15-03-2025
Roadmap 2030 project has Decatur teachers worried
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — The Decatur School District is putting together a project to help shape their future. However, the plans have some teachers worried who think the focus should shift to more pressing needs.
Decatur Schools is taking a look at how to use their building space better and improve education results. The project is called Roadmap 2030, but the President of the Decatur Education Association, Sam Mills, said the district is prioritizing the wrong thing. He's talked to many teachers who feel the same way.
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There are a few different scenarios the district has proposed, including:
Standalone versus integrated pre-school
Standalone versus integrated middle school
One high school with two different campuses versus two high schools
At a board meeting, the district said they want to balance the square footage per student and improve efficiency.
However, Mills said the educators in his union feel like they haven't been heard by the administration. District administrators have met with teachers he represents but they came out of the meeting feeling dismissed. Mills said there's about 100 staff openings in the district at any given time.
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'We already know that staff vacancy is a problem. If you don't move the needle on staff vacancies, you don't move the needle at all,' Mills said. 'And I don't care how many times you shuffle the buildings around; you shuffle the usage of the buildings, it will mean nothing other than creating more vacancies, creating a larger problem with the academic outcomes.'
Mills also said teachers have told him if this plan doesn't go well, they would consider leaving the district. Staff made up a majority of the last community meeting the district hosted for feedback on the roadmap.
WCIA reached out to the district for comment on the concerns Mills shared but has not heard back yet. In a board meeting last month, the assistant superintendent said the first steps of Roadmap 2030 would take place in the 2026-27 school year.
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