Unit 5 board okays emergency purchase of COVID-19 protective dividers for in-person learning

Posted on August 27, 2020

 

Unit 5 Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle. (Photo courtesy: Unit 5)

By Heart of Illinois ABC

NORMAL – School administrators in Unit 5 have the authority now to make emergency purchases of equipment to protect students and staff from COVID-19.

McLean County’s largest school district is starting the school year with remote learning, but there are limited instances in which there is in-person teaching, including for children with special needs.

The school board Wednesday night gave administrators permission to forgo the usual bidding process so they can quickly buy urgently needed clear dividers for student and teachers’ desks, and for tables used during small group instruction.

The estimated cost of the clear dividers is $61,000 from a pair of vendors, said Unit 5 Attorney Curt Richardson.

The district said the emergency spending is necessary due to the “urgent need” for the dividers, their high demand, and long lead times to obtain the equipment.

Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected]. 

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…