Unit 5

McLean County prosecutors said Friday that a 43-year-old Unit 5 junior high school teacher made sexually suggestive remarks to a 13-year-old girl last year. He faces charges of grooming.

Normal Police say Brandon Knapp, 43, of Hudson, was indicted Wednesday by a McLean County grand jury. Knapp, who taught at Chiddix Junior High School in Normal, was placed on paid leave in January as police investigated reports of alleged misconduct.

Stan Gozur, newly elected president of the Unit 5 school board, said he is pleased with the outcome of the district's enrollment study that concluded that neither Carlock Elementary nor Glenn Elementary schools should be closed.

The approved item avoids displacing students at Carlock or Glenn Elementary and adds no new taxes to pay for facility construction costs.

Unit 5 was accepted for the News Literacy District Fellowship to provide $30,000 in grant funding over the next three years, beginning in the fall.

A committee of school board members and educators completed a multi-year process related to enrollment realignment on Thursday when it presented a final recommendation to the school board. That recommendation avoids two of the most controversial options the district considered.

Carlock Elementary was initially proposed to close due to its enrollment that hovers around 100 students. The consulting firm Cropper GIS characterized that as “unsustainable.” Parents are relieved to hear Unit 5 plans to recommend school board members approve a plan to keep the school open and keep Glenn Elementary as-is.

Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle presented details of the proposed plan during a virtual meeting Thursday night.

Parents said they still had many unanswered questions when a final recommendation on enrollment adjustment was made Wednesday to the Unit 5 school board.

Two options were presented Wednesday to the Unit 5 school board to move forward with the districtwide enrollment study.