School Board Approves Final Calendar, $155,000 Gift for Dawes

At a regular meeting on Monday night, the District 65 School Board approved the final calendar for the end of the 2010-11 school year, heard preliminary goodbyes to outgoing members Keith Terry and Bonnie Lockhart and approved a $155,000 gift for Dawes Elementary School.

“The fact of the matter is that it’s quite an honor, because not everyone gets selected and I think this is another honor for our district,” said Superintendent Dr. Hardy Murphy of the $155,000 award from the National Education Awareness Association.

Murphy stated that among the projects to be completed with the beautification funds are the painting of a new mural, addition of a new stairwell tapestry, $16,000 in landscaping work, $70,000 for new counters in 20 classrooms and $10,000 for the refurbishing of the school’s library.

 The application for the award was driven and submitted by Jean Luft, president of the District 65 Educator’s Council.  

The board also approved the final calendar for the 2010-2011 school year, pushing the final day of school to Monday, June 13 (owing to the two snow days caused by ). The schedule for the 2011-2012 school year was also approved, the main tenants of which include keeping Columbus Day as a normal school day and continuing to hold a full day on the first day of school, Aug. 29.

“I strongly commend the administration for deciding on keeping several positive features of the calendar,” said District 65 parent and member of the Calendar Committee Rhonda Present.

The full calendar for the current year and tentative schedules for coming years can be found on the District’s website.

Monday night’s meeting also marked the final regular meeting for outgoing School Board President Keith Terry and Board Member Bonnie Lockhart. Terry, who ran in this spring’s election, fell short of enough votes to continue serving as the board’s president.

“I am going to miss his leadership, his calm that he displays, and most of all I’m going to miss his up-frontness—that he will say what’s on his mind and is not afraid to say what’s on his mind when it needs to be said,” said Evanston resident Madelyn Ducre during an informal presentation to the board. 

“We are often vocal and we beat ourselves up because we have perspectives that what we have isn’t really good enough and that we can always get better, and that’s one of the things that I’ve absolutely come to love about Evanston,” said Terry, reflecting on the progressive nature of district he has served.