Morton School Board meetings have been packed for months.
Audience members have emotionally debated whether the school district sufficiently addresses bullying of students, bans issued from board meetings, and candidates' stances in a hotly contested board election.
Superintendent Joe Sander's first board meeting since replacing the retired Craig Smock had a starkly different atmosphere.
Not one member of the public was in the audience Tuesday, so there were no public comments. The only audience member was Morton Junior High School Principal Chris Carter.
The meeting's business was completed in less than an hour.
Before delving into his administrative reports, Sander thanked those who have been mentors and positive influences on his educational career, and those who donated money to the school district during the past school year.
Sander served as the district's assistant superintendent the past three years
"We had $66,321 donated to our district last year," Sander said. "And donations of grants and scholarships from the Morton Community Foundation totaled $85,550. That's fantastic."
Morton High School Hall of Fame in the works
In other news from Tuesday's board meeting:
• Sander announced that planning continues for a Morton High School Hall of Fame; work continues this summer on a renovation of the east gym at Morton High School; and the replacement of the gym floor at Jefferson Elementary School this summer revealed 2x4's imbedded in concrete under the aging floor.
• The board accepted these donations: $29,000 for Morton High School and $2,500 for the Morton School District from Caterpillar Inc. in its 10:1 matching gift program; and $8,000 from Trinity, Troy and Katie Graves for playground equipment at Lettie Brown Elementary School.
• The board approved a request for a non-district resident student to attend Morton High School on a tuition basis for the 2025-26 school year. The student will be a sophomore at MHS.
• After a closed session, the board rejected former Morton resident Tammy Woodmancy's appeal of her ban from board meetings until next month.
