The Effingham Unit No. 40 Board of Education broached the topic of starting a cross country program at Effingham Junior High School during their meeting Monday night. EHS Track Coach Jennifer Kirk and EHS Cheer Coach Kelsey Erickson spoke at the meeting in support of adding the program. Kirk pointed out that there was low enrollment for freshman in the high school program and that students joining cross country as sophomores or juniors were not as prepared. Erickson said that getting kids started early in cross country would help to promote healthy, lifelong habits as well. Board member Chris Koester also spoke on behalf of the program by pointing out that many surrounding communities have junior high cross country teams. He also mentioned that Effingham Sportsbackers had expressed interest in supporting the program to help get it started.
Superintendent Mark Doan said that at this point, the district would start on some fact finding. “I think the board wants to get a little bit more information,” Doan said. “They want us to question and kind of poll if there’s interest from the junior high students and how much.” It’s also a matter of evaluating costs to the district Doan said. While the costs would be offset by participation fees, it’s too early to tell how much a program may run the district in transportation or maintenance fees. After more information has been gathered, the topic will be presented to the board for a possible vote at next month’s meeting.
A new course in the EHS Social Studies Department was also approved at Monday’s meeting. The class would cover the 1900s through present day and would act as an elective for sophomores and juniors.
In other action the board of education:
- Voted to renew Superintendent Doan’s contract for another 5 years.
- Authorized the sale of two buses and 15 used bus cameras for a combined price of $780,572.01.
- Set EHS 2017 Graduation for May 14th at 2 PM.
- Approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Regional Office of Education for Alternative Schools.