Skip to content
School District 200U 4-Year Board Candidate: Melanie Brenenstall
Home Address/years in the school district: 202 Miller St., Beecher/ We have lived in the 200U district for close to 10 years. We moved here in August 2013. Community Involvement: (Former) Beecher Preschool Cooperative President and Treasurer Organization/Club Memberships: Awards and Honors: Professional Background: I currently work at my parents’ restaurant during the day while…
School District 200U 4-Year Board Candidate: Adriana Diachenko
Home Address/years in the school district: 250 Maple St, Beecher, IL 60401; My family and I have lived in Beecher for over 17 years and each of our 3 kids attend Beecher 200U schools and have since kindergarten. Community Involvement: For over 5 years I served as the Hospitality Chair for the Beecher PTO, volunteered…
Beecher 200-U Tries Again
By Jeff Vorva Let’s try it again. The Beecher District 200-U referendum, to try to ease a $1 million shortfall, failed last June and Superintendent Jack Gaham is in the process of making painful cut recommendations to the board. He is ready to make even more suggestions – including only allowing eighth grade teams at…
Beecher School Board Holds Rather ‘Interesting’ Meeting
By Jeff Vorva Dancing and singing were a part of the Beecher District 200-U Board meeting on February 13. But they were not the subjects that produced joy and fun. This was not a merry meeting. Quite the opposite. The meeting got started with a bang, when board member and board secretary Janet Paulmeier resigned…
Beecher Superintendent Thankful Flood Happened Over Break
By Jeff Vorva The Christmas flood at Beecher High School has caused some problems, to be sure, but Beecher 200U Superintendent Jack Gaham said it could have been a lot worse. “We got doggone lucky it happened over break,” he told the school board at the January 9 meeting. “If it happened during the school…
200U Talks Cold, Hard Numbers
By Jeff Vorva How many millions of dollars are mom and dad going to give for this date? When talking about this year’s tax levy, Beecher 200U Superintendent Jack Gaham put things in layman’s terms when it came to what the district wants and what it eventually will get from Will County. “It’s like when…
Beecher School Board Votes For Fee Cap and Increased Levy
By Jeff Vorva Beecher School District 200-U raised its fees for 2023-’24 and, when it came to athletic fees, it voted in a rare cap to give a break to families who have several students playing sports. “There are no other schools with caps,” Board President Julie Papas said. “This is something we are offering.”…
District 200-U Business Manager, Marla Heldt, to Retire
Mrs. Marla Heldt will retire after nearly 29 years of service (1994 – 2022) as Beecher School District 200-U Business Manager. Mrs. Heldt, a Beecher graduate and long-time Grant Park resident, came to the Beecher School District as Business Manager in June 1994. A special reception will be held on Tuesday, November 15, in Mrs.…
Beecher Discusses Upping Sub Pay
By Jeff Vorva Substitute teachers in Beecher School District 200-U could be receiving a raise. The board kicked around some ideas at the October 13 board meeting but did not vote on the issue. Superintendent Jack Gaham is going to crunch a few more numbers to bring back to the board before making anything official.…
Beecher Considers Switching Graduation Dates
By Jeff Vorva Beecher High School could switch from having its graduation on a Thursday or Friday rather than the traditional Sunday in mid-May. Principal Mike Meyer’s request for the change came for personal reasons. “I just want it off of Sunday, because my daughter is going to graduate at the same time and the…
Beecher School Board Discusses High School Art and Elementary AC
By Jeff Vorva The nationwide teacher shortage is rearing its ugly head at Beecher High School, as art classes may be eliminated this year. Principal Mike Meyer delivered the grim news at the August 8 District 200-U Board Meeting. “It’s been a month, and I have as many applicants as state championships,” he said, referring…
Beecher School Board Discusses Cuts After Failed Referendum
By Jeff Vorva The referendum failed. Now it’s time for some action. Tough action. The Beecher District 200U School Board was reeling after a referendum was beaten that could have brought the schools more than $1 million of relief. According to the unofficial vote total provided by the Will County Clerk’s Office, there were 655…
Beecher 200U Board Meeting Discusses Safety Measures After Uvalde
By Jeff Vorva The May school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas shocked the nation and gave people in the education world some concerns. “As a teacher myself, this is always heavy on my mind,” said Beecher 200U School Board President Julie Papas at the June 13 board meeting. “This has been impacting…
Beecher 200U School Board Plans for Referendum
By Jeff Vorva Beecher School District 200-U Superintendent Jack Gaham is in a hope-for-the-best-and-prepare-for-the-worst mode when it comes to a June 28 referendum. He wasn’t making threats at the May 9 board meeting, but he was presenting a worst-case scenario if the referendum doesn’t pass. The district is seeking more funds to make up for…
Beecher School Board Rejects $95K Bid to Move Furniture
By Jeff Vorva Beecher 200-U Superintendent Jack Gaham blanched at a $95,000 bid for movers in March. But in April, he found one for considerably less. At the April 11 school board meeting, the board unanimously approved a $15,660 bid from Ferree Movers of Schererville, Indiana, to move and return items from classrooms in the…
Beecher 200U Votes Unanimously for Referendum on June Ballot
By Jeff Vorva Beecher School District 200U board members voted unanimously to place a referendum on the June 28 ballot to help ease a shortfall of more than $1 million. Although Superintendent Jack Gaham said the wording on the referendum still needs to be finalized, the board gave it the green light at the March…
Mask Discussion Gets Heated at Beecher School Board
By Jeff Vorva Life was not all lovey-dovey, chocolate, and flowers in the confines of the Beecher High School Library on Valentine’s Day. OK, it wasn’t the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, either, but things got heated at times at the board’s February 14 meeting, when it came to the hot-button topic of masks. Beecher School…
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Next »
