By JEFF LAMPE
For The Weekly Post
ELMWOOD – Among the job duties of a school superintendent is handling budget matters for a school district. That list may also soon include driving a bus, at least for Elmwood CUSD 322.
A shortage of bus drivers has led Elmwood Superintendent Joel Schmieg to pursue the steps to become a driver. Schmieg outlined the driver shortage and discussed the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget at Monday’s school board meeting.
“We need two full-time bus drivers to sustain our current routes and that’s even after we reduced our routes,” Schmieg said.
He noted parents would like to see additional routes to shorten travel time for students. But Schmieg said that would require a third full-time driver.
To attract more applicants, Elmwood is offering two hybrid full-time positions: bus driver and cafeteria aide and second-shift custodian and bus driver. Both jobs offer benefits. Schmieg said adding benefits has attracted interest.
“Nobody wants to work just four hours a day,” he said.
With an eye toward the next three years of budgets, Schmieg said the future is “more cloudy than sunny when it comes to revenues keeping up with costs of inflation.”
The Fiscal Year 2026 budget Schmieg presented shows a projected deficit of $398,867. That is after board-approved transfers of $300,000 from the Education Fund to Operations and Maintenance and $335,000 from Working Cash to Transportation.
As a result, projected reserves would be $4.1 million, or 5.59 months of operations – under the district goal of six months.
Cost increases are largely to blame for the deficit, Schmieg said. He said the district’s electric bill is projected to be $211,000, up $52,000 from last year. Insurance for employees is up $105,000 and the district bus lease increased by $65,000. Staff salaries are also increasing by 4%, or about $431,290 per year.
Schmieg said the anticipated end to Elmwood’s residential TIF district will provide additional funds starting with Fiscal Year 2028. He said the district would have received about $302,000 in real-estate taxes from the residential TIF for FY 2026.
Schmieg said enrollment declined to 610 this year from 617 last year. He said the district could handle 100 more students, given current staffing levels.
The board also approved a two-year wrestling co-op with Peoria Heights. Schmieg said 14 Elmwood students indicated interest and will provide their own transportation to and from Peoria Heights, which has varsity and junior-varsity wrestling programs.
After closed session, the board approved hiring Tony McCoy as a mentor for Junior/Senior High School Principal Tom Bell for $50 per hour and up to 10 hours per semester.
Also hired were Allie Ramsay and Michael Totosz as substitute aides and Jenny Collins as a substitute teacher. Katherine Janovetz was approved as sophomore class sponsor.
Resignations were accepted from Adrienne Steffes as junior high assistant volleyball coach, Kyle Anderson as high school assistant boys track coach, Jorge and Angie Freyre as bus drivers and SheAnna Snider as cafeteria aide.
