Grigsby Intermediate School has experienced sig-nificant traffic congestion since the start of the school year. The congestion has caused back-ups on Cargill Road at drop off and pick up times. At the Board of Educa-tion’s August 27th meeting, the Board approved a plan to add a road from the circle drive behind Grigsby to Pon-toon Road. The new road will allow traffic to reach school from either Cargill Road or Pontoon Road. Adding the road will allow the District to route the school’s twenty three buses through the front drive off of Cargill Road and route parent pick up and faculty traffic through the new road. Cost of the project is ex-pected to be approximately $200,000. According to Brad Eavenson, Director of Build-

ings and Grounds, the District can pay for the project with the proceeds of bonds issued specifically for the purpose of build-ings and construc-tion. The use of the bonds may cause the Board to delay some of the projects it current-ly has planned, but Eavenson believes that is necessary. “This is a criti-cal enough issue with com-plaints from neighbors and general traffic that we need to address it now,” Eavenson said. “The Board also be-lieves this will create a safer atmosphere at drop off and pick up times.” Construction for the pro-ject is in process. It has been delayed slightly because of

the weather, but the Board expects that the new parking lot will be completed this semester. When completed, the District will send letters to Grigsby parents notifying them of the new traffic flow.

Board Pursues Plan to Relieve Grigsby Traffic Congestion

Volume 1, Issue 2

The Warrior Chronicle

Board of Education

Beverley Scroggins,

President

Meghan Daily,

Vice President

Ron Dillard,

Secretary

Jerry McKechan

Carolyn Yates

Matt Jones

Kathy Hagnauer

Board of Education of Granite City School District No. 9

November 6, 2013

Central Office Administration

Jim Greenwald,

Superintendent

Dennis Burnett,

Director of Finance

Jim Parker, Director of Human

Resources

Cindy Gagich, Director of Secondary

Education

Nancy Levault, Director of Elementary

Education

Don Harris, Director of Accountability/

Assessment

Paula Hubbard, Director of Special Educa-

tion

Brad Eavenson, Director of Buildings and

Grounds

Zack Surre,

Director of Technology

The Board Adopts FY 13 Audit and FY 14 Budget, With Deficits

Frohardt School and Shop and Save teamed up to make a scale size American flag to honor veterans. The red stripes are composed of the Frohardt students, teachers and staff signatures, and the stars display the names of Shop and Save employees. Shop and Save displayed the flag behind the bagging areas.

Page 2 The Warrior Chronicle

The Board of Education

published its fiscal year 2013

Audit and adopted its fiscal

year 2014 budget at recent

Board meetings. The audit

and the budget document the

concerns the Board has ex-

pressed for the last year. The

District is facing a significant

decrease in revenue.

“Property taxes have de-

creased. State aid has de-

creased. But our expenditures

have not,” said Superintendent

Jim Greenwald. “In the 12-13

school year, we spent $5.75

million more than we took in

and sold working cash bonds

to make up the difference.

This year, we are looking at a

budget that shows that we are

projected to spend $2.7 million

more than we take in, and

that’s before we negotiate any

salaries with employees.”

The Board expects a report

from the administration in

December, which will show

how we can eliminate the defi-

cit over a two year period. The

Board wants to balance the

budget by FY16 to ensure that

the District is financially stable

for years to come.

“We borrowed $9.75 mil-

lion dollars to buy us time and

we have about $4 million left,

but it won’t last long if we do

not close the budget gap,”

Greenwald said.

The Board faces additional

obstacles regarding closing the

budget deficit, particularly in

terms of state funding. The

state held funding flat for FY

14, but the state anticipates

another 3% cut for FY15.

“If we were receiving all of

our general state aid, we

wouldn’t be in this position,”

said Greenwald.

Additionally, the Board is

currently negotiating salaries

with all of its Unions.

“If we give any salary in-

creases, it will increase our

budget deficit,” said Stephanie

Jones, chief negotiator for the

Board. “We want to be fair to

and honest with all of our em-

ployees. The more money we

give in raises this year and next

year, the more likely cuts will

have to come in other areas,

such as reductions in staff and

programs.”

