Board approves salaries for classroom aides
Instructional assistants and administrators in District 91 have agreed to a new three-year salary and benefit schedule that pegs salaries for the employees at a low of $15,900 and a high of $23,600, depending on an individual’s experience and education. Assistants with more than 15 years experience will earn an additional 2.5 percent over the salary schedule. The agreement was approved by the school board at its April 10 meeting.
Though teachers are the only unionized labor group in Forest Park’s public schools, other employee groups in the district have traditionally worked under compensation packages shared within their category.
Vehicle registration numbers climb
According to the village clerk’s office, 5,325 stickers for passenger vehicles had been purchased within a week of the March 31 annual deadline for local registrations. The charge for most passenger vehicles is $25. This time last year Forest Park had doled out 4,901 stickers, according to Village Clerk Vanessa Moritz.
Those figures account only for passenger cars and do not include stickers sold for motorcycles or commercial vehicles. According to the secretary of state’s office, there are more than 10,500 vehicles registered in Forest Park. The village registered 8,315 total vehicles last year, according to Moritz.
Forest Park does not rely on the state’s vehicle registration information in determining how many cars may actually be registered within the village.
The clerk credited a more successful campaign to provide public notice this year than last for the up tick in the number of vehicle stickers sold through the first week of April.
“Everybody got their renewal notices,” Moritz said.
Little League season opener
Young ball players readying for the next season of the nation’s past time don’t have long to wait. Opening day for the Forest Park Little League is Saturday, April 26 with opening ceremonies getting underway at 11:30 a.m. and games beginning at noon. Games are played at the Forest Park Park District on Harrison Street.
Registration for new players will be accepted through April 18, except for girls playing junior and senior softball for which the registration period will remain open. The season for junior and senior softball begins in June.
Kindergarten registration event
Whether an expanded kindergarten program targeting 4 and 5 year olds is rolled out this fall depends on enrollment, according to District 91 officials, and they’re hoping parents turn out in large numbers for a registration drive later this month. Children who will be at least 4 years old by Sept. 1 are eligible and can be enrolled at an early registration event held April 19 at the Forest Park Middle School from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Parents are encouraged to bring their child to the registration so that a brief assessment of the student’s language skills can be conducted.
District 91 currently offers a half-day junior kindergarten program at Betsy Ross Elementary. In February, school board members voted to expand that program to two other locations in the district and partner with the Forest Park Park District to offer daycare services as well. The cost of the larger program was unknown at the time of the board’s vote, but Superintendent Lou Cavallo assured board members it would not exceed $128,000.
