Board introduces two hires; district reports staffing vacancies, substitute pay increase, summer programs and operations updates

The Minooka CCSD 201 Board of Education introduced two new district employees and heard a range of operational updates Thursday covering staffing, substitutes, summer programming, communications and facilities.

New hires introduced - Megan Craycraft: Introduced as an assistant director of student services with more than 18 years in education and extensive special‑education and administrative experience; the district said she is a local resident and will support co‑teaching and self‑contained programs. - William Lipke: Introduced as the district’s new school safety coordinator; the district described Lipke as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with more than 20 years of law‑enforcement experience, training experience in school‑based policing and active threat response. The district said Lipke is a local resident.

Staffing and substitutes District administrators reported they had 13 open vacancies across the district when they began closing for summer and had reduced that number to 11 by the time of the board meeting. Administrators said most vacancies are being filled but noted a specific difficulty recruiting a junior‑high Spanish teacher. The district described multiple recruitment steps, including outreach through regional application pools, outreach to families and discussions with the regional office of education about provisional licensure options.

Substitute pay The board heard that substitute pay was raised following a compensation review to remain competitive with neighboring districts. Administrators said the raise is intended to reduce turnover of substitute employees and make the district more attractive for morning calls when schools need coverage; the transcript did not specify the new substitute pay rate.

Summer programs, accessibility and student engagement Administrators described summer math and reading camps, STEAM enrichment and a summer bridge program supported in part by Title I funds. The district highlighted a wheelchair athlete who competed in IESA track events after staff installed an ADA‑compliant ramp for shot‑put access within a week of the request.

Communications, registration and facilities - Technology/communications: The district reported a new website template had gone live before the meeting and staff are preparing to roll out ParentSquare to parents for more direct school‑home communications. - Transportation: Administrators said routing and unification of transportation with Manuka/District 111 are on track; family communications on routing will be issued later in the summer. - Health/life safety audit: The district received notice of a successful health life safety audit for all buildings and thanked maintenance and school leaders for preparations. - Registration: Administrators reported ongoing registration efforts with particular outreach to incoming kindergarten families.

Ending Administrators asked the board to expect further updates in July and to note that staffing and routing work will continue through the summer; the district will continue recruitment efforts for the outstanding Spanish teaching vacancy and other positions.