Frohardt Students Join Forces with Shop & Save Employees to Honor Veterans

Student Timothy Burton, 8th grader at Coolidge Junior High School was recognized as one of ten finalists for the “Do the Right Thing” award on Oct. 15th at Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. Timothy assisted an elderly couple whose car had broken down on an old country road. The were without their cell

phone. He rode his bike home over a mile and called AAA for the couple and returned to keep them company until the AAA truck arrived. He refused to accept any type of monetary reward from the couple. Timothy was also recognized by the Board of Education at the October 29, 2013 Board Meeting.

Student Honored as Finalist for “Do the Right Thing” Award

Barb Bilbrey Retiring After 35 Years, 1 month of Service

District Involved In Recycling and United Way Fundraising

“We are teaching

students more than

reading, writing, and

arithmetic. We also

teach them how to be

good citizens,” said

Director of Academic

Accountability and

Assessment.

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 2

If you have been to

visit any one of the last

nine Granite City School

District Superintendents,

you have met Barb Bil-

brey. She has served the

School District as the Su-

perintendent’s Secretary

and Board Secretary for 35

years and one month. She

will be retiring at the end

of December.

“Barb has been the

right hand of the Superin-

tendent and the Board for

so many years, no one can

remember what the central

office is like without her,”

said Jim Greenwald, Su-

perintendent. “There are

not words to express the

District’s gratitude for her

years of service and dedi-

cation. She will be missed

and we wish her all of the

best in her well-earned

retirement.”

Barb and her husband

Lee live in Granite City.

With the free time retire-

ment will bring, Barb and

Lee plan to travel. If

you’re in the central office

before the Christmas holi-

day, stop by and wish

Barb all the best in her

retirement!

On Saturday, November 2,

2013, the Granite City School

District held the first of two

Recycling Drives for the school

year. It was a beautiful Novem-

ber morning and a number of

people came out to support

their favorite school.

Participants were able to

pick the school that they want-

ed their recycled items to count

toward. The District collected

aluminum cans, shoes, electron-

ic equipment and textiles.

The District collected a total

of 111 pounds in aluminum

cans, with Frohardt Elementary

School collecting the most at 41

pounds. A total of 157 pairs of

shoes were collected, with Fro-

hardt Elementary collecting the

most at 79 pairs. A truck load

and a half of electronic

equipment items and multi-

ple boxes and bags of textiles

were collected, with all of the

District schools chipping in.

The District also raised

funds this year for the United

Way, donating $42,814.

“We think it is important

that our students understand

the impact that they have on the

community,” said Don Harris,

Director of Academic Account-

ability and Assessment. “And

we think it is important that the

community gets involved with

our students. We are teaching

students more than reading,

writing, and arithmetic. We also

teach them how to be good

citizens.”

The Granite City School

District appreciates the commu-

nity’s support and hopes to see

your support continue.

Board and Teachers Continue to Negotiate Over Salaries

Page 4 The Warrior Chronicle

The Board and the Granite City Federation of Teachers have

met frequently since August to try to reach agreement on sala-

ries, but believed it was time to get a mediator involved to help

the parties come to an agreement. The Board and the Union

began the mediation process on November 6, 2013, in order to

negotiate salaries for the current school year.

While no agreement was reached at the first mediation ses-

sion, the Board is optimistic that an agreement can be reached.

If an agreement cannot be reached through mediation, the Illi-

nois Educational Labor Relations Act requires all parties to post

their final offers with the Labor Board.

“The Board believes that its current offer is fair and in line

with what other school districts are giving,” said Board Chief

Negotiator Stephanie Jones. “The Board’s goal is to create fi-

nancial stability in the school district. It believes that it can give

small raises to its employee groups and still do that.”

Over the years, the teacher’s union has negotiated a salary

schedule that has step increases. The Board would like to move

away from that salary schedule for this year, in an effort to keep

the budget deficit as small as possible.

The negotiating team for the teachers and the Board have a

long-standing good relationship and are each fighting hard for

the best interest of the District and its students. The Board is

proud of its teaching staff and their dedication to the District.

