger started by showing the audience some facts and figures, outlining how much less money the district has this year.

Then, things got more heated as he started to answer audience questions on note cards.

Among the topics covered were teacher's health insurance, teacher pay, special education reductions, and text books.

Towards the end of the meeting, there was a surprise.

Board president Tom Balser, who had made some opening remarks earlier, announced a proposition from the school board.

"The board is proposing, calling for, a cooling off period, during which the teachers return to school for the next two weeks so the students can complete the I.S.A.T. exams," said Balser.

They proposed this because if the tests aren't taken by March 22nd, the district could lose almost $300 thousand, plus its accreditation.

UPDATE:

The two groups will meet again Monday at noon to try and work something out.