Dukes: District 429 Moving Forward with 2019-2020 Calendar

By Todd Wineburner

Pontiac’s District 429 school board plans to approve a calendar for the upcoming school year, in spite of the fact that lawmakers in Springfield haven’t issued official guidelines. School districts in Illinois base their calendar decisions on legislation from Springfield—legislation that hasn’t yet been approved this session. District 429 Superintendent Brian Dukes says district parents shouldn’t have to wait any longer. “What we’ve decided to go ahead and do is…approve a calendar that is very similar to the calendar we had this year.”

Dukes says he’s confident that changes won’t be necessary once the legislature ultimately does take action. He says he’s much more concerned about the planning that families need to do now. “The next step that comes into play is…registration for next year,” Dukes says, “so we want to get information out as early as next week if not the following week.” He adds that parents should be able to register relatively easily because of the district’s online options.

Dukes shared his thoughts in a Community Forum on WJEZ. You can hear the conversation by clicking the Podcasts link in the main menu bar.