207U Board Highlights Fiscal Gains, Honors Student Athletes, Approves New Administrators

By Andrea Arens

PEOTONE – Community Unit School District 207U board members highlighted improvements in spending controls, recognized student achievements, welcomed new administrators, and heard public concerns about academic performance during their June 15 meeting.

One of the most notable updates came during the district’s financial report, where officials reported a substantial reduction in purchasing card (PCard) spending.

According to the district, year-to-date PCard expenditures dropped to $113,419, compared to more than $254,000 during the previous period—a reduction of approximately 55 percent. Monthly spending for June totaled $8,782.83.

Board members credited the improvement to stricter adherence to existing district procedures.

“So, we decreased our PCard spending by around 55% just by following protocol that we had already had in place… we’re trending in the right direction,” said board Vice President Ashley Stachniak during the discussion.

District officials also reported a significant increase in the collection of outstanding student fees, noting collections increased by more than $14,000.

Student Achievements Recognized

The board approved resolutions recognizing several students for exceptional athletic accomplishments.

Peotone High School senior Sophia Klawitter was honored for recording her 1,000th career softball strikeout, a milestone that places her 17th all-time in Illinois High School Association history.

The board also recognized Peotone Junior High School athletes Leila Stachnik and Alana Han for their performances at the state track meet. Stachnik captured a state championship in the high jump and set a new state record, while Han earned recognition for her performance in the hurdles.

Public Comment Questions Academic Performance

During public comment, Jim Bowden raised concerns regarding the district’s academic Bowden noted that 207U’s reported ELA score of 63.4 percent trails neighboring districts Beecher and Grant Park, both of which reportedly achieved scores of 74.7 percent while spending less per student than Peotone’s approximately $19,000 annual expenditure.

The board did not engage in discussion following the public comment, consistent with board meeting procedures.

New Administrative Team Approved

The board approved several administrative appointments for the 2026-27 school year.

Among those welcomed were:

• Julie Simpson, Principal of Peotone Junior High School
• Lisa O’Donovan, Assistant Principal of Peotone Junior High School
• Kyle Boudreau, Principal of Peotone High School

The additions continue a series of leadership changes taking place across the district ahead of the upcoming school year.

Technology Upgrades Continue

District technology staff reported the successful migration of the district’s PowerSchool student information system to a cloud-based platform.

Administrators also shared preliminary results from a cybersecurity phishing-awareness campaign, reporting improvements in employee awareness and response rates compared to the campaign’s baseline measurements.

Donations and Student Support

Board members accepted a donation totaling $3,831.40 designated to help cover outstanding student lunch account balances.

The contribution will be used to reduce unpaid meal debt for district families.

Staffing Challenges Lead to Contracted Services

Before voting on an agreement for school psychology services, board member Tim Stoub requested clarification on why the district was seeking outside assistance rather than filling the position internally.

“Before we bring that to the floor, can we get a little read in on that?… Psychology contract on why we’re contracting that out this year,” Stoub asked.

Administrators responded that the position has remained posted since March without a successful hire. Under the approved agreement, the district will pay $1,250 per evaluation case and $1,500 per bilingual evaluation case.

The board later approved the contract.

The district also renewed its School Resource Officer agreement, with the district continuing to pay 50 percent of the cost.

Policy Review Advances

Board members conducted a second reading of numerous policy updates included within PRESS Issue 121. The revisions cover a wide range of topics, including board governance, personnel policies, and student conduct regulations.

No final action was taken on the policies during the second-reading discussion.

Notice to Remedy Approved

One of the evening’s more serious discussions involved board action regarding a notice to remedy issued to district employee Meri Reitman.

A notice to remedy is considered a reprimand to a tenured teacher with the teacher being given an opportunity to correct.

Prior to the vote, board member Steven Clark acknowledged the complexity of the situation while explaining his support for the action.

“I would just like to say that I realize that this wasn’t made on purpose. What happened was just a miscalculation of what happened. Um unfortunately if thinking through it over time it did affect numerous people, personally other things as well,” Clark said.

The motion passed but was not unanimous. Board member Mark Jones cast the lone dissenting vote.

The board did not publicly discuss additional details regarding the personnel matter.