Calendar changes coming to Kaneland school district next year

Winter break will be different next year at Kaneland.

“We will end the semester mid-week, which is Dec. 21, but then we will have the whole week off between the Christmas holiday and the New Year Holiday, and then the whole week off that first week of January as opposed to going back on Jan. 2 or 3,” said Dr. Julie-Ann Fuchs, associate superintendent at Kaneland. “So that is something different that parents would want to pay attention to.”

The board approved the school calendars for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 by a 4-1-1 vote during the Dec. 13 board meeting. Aaron Lawler, Bob Mankivsky, Jennifer Simmons and Teresa Witt voted in favor of the calendars while Meg Junk abstained and Ryan Kerry voted no. Addam Gonzales was absent.

“I’m never a fan of starting school in the middle of August,” Kerry said. “I still think it’s too soon.”

Student attendance will begin a week later next year on Aug. 17, 2022, which is consistent with the Mid-Valley guidelines of a regular start time with most of the member districts.

Fuchs also shared a financial projections presentation with updated five-year information during the meeting.

The presentation revealed that the projected deficit for the 2022-2023 fiscal year is almost $3.5 million. Fuchs explained that if the district ends the 2021-22 fiscal year with a balanced budget then the projected deficit in 2022-2023 would be close to $2 million.

The board has already approved approximately $2 million in capital projects for 2023, which is approximately $1 million more than in 2021-2022.