The Wauconda School District 118 Board of Education passed a tuition waiver at a Thursday night hearing which will allow staff members living in different school districts to send their children to Wauconda schools tuition-free.
Superintendent Dr. Daniel Coles said the waiver is meant to help staff with day care issues in case their child’s school district has a different plan that does not align with SD118’s plan.
SD118 has decided to offer students the option between a hybrid learning model — a combination of in-person learning and remote learning — or a fully remote model, Coles said.
“They wouldn’t have to, let’s say, not return to work,” he said in an interview. “And we need our staff; we need out teachers. It’s just a way for us to provide a different option for them in order to be able to return to work so we can have our operations be able to function properly.”
The waiver received unanimous support from the school board.
Coles said he doesn’t know if any teachers will decide to use the waiver, but the school district wants to at least offer it as an option.
“Obviously it’s a deeply personal and family decision for them to do that because their children will be leaving their home school district and coming to District 118,” Coles said at the hearing.
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He added that students can un-enroll from the school at any point, if they can would like to return to their original school.
Now that the tuition waiver has received approval from the school board, the district will submit the waiver to the Illinois State Board of Education, which then submits it to the Illinois General Assembly, according to the meeting packet.
Employees of SD118 who want to register their child for Wauconda schools will have to sign a letter of acknowledgement showing they understand that the admission of their child is dependent on General Assembly approval, the packet added.
Board President Kathy Bianco said she thinks the waiver is a great way to support the district’s staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it’s the least we can do,” board President Kathy Bianco said. “It’s just crazy times right now, and we have to try do all we can to support our staff.”