Members of the Community Unit School District 7 voted on Monday night to approve a resolution formalizing terms of an agreement under which the school district will commit about $160,000 in grant funds to the City of Gillespie to complete improvements on Plum Street.

The street became an issue for the both the school district and the city soon after CUSD 7 synchronized class start and end times at all three attendance centers. Previously, start and end times were staggered among the three buildings. The change necessitated routing 10 buses onto Plum Street each morning and afternoon.

City officials said the additional weight and traffic caused damage to Plum Street, causing them to consider prohibiting bus traffic on the street. School officials said rerouting buses off Plum Street would be less safe for students since it would require buses to cross traffic entering onto Illinois Route 16.

The improvement project includes milling repaving, drainage and reinforcement of the road base to support bus traffic. After the city secured an estimate of $200,000 for the work, the school district agreed to commit about $89,000 from the first round of Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) grant funds to the project—essentially subsidizing about half the costs of the project. A more recent estimate put the cost at $350,000.

With the increased cost, city officials said the city would be unable to undertake the project without additional funds, prompting the school board to vote last month to commit about $70,000 from a second round of CEJA grant money to the project.

The resolution approved Monday night outlines and documents “the terms under which the School District intends to provide funds . . . to assist in the Plum Street renovation project.” The resolution further states that the contribution of CEJA funds for Plum Street “does not create an expectation or an obligation for the School District to continuously contribute to or assist in the maintenance of Plum Street or any other City roadway.”

Additionally, the resolution affirms the city will not restrict the school district from using Plum Street after the project’s completion, and obligates the city to maintain the ditch on LJ Avenue on the west side of the school district’s property as well as a ditch between the football field and baseball complex.

DISTRICT FOCUS

During a District Focus segment, the school board was recognized as part of the district’s National School Board Month observance. Supt. Shane Owsley lauded the board members’ service and noted the current board has more than 70 years of experience in serving the school district.

The presentation included a PowerPoint presentation and a poem written by a CUSD 7 student.

In addition to setting school policy and making financial decisions, Owsley noted the board’s responses to emergency situations in the past—including the loss of Benld Elementary School to mine subsidence, repairing tornado damage to the high school, and continuing educational opportunities during the COVID pandemic and reopening classrooms in the aftermath.

ANNUAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

The board voted unanimously to approve the 2025 Annual Financial Disclosure. The document is required by the Securities Exchange Commission to document the district has or expects adequate revenue to service its bond debt. 

The disclosure references $8,810,000 in outstanding general obligation bonded debt, plus $1,320,000 remaining in alternate revenue bond debt. The total debt represents about 56 percent of the district’s debt limit, which is set at 13.8 percent of the district’s total equalized assessed valuation.

The disclosure, available for public inspection, also includes five years of data on total equalized assessed valuation, tax rates, tax revenue and fund balances.

SPECIAL EDUCATION PROCEDURES

Board members unanimously approved the Illinois Council of School Attorneys Special Education Procedures Assuring Implementation of Comprehensive Programming for Children with Disabilities. Supt. Shane Owsley said the policies in the document already are in place but the new procedures bring those policies together in a format recognized by the state.

The South Macoupin Association for Special Education, a cooperative that includes CUSD 7, Mount Olive and Staunton, is undergoing a routine state audit. The new procedures document is a technical requirement that ensures the cooperative is in compliance with state rules.

PERSONNEL

Following a brief executive session, the board voted unanimously to extend Supt. Owsley’s contract by one year. Owsley is employed on a five-year contract, meaning his employment is secured through June 30, 2030. 

The board also voted unanimously in separate actions to accept the upcoming retirements of two long-serving faculty members. Gillespie High School physical education teacher Rob Macias and science teacher Jeff Nehls will both retire at the end of the 2029-30 school year. Macias has been employed by the district for 32 years, while Nehls has chalked up 30 years in the district.

In other action, the board voted unanimously to appoint Mary Schuette as the high school prom sponsor, and hired Blake Middleton as a high school assistant boys baseball coach, pending a routine background check and documentation of certification.

Later in the meeting, the board approved a seniority list for both certificated and non-certificated employees. Senority listing is a routine item approved by the board on an annual basis.

The board also learned that non-certificated employees are ready to begin negotiations for a new contract.

