Education

The second Unit 5 tax referendum campaign in six months will be a lot more specific on what happens if it doesn't pass than the first one was. Before the failed November referendum, school district leaders said they didn't want to get into the details of what they would do if it failed because they wanted to make a positive case for preserving the schools as they are.

Bloomington District 87 will end the school year with a deficit, but it won't be nearly as large as first projected.

Board member Tammy Houtzel resigned her position during a regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday night. Houtzel cited a relocation to LeRoy as the reason for giving up the seat.

A PNC Bank grant will be split to pay four Illinois Wesleyan University students to join District 87's Summer Programming ranks. It's the second year for the program that joins D87 with other community partners, including the Children's Discovery Museum and the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal.

Officials with Bloomington's District 87 schools said they estimate just 20% to 30% of kindergarten through sixth-grade students will get the coronavirus vaccine now that they have become eligible.

Many Illinois State University students were too young or not born yet during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. These young adults only came to know about the attacks through education and societal influence. It's the second generation to feel trauma from 9/11.

The $12.5 million structural budget deficit for Unit 5 schools has been growing slowly for years. It's currently about 6% of the total $203 million budget. District Superintendent Kristen Weikle said she hopes to bring a plan to deal with the imbalance to the school board in the fall.

District 87 officials say they are focused on incorporating more diversity into their curriculum, but it doesn't include Critical Race Theory.

Starting June 1, the works of 53 of Stefen Robinson’s students at Normal Community High School will be featured at University Galleries in Uptown Normal.

Gov. JB Pritzker joined members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus on Monday to sign a measure aimed at advancing equity in education in the…