Education and Schools

Enrollment at Heartland Community College in Normal is down slightly both in the number of students and in credit hours taken for the fall semester.

The private liberal arts college in Woodford County also says nearly half of the 242 new students enrolled this year are first-generation college students.

Heartland Community College's board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a plan to issue $35.3 million dollars in bonds. College officials say they plan to keep the tax rate the same.

The Unit 5 school board wants the administration to consider a ban on cell phones in district schools.

A third candidate has entered the race for mayor of Bloomington. Ward 6 Council member Cody Hendricks made his announcement at the electrical workers union hall on Tuesday. He joins current Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe and former State Rep. Dan Brady in the race.

A former worker at a boys’ home in rural Livingston County faces embezzlement charges.

Unit 5's Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Kristal Shelvin said the district wanted to offer support for staff and families who face an unexplainable situation and allow room for the many ways in which people grieve.

Unit 5 schools will get almost $1.1 million to buy five electric school buses, with the funding coming from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Competition.

The Unit 5 school board already has plans to increase temporary classrooms and is keeping high school expansions in mind, but the study indicates re-balancing population at the lower levels may be worth looking into as well.

The plan highlights improving academic outcomes, maintaining strong staff, and connecting to the community. In addition to a unanimously positive vote, the board praised the plan as a living document to account for unforeseen changes.