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SPRINGFIELD — Lincoln Land Community College has announced its President’s and Vice President’s lists for the fall 2025 semester. The excerpt below contains students residing in Macoupin County.

FULL-TIME

Full-time students who earned a 4.0 grade point average (GPA) are noted with an asterisk and earned President’s list honors. Full-time students who earned between a GPA of 3.5-3.99 earned Vice President’s list honors. Full-time students are enrolled in 12 or more credit hours.

Benld – Caleb J. Siar*

Bunker Hill – Logan R. Helling

Carlinville – Nate Dyer, Sydney D. Leonard, Brody M. Reif*

Gillespie – Austin L. Grace, Logan A. Wentler

Girard – Katie Angulo*, Gage Gibson, Fynlee R. Hart, Jackson R. Henke, Kaden M. Staley, Gabby Walker

Mount Olive – Jakobb E. Brown*, Jessica M. Foret, Addisyn P. Fenton*, Georgia G. Kampwerth*, Olivia M. Korunka*

Virden – Michaeh N. Barnhouse*, Noah A. Fitch, Charlie Fritz, Tara L. Fryman*, Taylor M. Keirs Jr.*, Natalie M. Royer*, Morgan C. Snell*, Dane B. Vance*

PART-TIME

Part-time students, enrolled in six to 11 credit hours, who earned a 4.0 grade point average (GPA) are noted with an asterisk and achieved President’s list honors. Part-time students who earned a GPA of 3.5-3.99 achieved Vice President’s list honors.

Benld – Carter B. Sies*, Christopher Young*

Carlinville – Luke C. Knipp, Jade S. Novak*

Gillespie – Nate Spencer*

Girard – Jase J. Ewin*, Tim Hanks*, Rylee B. Nelson

Mount Olive – Kacy Anderson, Allie Calvert*, Earl W. Tiepelman Jr.*, Adrianna S. Williams*

Staunton – Steven M. Vandygriff*

Virden – Peyton J. Boysen*, Jaelyn D. Cox, Diana H. Curtis*, Kelsey M. Garman*, Eric D. Jones Jr.*, Luciano Pierce*, Courtney N. Ulinski*

DUAL CREDIT

LLCC partners with area high schools to provide college-level classes through Dual Credit (taught by teachers in high schools) and College Now (taught by LLCC instructors at one of the college’s locations). These courses provide both high school and college credit.

Bunker Hill – Miley J. Walkington*

Eagarville – Madyson T. Grogg*

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Gillespie – Reese A. Heyen Jr.*, Emma M. Wilson*

Girard – Gemma A. Allen*, Luke J. Barham, Olivia R. Dowell, Ella F. Eldridge*, Colton J. Leonard, Sami Schneider*, Fayth A. Toppmeyer*, Lylian M. Turner, April M. Waters*

Mount Olive – Lauren E. Bailey*, Dexter J. Bell*, Arianna C. Davidson*, Jonah W. Ferris*, Jada L. Foster*, Avery G. Hassebrock*, Serenity M. Hicks*, Bella R. Lueken*, Jenna E. Miller*, Addy Pruden*, Adelyn Ulrich*

Staunton – Luke T. Andrasko*, Caiden J. Crowe, Nadia G. Moultrie Jr.*

Virden – Brett D. Gillespie*, Brooke E. Gillespie*, Sara Ronan*, Jersey D. West

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The Macoupin County Agriculture Education (MCAE) Foundation is offering six $1,000 scholarships for the upcoming 2026-27 school year to students wishing to pursue agriculture majors.

The MCAE Foundation offers scholarships to provide encouragement and financial assistance to Macoupin County residents and/or students of Macoupin County schools who display well-balanced attributes of good citizenship, commitment to activities and scholastic ability.

The applicant must be a graduating high school senior or a current college student who plans to attend or is attending an Illinois junior college, college, university or Career Technical Education (CTE) program, and majoring in agriculture.

Applications are available through your high school guidance counselor, high school agriculture instructor or the Macoupin County Farm Bureau® (MCFB®). An electronic copy of the application can be requested by contacting the MCFB® office by telephone or by email at: mcfb@gomadison.com or by visiting the county Farm Bureau website at www.macoupinfb.com.

All applications must be submitted to the MCFB® office by March 27, 2026.  Any questions can be directed to the MCFB® office at 217-854-2571.