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Regional office and school services present level budgets; new mental‑health screening law and lowered lead thresholds noted
Summary
The LaSalle County committee heard presentations Aug. 11 from the Regional Office of Education and school services showing FY26 requests at level funding, discussed a recently signed state law on mental‑health screenings for students, and reviewed lowered blood-lead screening thresholds and CTE program updates.
The Regional Office of Education (ROE) asked the committee on Aug. 11 to forward a level‑funding FY26 request of $302,000 to county finance. The ROE representative said the FY25 budget is $302,000 and requested the same amount for FY26, explaining that a prior IMRF ruling consolidated employment and reimbursement processes across the multi‑county ROE but that the line remains one consolidated request. Kathy Owens moved to forward the ROE FY26 budget request to county finance; Doug Stockley seconded, and the motion passed.
School services staff made a separate FY26 request that keeps operations at current levels with salary increases for specific staff. The presenter said union and staff wage adjustments raised the school services total to $163,128. Bill Brown moved to forward the school services budget to finance; Matt Slager seconded, and the motion passed.
Policy and program updates: the ROE speaker and school services staff discussed several program developments. They noted a newly signed state law, cited in the meeting as Public Act 1040032, providing for student mental‑health screenings in schools; the speaker said the law includes a parental opt‑out and does not take effect until 2027. On public‑health screening, presenters said the Illinois Department of Public Health lowered a blood‑lead screening threshold from 5 to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (as discussed in the meeting) and that more ZIP codes in LaSalle County were now designated high risk; children living in high‑risk ZIP codes are subject to automatic screening as part of well‑child care and for school entry requirements for children age 6 and under.
Programs and curricula: ROE and school services representatives highlighted regional CTE and career‑pathway investments. Examples included a Streeter High School welding expansion to 15 stations and an LP High School classroom outfitted to simulate a hospital emergency room for nursing students. The ROE also described growth in the student‑mentor program from 20 mentors across 13 districts last year to 24 mentors across 16 districts this year, serving roughly 35 students per mentor.
Homeschooling: committee members asked about homeschooled students and program access. School services staff said districts are not required to provide curriculum or materials to homeschooled students; decisions are made at the district level and the ROE staff indicated they support homeschool families when asked and will partner where appropriate.
The committee approved forwarding both budgets to county finance and agreed to proceed with normal county budget review schedules.
