The district will go forward with the implementation of the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program at both high schools, a program that offers low-cost nutritious, balanced meals at both high schools.  The program offers the district a funding source through the government.

The McLean County Unit 5 School Board unanimously reversed the majority of cuts set to take effect in the 2023-24 school year at a special board meeting April 11. 

The district will continue implementing several budget measures approved at the Jan. 31 board meeting, including limiting the number of competitors traveling to out-of-town competitions; combining VTAP job sites for students with disabilities; and increasing facility rental, registration, activity and gate fees.

Unit 5 Board President Barry Hitchins said the referendum passing was critical in preserving the quality of education the district offers. 

“If the referendum had not passed,” Hitchins said, the budget cuts would have had a “profound impact on the educational experience that students have both in the classroom, as well as extra-curricular and co-curricular activities.”

Freshman and junior high athletics, junior high clubs and activities and fifth-grade band would have been eliminated under the cuts, with hands-on learning experiences such as field trips significantly reduced. 

Reinstating these changes is the first step in an effort to regain the community’s trust.

To the Unit 5 School Board, that trust is vital.

“Trust is something that’s very hard to build up and very easy to destroy,” Hitchins said.

“We need to make sure that everyone is involved…,” Hitchins said, “so they can understand the process that the board and the district go through for making these decisions, and see that we are taking steps to fulfill our promises.” 

The Board plans on using “strategic planning” in making future district-wide decisions. 

That strategic planning process, Hitchins said, involves “figuring out what the community values in terms of the educational experience for our students,” Hitchins said. 

Those values are what will help determine the School Board’s future decisions.

The district will go forward with the implementation of the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program at both high schools, a program that offers low-cost nutritious, balanced meals at both high schools. 

Community Principal Dr. Adam Zbrozek is working to familiarize himself with the program requirements as it will impact food service and at the school.

“It’s a funding source, and it gives us a chance to kind of streamline some of the way in which food is offered to students,” Zbrozek said.

There won’t be a “dramatic change in terms of what’s currently offered,” Zbrozek said, but there will be some minor changes.

These changes include adopting healthier ingredients that will require adjustments, like changes to the pizza crust and some of the school’s sauces. 

Grounded in Iron, the special education department’s weekly coffee and snack fundraiser, and the vending machine contents might change to meet the new program’s requirements.