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LaHarpe School Board Meeting

LaHarpe School Board's regular meeting was March 10th in the School District Library.

Members in attendance were Don Latherow, Larry Caston, Barbara Cox, Lawrence Johnson, Ricky Johnson, Mark Irish, and Dan Horton.

Others were: Jo Campbell, Charles Apt, Charlotte Davis, Pat Deitrich, Cindy Jones, Kathy Kendall, John Quigle, David Billeter, Bob Bruns, Jason Bronke, Rod Myers, Todd Porter, and Natalie Dutton. In business the board voted to:

•  accepted a bid of $45,069 for a 2004 65 passenger bus from Chicago Bus Sales of Crete,
•  change the date of the next regular board meeting fromÊApril 14th to April 7th in order to canvass the ballot from the school board election,
•  tabled the appointment of members toÊthe Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee until the April meeting,
•  approved the employment of Cathy Burford as a custodian, Amy Coyle as a teacher helper,
•  accepted with regret the resignations of John Quigle as a custodian and Jennifer Deitrich as a teacher helper.
•  approved eight Reduction-in-Force Resolutions for certified personnel
•  tabled consideration of Reduction-in-Force Resolutions for support personnel and other school programs until a later meeting.

High School Principal Charles Apt reported:

•  the IHSA Solo/Ensemble contest was held at Rushville,
•  Scholastic Bowl Team competed in the Regional Tournament at Peoria Heights,
•  Bi-County Chorus Festival will be March 11th at Northwestern High School,
•  Art students competed in the Bi-County Art Show at Colchester and received 24 first place ribbons and 1 second,
•  Mrs. Eves took the Spanish students to Bloomington to a play and then to an ethnic restaurant on the way home,
•  Parent-Teacher conferences will be March 27th from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. and 28th from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.,
•  practices for baseball, softball and track have started,
•  Mrs. Sparrow, Mrs. Eves, Mr. Hart and Kate Hardin have been working on the school play which will be held May 2 and 3,
•  the athletic banquet for basketball will be held March 13.

Elementary/Junior High Principal Charlotte Davis reported

•  LaHarpe Jump Rope for Heart collected $5564, $300 more than was earned last year,
•  PK-8 spring photos will be taken on April 11,
•  several teachers will be attending conferences or workshops on Anger Control and Work Sampling, Emotional Intelligence, Writing, Reading, Autism, and 504 Plans,
•  7th and 8th grade girls and boys basketball teams will be attending the IESA March Madness activities March 19,
•  6th grade students will attend the Body Walk sponsored by the Hancock Health Department on March 25 in Carthage,
•  Illinois Standards Achievement Test will be administered to students in grades 3,4,5,6,7,&8 beginning March 31st through the second week in April,
•  7th grade volleyball team will compete at state March 15,
•  Junior High Scholastic Bowl team has been competing in events the past several weeks,
•  Junior High music students will be participating in the Solo and Ensemble contest March 29,
•  Awards program is scheduled for March 19,
•  student council is sponsoring a junior high movie night on March 27 in the elementary gym.

Don Latherow read the Ag Report prepared by Paul Mealiff:

•  The FFA Sweetheart Dance was held February 22 with nearly 150 in attendance.
•  Justin Mohr, Matt Swanson, Anna Ziegler, Kayla Reische, and Isaac Rogers competed in the Section XI FFA Proficiency Award interviews and will advance to District competition on March 12 at Jacksonville.
•  February 27, Kelli Burr won first in FFA Creed Speaking and Anna Ziegler placed 2nd in the Prepared Speech division at the Section XI Public Speaking C.D.E. held at WIU.
•  200 more flower cuttings arrived and the Horticulture students transplanted them in the greenhouse. They included verbena, daisies, and several varieties of petunias. Students repotted coleus plants which they had rooted from cuttings off a host plant, will be planting seeds soon.
•  Annual FFA Chapter Banquet will be held in the high school gym Tuesday, March 18th. Speaker is 2002-03 Illinois State FFA Treasurer, Meagan Wells.
•  Section XI Livestock Judging C.D.E. will be March 15th at Bushnell.