Aug. 20—DANVILLE — Teachers and staff welcomed back students to traditional calendar Danville District 118 schools last week, getting more back to normal after COVID-19 years.

But it's been a rough start for bus transportation for students.

Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education John Hart told the school board Wednesday night that, "transportation has been difficult at best."

There's been a new routing system, an electronic platform not done locally, but through First Student with First Planning Solutions in Montana.

"It was supposed to be helpful. It's been very difficult," Hart said.

In addition to bus routing errors, there's also been issues with late buses and students dropped off at some dangerous crossings.

Concerns were brought to First Student's attention, and fixes are coming, Hart said, adding that he's been having contact with the bus garage 20-25 times a day due to problems.

"I feel like we're moving forward," he said.

School board member Johnnie Carey said as a pre-k grandmother, a bus didn't pick up her pre-k grandchild in the morning and in the afternoon, the bus driver stopped at the corner and went to a wrong house. She also was upset that the bus driver didn't ask for her name or identification when dropping off her grandchild.

First Student bus service Area General Manager Chris Coyle said asking for identification for young students is protocol.

Coyle said the busing system isn't perfect and there are lessons still being learned.

Long-term, he said it's the right way to go with the bus routing technology. They are dedicated to get it solved. He equated the situation to a puzzle and having to continually add new students and stops and data. It takes time, he said.

Superintendent Alicia Geddis said it has to be common sense for bus drivers too. Students crossing Main Street shouldn't happen, she said, adding that students should be picked up and dropped off on the same side of the street.

Coyle also told the school board they are about seven bus drivers short right now, with four currently being tested. There's been delays in fingerprinting, he added.

He said the major safety issues with routing are being handled immediately. Route sheets will continue to be updated and issues corrected.

The school board also heard D118 department updates, including about buildings and grounds and security in buildings.

HVAC and other work continues on some buildings. Tuck pointing at Edison will be done after school hours.

Hart said repurposing of Garfield isn't a priority right now, but the former school building is being used by curriculum, grants, food service, building and grounds and others.

Metal detectors are now in use at Danville High School.

Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Beth Yacobi said there's been an emphasis on school safety.

The state-of-the-art weapons detection equipment determines different metals, and shapes set it off, too, she said.

Students have to take their Chromebook laptops out of their clear backpacks to go through the detectors. The detectors are portable and will be at football games and other events. Two sets each are now at DHS's clocktower and circle drive entrances.

School board member Darlene Halloran said she'd heard students's three-ring binders set off the metal detectors.

Yacobi said they can adjust the detector's sensitivities. If something sets off the detector, there is a red light and secondary wanding is done.

Other security changes: restricting employee access to only buildings they are assigned to and limiting hours of access; requiring employees to sign in and out of buildings in case of emergency evacuations and knowing who is in buildings; new teacher interior door access systems; latched doors; and driver's license background checks for the public at all schools.

There's also new and more video cameras at DHS, and staff will be undergoing active shooter training on Sept. 2.

Buildings and grounds also reported on new furniture including about 1,294 new student desks at DHS, 685 at North Ridge and 630 at South View.

In other business, the school board approved:

* A $419,00 contract with Track Surfaces Co. of Elburn for resurfacing the all-weather track on the DHS practice field across the street from DHS. Buildings and Grounds Director Skip Truex said they have low spots that hold water and there's a lot of trip hazards on the track. The resurfacing should last about 20 years.

* Placing the school district's new 2022-2023 budget on public display. It estimates $92.54 million in revenue and $93.99 million in expenditures. The deficit budget is an increase from last year when it showed $89.07 million in expenditures and $84 million in revenue. The revenue is budgeted at about 95 percent of estimates in the new budget. Expenditures include DHS 1972 addition renovations and HVAC projects funded by ESSER. The fiscal year 2022 ending fund balance (pre-audit) is $38.86 million, with approximately $5 million more than anticipated due to collecting almost double of the CPPRT (Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax) funding.

* Renewing commercial property and liability insurance with Liberty Mutual Insurance for $310,063, an increase of $28,630 last year due to continued claim activity, increase in building values and construction costs being up.

* Seventh and eighth grade Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum update to temporarily replace Project Lead the Way at North Ridge due to staffing issues.

* Career and Technical Education courses at DHS: introduction to Family and Consumer Science, Food 1 and Child Development.

* Replacement of dual enrollment junior English courses in literature.

* State curriculum mandates of Inclusion of Asian History and Media Literacy scope and sequences.

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