The Summit Hill School District 161 Board of Education took several key actions at its meeting on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, highlighted by the unanimous approval of a $115,905 contract with Schwartz Construction Group, Inc. to build a new play area at Dr. Julian Rogus School, slated for completion by early August. For more details on this project, please see the full story.

The board also showed rare division during separate votes on administrative assignments and contracts. Board member Joy Murphy voted against the assignments and voted “present” on the contracts, resulting in 6-1 and 6-0-1 votes, respectively. A standalone story covers these divided votes. The board also approved a slate of new hires for the upcoming school year.

Virtual Server Upgrade Discussed
The board discussed upgrading the district’s server to a virtual server with new hardware. No action was taken, and the administration stated the item would be brought back to the August 13, 2025, board meeting for a formal vote of approval.

Board Goals Approved
The board unanimously approved the district’s goals and action plans for the 2025-2026 school year. The plans had been modified based on prior board discussion.

Band Trip to Springfield Gets Green Light
The board approved the Summit Hill Junior High Band’s bi-annual trip to Springfield, scheduled for March 2026. The approval was part of the consent agenda, which passed on a 7-0 vote.

FOIA Requests Handled
Superintendent Dr. Paul McDermott reported that the district had received and completed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from Laura Vees, CT Mills, Anon Lake County, and SmartProcure within the legally required timeframe. The requests concerned contract rates for services, staff directories, and safety and staff surveys, among other topics.