Peoria Public Schools

The Peoria Public Schools Board of Education has delayed a vote on requesting a half-cent sales tax increase to help pay for facility maintenance.

Incoming Peoria Board of Education member Andy Diaz said his request for a temporary restraining order ahead of Wednesday’s special meeting has been denied on a technicality.

Incoming Peoria Public Schools Superintendent Jerry Bell said he wants District 150 to work hand-in-hand with the business community in preparing students to meet evolving workforce needs.

Peoria Mayor Rita Ali says she supports the idea of streamlining the process for approving housing projects, but proposed statewide zoning regulations would go too far.

Plans for a 200-home residential neighborhood at the former Exposition Gardens site in Peoria are taking shape after the City Council approved a land exchange with Peoria Public Schools to make the property more attractive to developers.

Peoria City Council member Kiran Velpula sees a new medical and educational partnership as a way to build the city’s health care workforce and boost the regional economy.

Sarah Howard likely will join Andy Diaz as the two newcomers on the Peoria Public Schools Board of Education.

The Peoria Public Schools Board of Education gathered Monday evening for a meeting that stretched well over two hours, marked by a student showcase, a contract debate, and a bittersweet goodbye to outgoing Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat.

Sarah Howard leads Doug Shannon by 44 votes to replace Larry Ivory and represent the Northern District of the seven-member Peoria Public Schools board.

Emily Dawson, a Peoria Public Schools teacher who also advises an afterschool research club as she pursues a third master’s degree at Western Illinois University, received a $10,000 Chocolate History grant from Mars, Inc., for a project examining cacao grown in Hawaii.