LWHS D210 Hires Teachers for Next Year

The Lincoln-Way Board of Education voted to hire teachers and reported on tax disbursements.

The Lincoln-Way High School Board of Education hired nine new teachers and an aquatics assistant supervisor for LW-North High School at the regular meeting May 23 at Lincoln-Way West High School, 21701 Gougar Road.  Deputy Supt. Thomas Eddy selected new teaching staff to cover a variety of subject areas. New Hires: The district's new aquatics assistant supervisor is Lauren Hurley. Financial updates Supt. Lawrence Wyllie told board members that the district received $2.2 million in tax disbursements, bringing the total fund balance to $4.2 million. Before the month is out, he expects another $15-to-$18 million in tax disbursement payments from the office of Will County Treasurer Steve Weber. "It's a little better than last year," he added, …

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Reboot: Lou Lang—Read the Constituion

Lou Lang to Tribune: Read the constitution! Quinn's budget gets watchdog group's seal of approval -and a warning: Your Reboot Illinois Daily Tip-Off

Village Board Ends Year With Donations, Zoning

Mayor Joe Werner presented checks to several local organizations on behalf of the Mokena Mayors Charitable Foundation at the Village Board's final meeting of 2012 on Dec. 10. Other business included the annual audit, property annexation, and zoning change

Mayor Joe Werner started off the Dec. 10 meeting of the Mokena Village Board of Trustees by presenting a series of checks to area organizations on behalf of the Mokena Mayors Charitable Foundation. He distributed $18,300 in donated funds among 12 organizations as a part of the foundation's annual donations. The Mokena Mayors Charitable Foundation is independent of the village government, and all of the money it dispenses is donated by the Mokena community. Werner said he wanted to bring representatives of each organization receiving a donation before the board and the public in order to highlight the work that they do for the community outside of the public eye. "What this is really all about is the opportunity to help great people do …

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Mokena Village Trustees Agree to Nix Vehicle Stickers

Mokena Village Trustees bantered the issue of village stickers for next year. See what they decided.

D159 Board Reduces Transportation Director Job, Clarifies Budget

The D159 Board of Education approved changing transportation post from full- to part-time at its Sept. 5 meeting. clarified its replacement fund for the district's maintenance truck at its Sept. 5 meeting.

The Mokena School District 159 Board of Education adjusted the status of the district's director of transportation position and clarified a change to the proposed 2013 budget at its Sept. 5 meeting at Mokena Elementary School. The board voted 4-2 to approve a motion to change the employment status of Ron Kaczorowski, the district's current director of transportation, from full- to part-time. Board members Katherine Moore and Scott Peters voted against the motion, while Jeff Regan abstained from the vote. Kaczorowski will be honorably dismissed from full-time employment after Oct. 5, and he will be reassigned to his part-time role on Oct. 8. READ: D159 Board Hires New Business Manager When asked to explain the decision during public comment…

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MOKENA VOTER

10:55 am on Monday, September 10, 2012

Cathy, you're question is extremely valid, and you received a BS answer from Mr. Markham. Maybe the board is trying to save money so Mr. Markham can hire some more of his unemployed cronies.   more ›

Will County Tax Bill Will Go Down in New Budget Plan

The owner of an average-priced property will pay about $15 less for Will County's portion of the tax bill, according to the county board.

Will County homeowners could see a small decline in the taxes they pay to the county as part of a $170.4 million balanced budget the county board approved Friday. According to the county, The owner of an average-priced property will pay about $15 less for Will County's portion of the tax bill. The value of the average property in the county dropped nearly 7 percent this year and about 5 percent last year. In dollar amounts, this means a $1-billion drop in the value of Will County homes, down to $22 billion. "Will County continues to tighten its belt in order to weather the economic downturn, and this budget is a reflection of that," Chairman Jim Moustis said in a county press release. "As has been the case for several years now, this …

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Mokena 159 School Board Passes "Not An Ideal Budget"

Losing the business manager and the superintendent during budget talks put the district against the clock, several board members said.

The Mokena 159 School Board on Wednesday night passed an $18 million deficit budget not because they're happy with it, but because turnover at the highest levels pushed the district up against the state deadline. "It's not an ideal budget and it's not an ideal situation," said Pat Markham, one of the two school board members on the finance committee that helped set the budget. The tentative budget approved Wednesday plans for $18.6 million in expenditures and $17.5 million in revenues. This means there's nearly $1.1 million more going out than coming in. While board President John Troy praised the finance committee for shaving $430,000 off expenses, he said the transition from the August resignation of Business Manager Barb Germany and the…

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SD161 Approves Fence Work on Summit Hill Junior High Ball Fields

Citing safety issues, members accepted a bid that would create a canopy over the backstop on two of the junior high's baseball fields.

Members of Summit Hill School Board District 161 approved a bid Wednesday to improve fencing to Summit Hill Junior High School's baseball fields but delayed work on the fields' dugouts and electrical systems. The boad accepted a bid for about $27,000 from Do All Fence Co. that would create a new canopy over the backstop of the fields to protect people from foul balls. However, a bid of about $52,000 from another firm to make improvements on the dugouts was rejected. Board members agreed that addressing the safety of fans and players was paramount and that work on the dugouts could wait. "I'm very reluctant to spend $52,000 on dugouts at this time," said Board President Mary Kenny.  Board member Denise Lenz echoed that sentiment, saying the…

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Good Not Great News On Mokena Budget: The Gist

Important as all get-out, but boring as heck. The Gist makes the news readable.

The One-Sentence Summary On Monday night, the Mokena Village Board approved the budget for Fiscal Year 2012, which runs from the middle of this year to the middle of next. First, The Important Bit Budget story, so the first thing you care about won't be expenditures, revenue streams, fiscal quarters or whether it's in the red, in the black or in the mauve with purple polka dots. You want to know what's going to cost you and your family more this year than last year. So let's get that out of the way. Now, Some Big Numbers But a budget is not made by 25-cent fees alone (which is too bad, because then I could be done with the story and off to bed by now). Let's look at the big numbers. $19,835,620 – That's the money from every tax, fine, …

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D210 Candidates Answer: Where Can the District Be More Efficient?

The second in a series of issue-based questions for District 210 candidates.

Every day this week, Patch will give you the Lincoln-Way District 210 candidates' answers to a different question that deals with the financial and educational issues facing the school district. We'll compile all the responses here, ordered in the way names will be on the ballot, and you can also get more election information on the District 210 election page. Today's question is: Given the budget issues, most agree the school needs to run smarter and leaner. What do you think is the best way to accomplish that? Kevin Molloy "I truly think there are uneducated people in this community who are ignorant with how lean we already run, a handful of people who have attended only one or two board meetings; yet they want to use the catchphrase "…

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