“The Board’s most recent offer would give each teacher,

$750,” Jones said. “The cost to the Board would be half of the

step cost. It won’t change the fact that the Board will have a

budget deficit and a revenue problem, but it will keep the gap

between revenues and expenditures at about $3 million. It

would decrease the number of cuts the Board will have to make.

The Board made this offer to maintain jobs and to maintain

programs in the District.”

If the Board and the teachers cannot reach an agreement on

salary after the posting of final offers, the teachers will have the

ability to go on strike. The Board will continue to keep the

community posted on negotiations through newsletters and the

District’s website. The Board does not want a work stoppage

and has faith that the teachers and the Board can find common

ground. The Board remains open to different ideas that will

provide each teacher with a raise and continue towards the goal

of financial stability.

As part of our District’s compliance with the federal No

Child Left Behind Act of 2001, children in Grades K-4 are eligi-

ble to receive extra help in the approved areas of Reading and

Math. This after school tutoring program is operated by pro-

viders that have been approved by the Illinois State Board of

Education. We have 33 companies who offer this service to

parents either onsite at an area school or community center

or online where the child works from an electronic device at

home.

The current enrollment period is open until December 6.

Only children who are eligible for the free/reduced lunch

program can participate in this federally funded program.

Information may be found on the District website and has

been sent home to eligible students. Parents must select

three possible providers of interest and return the form to

the Board office by December 6. Programs are anticipated to

start the first of January, meet after school hours and typically

last for a minimum of 30 hours. A student can participate in

only one program per school year. It is anticipated that we

will offer another session starting in early March 2014.

If you have questions about this program, please contact

Nancy LeVault or Margaret Harris in the Elementary Educa-

tion Department, 451-5800, ext. 2026.

Tutoring Available for Grades K-4

Congratulations to Mrs. Stone’s First Grade

Class at Prather who won the school’s pump-

kin decorating contest. Parents and students

voted on the winner and the contest raised

$500 for the school.

District Pilots Mobile Devices, Looks at Network upgrades

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol: 7th Annual Holiday Production

District Offers One of Few Area Gifted Programs

“We are so proud of

all of our student’s

accomplishments,”

said Board President

Bev Scroggins. “As a

former drama teacher,

the high school

performances are near

and dear to my heart.”

Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 2

Mobile Device Pilot. The Board of

Education voted on Tuesday Octo-

ber 29th, 2013 to take the next step in

providing additional technology re-

sources to district schools. The

Board voted to pilot ten Google

Chromebooks and ten Microsoft

Surface 2 tablets for both staff and

students at Worthen and Prather El-

ementary Schools to determine ef-

fectiveness of these devices and to

provide feedback on usability, dura-

bility, and which devices provide the

best tool to assist in online student

assessments and new PARCC

(Partnership for Assessment of

Readiness for College and Careers)

testing requirements.

District Network Upgrades. In

December the District will upgrade

its current fiber optic network from

100mb to 1 gigabit fiber between all

buildings. This plan will not only

expand network bandwidth but will

save the district money on its

monthly fiber optics costs. In this

upgrade, the core network infrastruc-

ture and datacenter infrastructure

will be updated to handle the in-

creased traffic, future upgrades to

the datacenter, and the growing de-

mand for wireless connectivity. This

project is slated for completion by

the start of the second semester.

The High School Theatre De-partment presents Dickens’ classic tale of miser Ebenezer Scrooge. This 60 minute musical production includes district stu-dents, faculty, staff and residents throughout the Granite City com-munity. Tickets may be purchased

via the Theatre Department, john.manoogian@gcsd9.net. Even-ing performances are December 12 – 14, with a Sunday afternoon mat-inee performance at 2:00 p.m. on December 15.

GCSD9 is proud to be one of the re-

maining districts in Madison County of-

fering a defined Gifted Education Pro-

gram. Under the normal curriculum,

teachers provide in-class differentiated

instruction to meet the needs of all chil-

dren – those working below or above

grade level, those with language and spe-

cial needs, etc. In addition to modifica-

tions in the classroom, we are pleased to

offer a program for students in Grades 2-

6 who meet the District criteria for sup-

plemental Gifted Education, called “The

Idea Lab”. Twice a year, students can be

referred for testing to determine eligibility.

