Board Moves Safety Recommendations Discussion to July Meeting
At Monday’s monthly meeting of the Macomb Community Unit School District (MCUSD) No. 185, the Board held public hearings on the 2025-2026 amended budget and the repair and repaving of the Macomb High School tennis court. No public comments were provided. The Board later approved the amended budget, as well as the tennis court project at an estimated cost of $240,000 (fire and life safety amendment), which includes $112,884 to repair the courts, architect fees and contingency.
Safety recommendations were originally set to be shared by Superintendent Mark Twomey during the open meeting; however, the Board voted to move the agenda item regarding safety recommendations to the closed meeting. As the exception for safety and security matters was not included in the motion to hold the closed meeting on the printed agenda, a motion was made after the closed meeting to defer the agenda item for consideration at the July meeting. Superintendent Mark Twomey told media following Monday’s meeting that the discussion on the safety recommendations, which are required to be in place for the 2026-2027 school year to maintain compliance with the Illinois legislation related to Alyssa’s Law, must be held in a closed session as to not disclose the district’s safety measures, “for obvious reasons.”
Alyssa’s Law is a state-by-state life-saving safety legislation, that mandates or strongly encourages public K-12 schools to install silent panic alarms/mobile panic alert systems directly linked to local law enforcement. Named in honor of Alyssa Alhadeff, a victim of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, it aims to eliminate emergency routing delays and drastically reduce police response times.
In other action, the Board approved two pottery throwing wheels surplus for sale or disposal; adopted a resolution designating hazardous areas in the school district for the 2026-2027 school year; and re-established revolving funds for the next school year. The complete meeting packet can be found at macomb185.org/73/Board-of-Education. The Board also approved its meeting calendar through June 30, 2027. Beginning July 1, the monthly Board meetings will start at 6 p.m.
Recognitions & Discussion Items Staff Recognized
The Board recognized the following district staff who recently retired: Amy Bear, 17 years; Sue Ferguson, 29 years; Ed Fulkerson, 24 years; Carol Lock, 17 years; and Dawn Torrance, seven years.
Superintendent Evaluation
Twomey told the Board and those in attendance that his recent evaluation was one of his “most meaningful evaluations in years.” The Board solicited feedback from district employees, parents and the administration team.
“I was able to see what I did well and what I need to improve upon,” he shared. “I always want to get better.”
Safety & Security
Twomey reiterated that that district and the Board is dedicated to the safety and secuo enhance what is already in place.
School-Based Mental Health Services Beginning this fall, the district will have two school-based therapists through a free school mental health program offered by Cornerstone of Quincy. The organization is funded through Medicaid and insurance services, and will provide two licensed therapists to serve close to three percent of the district’s students who are identified as needing mental health assistance. Twomey noted that district staff have already begun to compile a list of students who are in need of the services. The sole responsibility for the district will be to have a designated office space for the therapists, as well as space within each school building for their sessions with students.
“This is going to be a gamechanger for our students and our district,” he stressed.
Substitute Pay Rate
Twomey also shared that the district will be increasing its substitute teacher pay from $120/day to $150/day to provide a greater incentive to build a larger substitute pool.
The district continues to face shortages in the number of substitutes needed during the school year.
Career Technical Education Center The superintendent said that the CTE Committee is waiting on the hiring of the new president for Spoon River College, and will begin meeting again in September. By that time, the community college should also know if they received either the $3 million grant or $6 million grant (or both) from the Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity. At last month’s Board of Education meeting, Twomey shared that due to the cost of moving an Ameren substation on the Macomb High School grounds to accommodate building the Career Technical Education (CTE) at MHS that the CTE will be located at Spoon River College.
Strategic Plan Presentation: Steve Horrell, Athletic Director Horrell presented a year in review for district athletics at Monday’s meeting, highlight achievements in the fine arts and athletics.
Numerous student-athletes, Scholastic Bowl members, and band, choir and theatre students went on to regional and state championships, and all but one of Macomb High School’s athletic teams received the Illinois High School Association Academic Team Award for achieving a 3.0 GPA or better. While the girls wrestling team had a high overall GPA, due to the lower number of participants required, the team was not included in the IHSA Award. The girls wrestling program was a stand-alone program for the first time during the 2025-26 school year, Horrell noted.
The 2025-2026 Armstrong and McCants winners were Sophie Wilson and Drew Watson.
“The amount of talent we have in our student body is really something,” he pointed out. “We have a lot of kids who do everything, and they’re great students as well.”
