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McHenry SD15 proposes staff reallocation, new 'active wellness' special and return of beginning band in 2025-26 staffing plan
Summary
District administrators presented a staffing plan that reallocates existing positions across schools, creates a new active-wellness special to equalize specials minutes, restores beginning band at fifth grade, and restructures prekindergarten reporting; board will vote on the plan Feb. 11.
District 15 administrators on Jan. 21 presented a staffing plan for the 2025–26 school year that reassigns existing full‑time equivalents (FTEs) across schools, creates a new “active wellness and life balance” special, restores beginning band at fifth grade and separates prekindergarten into its own state reporting entity.
The presentation, given by Dr. Klinsky during the board meeting, outlined a plan based on enrollment projections (districtwide enrollment projected at about 3,971 students for 2025–26 including roughly 200 pre‑K students) and a goal of maintaining average class size near 21 students. "We're not looking to add any FTE for the 25–26 full year; it's really going to be reallocation of staff," Klinsky said.
Administrators told the board the proposal would: reallocate staff from the closed Landmark School and other vacancy/retirement-driven openings; add two sections at Riverwood and one at Hilltop to address localized enrollment bubbles; create a new specials rotation so every elementary class receives five 45‑minute specials weekly (art, music, PE, learning/innovation center and the new active wellness special); restore beginning band for fifth grade at multiple schools; reallocate multilingual resources (instructional coach, resource teacher and ELD teacher) to balance services across middle schools; and restructure pre‑K as its own Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) entity code to improve transparency of per‑pupil reporting.
Proponents said the new active‑wellness special would provide social, emotional and physical wellness instruction, allow push‑in and pull‑out interventions, and increase equity in specials minutes among specialists. "By making it a consistent 45 minutes, it increases the ability for teachers to get more done in those blocks," Klinsky said. The proposal would raise weekly specials minutes districtwide from 210 to 225 minutes, adding roughly 15 minutes of teacher planning time per week.
On staffing and administration, the plan calls for reallocating an existing administrator to student services and converting one coordinator role to a 12‑month assistant director position; the presenter said the change would be cost‑neutral because an existing stipend for Extended School Year (ESY) duties would be rolled into the salaried role.
Board members asked about schedule equity and class‑size distribution; Klinsky said principals are working with central office to move staff where needed and that the district will bring formal action on the staffing recommendations at its Feb. 11 meeting.
The district emphasized this draft is driven by enrollment projections (PowerSchool and an outside demographic vendor) and by retirements/attrition; administrators said they have surveyed staff about placement preferences and intend to honor them when possible.
The board did not take a formal vote on the staffing plan at the Jan. 21 meeting; the recommendation will return for action Feb. 11.