For those who meet the entrance criteria,

we offer one hour of supplemental ser-

vices per week. Students who participate

in Idea Lab are expected to maintain their

classroom performance while participating

in the program.

In Grades 9 – 12, we offer our Sec-

ondary Honors Program. This allows

students who qualify based on their GPA

and standardized test scores to participate

in advanced coursework and courses that

may offer college credit. Many GCHS

Secondary Honors students actually grad-

uate with up to one semester of college

credit.

State funding for Gifted Education

ended in 2004 but the staff, administration

and Board of Education felt this was a

valuable and much needed program. The

Board has continued to find ways to fund

this extracurricular program.

All children learn differently and need

to be challenged in a variety of ways. In

Idea Lab, your child might work on a ro-

botics unit, study intensely using a variety

of media forms used by another culture;

they might create and structure their own

city, or study in-depth in a variety of sci-

entific fields. Mrs. Nancy Smallie is the

Idea Lab Teacher for our District. At

GCHS, Mrs. Amy Heath coordinated our

Secondary Honors program. We are very

proud of these programs.

The Board of Education of Granite City Community Unit School District No. 9 would like to honor all of

our students who achieve great things every day. We particularly honor our students who have received

awards during this semester. Below are academic award winners. We also honor athletic and extra-

curricular award winners that are too numerous to mention. Each and every one of you makes us proud!

The Board of Education of Granite City School District No. 9

1947 Adams Street

Granite City, Illinois

618-451-5800

2012-2013 ISAT and PSAE Reading Award Winners

(Underlined Names indicate student received the highest score in their respective grade level)

Third Grade

Nicholas Butchee, Peggy Cook, Drake Crider, Joanie Evans, Natalee McMichael, Kloey Patrick, Ella Ste-

panek, and Maleeya White

Fourth Grade

Alexandra Bequette , Destiny Burkett, Cecelia Francis, Brenna

Gurkin, Riley Hatfield, Evany Her-nandez, Whitney Klee, Cameron

Lovett, and Kyle Robinson

Fifth Grade

Brayden Bennett, Grace Catanzaro, Angelica Dunham, Andrew Ledbet-

ter, Ashlyn Morrison, Kassidy Nunn, and Jacob O’Connor

Sixth Grade

Kaylee Barlow, Kira Brown, Megan Jones, Griffin Petrosky, and Daisy

Tieman

Seventh Grade

Lauren Briggs, Alyssa Comer, Kyle Dvorak, Bailey Jakul, Brooke Mer-chant, Selena Montano, and Evan

Werner

Eighth Grade

Joshua Jacobs and William O’Keefe

Eleventh Grade

Carolyn Leggitt, Katlynn Schrecken-berg,

Paisley Stagner, and Sara Zubi

2012-2013 ISAT and PSAE Math Award Winners

Third Grade

Austin Bartlett, Peggy Cook, Drake Crider, Caden Hibbets, Griffin

James, Andrew Lyons, Luke Miller, and Lily Relleke

Fourth Grade

Noah Brinker, Stephen Glasgow, Alexander Johnson, Brendan

McElroy, Evan Pulliam, Nathan Radev, Trenton Sutter, and Isaiah

Wing

Fifth Grade

Danielle Bequettel, Noah Cain, Kurt Clark, Aaron Dawes,

Stephanie Gudino, Dawson James Riley Johnson, and Ashton McGhee

Sixth Grade

Seth Fourcault and Summer Long

Seventh Grade

Scott Schank, Evan Werner, and Aaron Wood

Eighth Grade

Austin Padgett Nathan Tanthavong

Eleventh Grade

Jacob Cross, Drew Fingerhut, Blake Stermer, Kadi Zezoff, and Sara Zubi

2012-2013 ISAT and PSAE Science Award Winners

Fourth Grade

Brianna Branding, Brenna Gurkin, Cameron Miller, Kile Ridenour, Victor Rodriguez, Evan Pulliam,

and Brennan Whittleman

Seventh Grade

John Kirchner and Aaron Wood

Eleventh Grade

Jacob Cross, Katlynn Schrecken-berg, Tanner Schubert, Marissa Sta-

cy, and Sara Zubi