The Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, approved a major technology contract and navigated a rare split vote on a new teacher hire. The board unanimously awarded a five-year, $48,305 contract to Scale Computing from VirTek for a virtual server and hardware upgrade. In a separate 6-1 vote, the board hired Johnna Armellino-Ker as a new 7th-grade teacher, with board member Joy Murphy dissenting. For more details, see the full story.

The board also processed significant staffing changes, accepting a dozen resignations while approving numerous new hires to fill teaching, paraprofessional, and secretarial roles for the new school year. A separate story details these personnel moves.

Budget Hearing Set for September 17
The board unanimously voted to establish the public hearing for the 2025-2026 district budget. The hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. on September 17, 2025. Director of Business Services Julie Stearns presented a tentative version of the budget to the board for its initial review.

District 843 Budget Presented
Sarah Rexroad, Executive Director of the Lincoln-Way Area Special Education Joint Agreement District 843, presented the cooperative’s 2025-2026 budget to the board. The budget was approved by the board as part of its consent agenda.

Public Comment Heard
Community member Lisa Brace addressed the board during the public comment portion of the meeting. The topic of her comments was not detailed in the meeting minutes.

District Receives Financial Recognition
Superintendent Dr. Paul McDermott announced that Summit Hill District 161 had received a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 2024 fiscal year from the Association of School Business Officials International. He also announced that the district-wide theme for the 2025-2026 school year will be “One161.”