ROCHELLE — During Tuesday’s Rochelle Township High School Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent Tony Doyle said RTHS was starting its third week of mask optional for students and staff and hasn’t seen major issues with it. 

Superintendent Jason Harper was absent from the meeting along with Board President Tom Huddleston and Board Member Bobby Chadwick. Doyle presented the reopening update portion of the agenda, in which Harper usually updates the board on COVID-19 related issues at the school. 

“There's not a lot of new information,” Doyle said. “We are starting our third week of mask optional. It's full steam ahead. I guess that's how I'd say that. We've had no major issues with it and I wanted to communicate that to the board."

All Rochelle schools are currently under a mask optional policy for students and staff and ceased student/staff exclusions for quarantine as “close contacts” and staff vaccination/testing requirements. All of those measures were previously mandated by executive orders of Gov. JB Pritzker.

On Feb. 4, a judge in Sangamon County issued temporary restraining orders related to the Governor’s COVID-19 executive orders and emergency rules issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) regarding COVID-19 mitigation strategies for students and staff in school. Those orders have not been successfully appealed by the state and governor. 

Harper said in a Feb. 6 letter to parents that the districts’ legal representatives interpret the judge’s ruling to invalidate the governor’s executive orders and IDPH’s and ISBE’s rules, rendering the mandates unenforceable against every school district in the state.

On Wednesday, State Attorney General Kwame Raoul asked the Illinois Supreme Court to review the mask mandate and COVID-19 mitigations for schools and asked for an emergency stay of the judge’s order to block enforcement of the rules.

Last week, a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeals declined to review the Feb. 4 decision, saying the issue was “moot” because, in the intervening time, the legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted not to extend the Illinois Department of Public Health’s emergency rules that put those mandates in place.

Pritzker’s administration is scheduled to lift the statewide indoor mask mandate Feb. 28 for most public places, except in schools and health care settings. Pritzker has said he intends to lift the school mandate as well, possibly within the next few weeks, saying schools need more time because of the large number of unvaccinated children in the buildings and the close proximity in which they work.

Weight room

The board unanimously approved a $141,181.69 bid to upgrade the school’s fitness, conditioning, physical education and wrestling room equipment and spaces. A bid opening was held Feb. 10. The approved bid from Direct Fitness Solutions was the lowest. 

Technology

The board unanimously approved a shared district services agreement with the elementary school district for technology services. The elementary district’s technology services contractor recently had an employee resign and the contract is set to expire this summer. 

As a result of the approval, Will Wise is now shared district director of technology and Seth Richolson and Jose Villalobos Nazario are now shared district technology support specialists. The recommendation was approved by the elementary school board at its Feb. 8 board meeting.

ARP

Prior to its regular meeting, the board held a public hearing on American Rescue Plan funds. Due to the federal grant money that stems from the pandemic, RTHS will receive $1.6 million over three phases. Improvements could include technology and software, upgrading cleaning and sanitation equipment and providing professional development for staff.

The board unanimously approved proceeding with development and implementation of a spending plan and grant submittals. Money is not received until the grant has been submitted and approved.

Employment

The board unanimously approved the resignations of Bobby Gardner (assistant baseball coach), Desa Richards (assistant softball coach), John Loggins (assistant boys tennis coach) and Robin Blunt (school nurse).

Also unanimously approved was the employment of Brenda Aguila (health office aide COVID-19 testing lead, part-time), Christina Williams (volunteer assistant softball coach), Kevin Hunt (assistant softball coach) and Jason Hickman (assistant baseball coach).

The board unanimously approved the transfer of Mae Furman from paraprofessional at Focus House to special education teacher at Focus House (2023).

Retirements unanimously approved were Javier Zepeda (end of 2024-2025 school year), Glen Mehrings (end of 2025-2026 school year) and Danae White (end of 2025-2026 school year).