Amboy schools stay positive

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Despite a protracted union negotiation that has landed the Amboy School District in labor court and a big question mark over whether the district's special-needs students will receive special-education services next year, the Clippers are on the upswing. That is the message Amboy Superintendent Quintin Shepherd said he will deliver in his annual State of the Schools address before the Amboy School Board on Wednesday night.

Shepherd said his speech will focus on improvements made in communication with parents and the community, and the district's data-driven improvement programs.

New this school year is a student-achievement committee made up of a cross-section of school board members, building administrators and interested parents. Shepherd said the committee has strengthened the district's reach outside the walls of its buildings.

He will point to ongoing student-improvement projects and experiments with alternative forms of punishment that he believes have propelled the district toward its mission of creating responsible citizens.

"We're trying to make students see how they're responsible for their own behavior," Shepherd said.

Student performance on state tests improved in the 2006-2007 school year, and the district annually outperforms state averages, according to the Illinois Board of Education.

Amid these successes, the district continues to seek out resolution of union contracts and a long-standing disagreement with the Lee County Special Education Association.

The district narrowly avoided a strike from support staff back in November, and the negotiations have no clear-cut end in sight.

The Teamsters filed a bad-faith in bargaining complaint with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board one month ago and submitted its formal position on Jan. 14, according to Susan Willenborg, a Relations Board attorney overseeing the case.

As of Friday, Willenborg said the complaint was "under review" and that the board had yet to receive Amboy's legal response. Willenborg said she could not comment further.

"There's a palpable feeling in the buildings ... that's the only way I can describe it," Shepherd said. "It's unfortunate that things have come to this place ... where we were unable to communicate and this is the only way we can communicate - through our attorneys."

"We're all hoping it will come to a conclusion sooner, rather than later," Shepherd said.

Teamsters Business Agent Steve Mongan, who is leading negotiations for the support staff, did not respond to a telephone message seeking an interview.

While the union negotiations may be nowhere near a resolution, the meandering special-education problem could soon develop a clear trajectory.

Meanwhile, the school district has filed notice with local and state regulators of its intent to leave the special-education co-op because the board believes partnering with the Ogle County Co-op will save the district money and present students with a greater diversity of services.

Shepherd and the board members have not said whether the district intends to leave the Lee County co-op in favor of the Ogle County Co-Op because of financial savings.

The Amboy School Board is scheduled to vote on a special-education resolution Wednesday night.