Friday, June 29, 2012
John Sparlin will be the district's first executive director of administrative services, and will take over many of the duties of the departing Todd Colvin.
Oswego School District leaders have chosen John Sparlin of Plainfield as the district’s first executive director of administrative services. On Monday, the District 308 board agreed to give incoming superintendent Matthew Wendt the ability to sign a contract with the board’s pick for that position. He did so this week, and the district announced Sparlin’s hire on Thursday. Sparlin will step into the newly-created position on July 2, and he will oversee the human resources, student services and communications departments. He will report to Paul O’Malley, the district’s new assistant superintendent of business and finance. The new role is intended to replace the assistant superintendent for administration position vacated by Todd Colvin. …
Friday, June 8, 2012
Donald McDowell, who taught at Traughber and Thompson junior highs, was charged in Wisconsin on Tuesday with attempting to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex, and with child pornography possession.
A retired Thompson Junior High teacher is facing charges after he was caught in Wisconsin attempting to meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex. Donald P. McDowell, 65, of the 500 block of Danbury Drive in Oswego, was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Wisconsin on Thursday with one count of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted, he faces up to 65 years in prison and $200,000 in fines. McDowell told police that he is a retired junior high school math teacher. Oswego School District officials confirmed that McDowell taught at Traughber Junior High from 1970 to 1977, and transferred to Thompson when it was built in 1977. He worked there until the 2002-2003 …
Thursday, May 31, 2012
The search for a successor to Dan O'Donnell will likely conclude tonight, in a special meeting set for 7 p.m. at Oswego High School.
The search for a new superintendent for District 308 has been ongoing since March. Tonight, it’s likely to come to an end. The Oswego School District Board has called a special meeting for tonight, and the agenda strongly indicates that a new superintendent will be announced by the end of the night. The one action item listed, in fact, is as follows: “The Board will approve the new superintendent’s contract.” Board Member Mike Scaramuzzi confirmed Wednesday that the board has made its final decision on a superintendent. He said he was thrilled with the quality of the candidates brought forth by the district's search firm, Iowa-based Ray and Associates, and said the final two candidates, interviewed again at the end of May, presented board …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The district plans to send a message to parents about the cuts this week, and follow up with postcards to affected homes - those within 1.5 miles of the school their children attend.
If you live within 1.5 miles of the District 308 school your child attends, you'll most likely be getting one of these postcards. And if there's a safe way for your child to walk to school, you won't be getting bus service next year. The Oswego School District is facing a cut of about $700,000 in state transportation funding, based on a change in the formula lawmakers use to reimburse school districts. In past years, the district has bused some students who live within a 1.5-mile radius of the school, but by law, they're not obligated to do so. The district has kept bus service running for those students due to construction and other issues that make those routes unsafe to walk. However, many of those issues have now been resolved, …
Monday, November 28, 2011
Seven classes may see their fees increased, including driver's education, which could jump from $250 to $300 per student.
The cost is about to go up for seven Oswego School District courses, including driver’s education, if the District 308 Board of Education agrees to the increase. The proposed fee increases were presented to the board on Monday night, and will be voted on next month. According to Tim Neubauer, the district’s executive director of finance services, the costs are reviewed every year, and these increases, with one exception, will be used to cover workbooks and other course tools that cannot be returned or reused. That one exception is driver’s education, which currently costs $250 to take, and would see an increase to $300. That change, according to the presentation, takes the fee to the maximum allowed, but still does not cover the cost of …
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Patrick Daniels, head of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency's radon program, spoke and took questions for more than an hour and a half Wednesday night, explaining the health risks of radon, and what can be done to make school buildings more safe.
There were enough chairs set up in the Boulder Hill Elementary School gym for hundreds of people. But it was an intimate audience of about 50 who turned up Wednesday night to hear state expert Patrick Daniels talk about radon, its harmful effects, and what can be done to make school buildings like Boulder Hill safe. Daniels, the head of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency’s radon program, is in town to help the Oswego School District determine whether there are high enough radon levels in Boulder Hill Elementary to pose a health risk to students, teachers and staff. The district won’t know that information until later today, when the results of a new radon test of the entire school building are released. District leaders hired two …
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Patrick Daniels to answer public questions. Results of latest tests at school due Thursday.
The Oswego District 308 School Board’s plan to re-test Boulder Hill Elementary School for high radon levels is under way. In addition to the two companies hired for the job, the board is bringing in an expert: Patrick Daniels of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Daniels will be at Boulder Hill Elementary at 7 p.m. Wednesday to host an open session with parents, teachers, staffers and other concerned community members. He also will sit in on a special board meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. to review the latest radon tests at the school. Daniels is the head of the IEMA’s radon program, and considered a top authority in the state on the subject. He is headed to the Fox Valley on the state’s dime, according to Bill Walsh, president of the …
Friday, August 12, 2011
The aggressive plan agreed to Thursday would see tests conducted early next week, and, if needed, mitigation procedures enacted before school starts on Aug. 24.
The Oswego School Board unanimously agreed Thursday night to an aggressive schedule of radon testing at Boulder Hill Elementary School, to determine whether staff and students will be at risk when school starts later this month. And board members were clear: no expense will be spared to make sure the building is safe. The school board called Thursday’s special meeting amid public concern over radon tests performed in May, June and July at Boulder Hill Elementary. The first two of those tests, conducted by a subcontractor of the district’s architecture firm Wight and Company at the request of Boulder Hill’s administration, found high levels of radon in five classrooms. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends action when levels …
Donna Thill
5:59 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
And another, and another, .... more ›