“We’re very pleased we are going to have a traditional ceremony,” said GHS Principal Jeff Houston.
The district previously considered splitting graduation into separate ceremonies to follow COVID-19 guidelines.
“We’ve been visiting and revisiting as we’ve been faced with the challenges of the CDC guidelines and that ever-changing plan,” Houston said.
But with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropping school social distancing guidelines from six feet to three feet, the single ceremony became possible.
The school anticipates having around 285 graduates this year and each will be able to have four guests at the ceremony planned for 2 p.m. on May 30.
GHS principal Houston takes on new role in District 205
GALESBURG Galesburg High School Principal Jeff Houston is moving to a new role in the school district.
Houston, who currently oversees the Galesburg Area Vocational Center along with the high school, was hired Monday as a full-time director of GAVC.
“The district is thrilled to have someone as passionate about vocational education as Jeff Houston, said Superintendent John Asplund. We feel the district’s investment in the GAVC facility needs a full-time director for the near future to be able to recruit students from all over the region.
Houston has worked for the district for more than 22 years, first as an at-risk coordinator and then as a driver’s education teacher, physical education teacher and coach. He was the director of GAVC in 2016 when hired as GHS principal.
May 11, 2021
The District 205 Board of Education approved around 370-thousand dollars in change orders for the renovation work at Galesburg High School.
Changes include the removal of drive lane and sidewalks, including a ramp, stairs, and handrail; Servery Equipment for the second floor for the 7th and 8th Grade portion of the building; upgraded electrical; and the new costs for the metal lockers, blamed on the spike in steel costs.
Board member Rodney Phelps asked Russell Construction’s Lee Marbach how the district was paying for these change orders. Marbach says that the funds are coming from contingency and that money has run dry. “Based on where we are today, we’ve pretty much all but used all of our contingency with all these changes we’re talking about today.”
April 30, 2021
The District 205 Board of Education has approved the purchase of the building that houses Northwoods Church and the Galesburg Area Vocational Center for a total of $1.3M.
The district was renting space to house the GAVC from Northwoods Church as part of the renovation project at Galesburg High School.
Currently, the district pays $5,400 a month to rent space in the building for the GAVC, and the rent increases every year throughout the term of the contract.
Board member Maury Lyon says that the cost to rent the space for the GAVC would equal to half of the total purchase price once the contract had come to full term. That’s before possibly exercising an extension, adding an additional five years. Plus, the district now has the entire building to utilize instead of just a quarter of it.
GALESBURG For the first time in since early March, Knox County’s rate of COVID spread is trending downwards from the previous week.
The Knox County Health Department announced 38 COVID cases in the county Tuesday, adding up to 80 over the past week.
The new cases include two girls under the age of 10, four boys under the age of 10, four girls in their 10s, three men in their 10s, two women in their 20s, one man in his 20s, one woman in her 30s, two men in their 30s, three women in their 40s, four men in their 40s, three women in their 50s, two men in their 50s, three women in their 60s, two men in their 60s, one woman in her 70s, and one man in his 70s.