By Neil Doyle

Pontiac District 429 Superintendent Brian Dukes says he doesn’t have many answers for parents asking about the calendar for the upcoming school year. The Illinois General Assembly continues to debate student attendance questions and that’s making it impossible for districts across Illinois to commit.

“The state has not opened up the calendar yet for us to go in and put our dates in for next year,” Dukes said on WJEZ’s Community Forum. “We apologize to our parents and staff who are trying to plan for next year, but there is currently nothing we can do about it.”

Dukes says that he’s a parent of school-age children himself, so he’s sensitive to these kinds of issues. He says the district works hard to avoid radical changes from one school year to the next.

“The good news is if you compare our calendar and how it looks this year, we anticipate it looking very similar,” Dukes added.

Lawmakers are expected to pass legislation sometime this week.

You can hear our complete conversation with District 429 Superintendent Brian Dukes on our podcasts page. Look for the link in the menu bar on our homepage.