Meeting Summary and Briefs: Litchfield Community Unit School District #12 Board of Education for March 19, 2026

Litchfield Community Unit School District #12 Board of Education Meeting | March 19, 2026

The Litchfield Community Unit School District #12 Board of Education met on Thursday, March 19, 2026, to review district finances, approve student fees, and analyze winter benchmark data. The board approved a resolution to join the Mississippi Valley Property Casualty Intergovernmental Cooperative for the district’s insurance coverage and authorized an updated officials’ pay scale to accommodate a new state mandate for basketball shot clocks. During the preceding Fogleman Scholarship Trustees meeting, the board unanimously approved a $2,100 scholarship amount for 102 anticipated students for the 2025-2026 school year.

Administrator Updates Highlight Drops in Chronic Absenteeism:
District administrators presented winter school improvement data, highlighting significant district-wide reductions in chronic absenteeism. Litchfield Early Childhood Center (LECC) Principal Adam Favre reported a drop to 16.7%, well below the school’s 20.5% target. Litchfield Middle School Principal Chad Carty reported a drop to 15% chronic absenteeism, crediting a new “buddy group” system and proactive one-on-one interventions led by the school’s dean. Litchfield High School Principal Hilary Wagenblast similarly reported a drop to 14%, aided by newly digitized weekly attendance letters. Academically, the high school met its benchmark goals, with 69% of students showing growth or maintaining high scores in English Language Arts on recent ACT practice exams, while 63% met the same standard in math.

South Central Illinois Regional Workforce Training Center Enrollment:
The SCI Regional Workforce Training Center continues to see strong demand, with administration reporting an anticipated enrollment of 168 students. The auto mechanics program currently has 33 students enrolled against a 42-student capacity. A newly launched sports health career pathway maxed out its 14-student capacity and is currently maintaining a waitlist. The building trades program is also operating at maximum capacity with 18 students enrolled in its first-year section. During the meeting, the board unanimously approved a memorandum of agreement between the SCI Center and the Illinois Laborers’ and Contractors’ joint apprenticeship and training trust fund, ensuring students continue to receive specialized instruction and state-level credentials.

Financials and Consent Agenda:
The board unanimously approved the March consent agenda, which included early graduation requests and a lease agreement renewal with the Regional Office of Education #3. The lease renewal includes a $5,000 increase to help cover utility costs for the Safe Schools space at the unit office. District bills payable for March 2026 totaled $327,578.64, including $174,710.23 from the Education fund, $96,385.15 for Operations & Maintenance, and $27,127.26 for Capital Projects. The district reported a healthy ending balance in all funds of $18,257,014 at the end of February 2026, with $15.47 million in operating funds.

Student Recognitions:
The board opened the meeting with an extensive Citizens’ Agenda honoring student achievements in wrestling and science. The district recognized 16 wrestling state qualifiers across the foundation, middle, and high school teams. High school senior Vincent Moore was honored for his 150 career wins and becoming only the eighth wrestler in Litchfield history to be a four-time state qualifier. Senior Jaden Ellinger, senior Braxton Kieffer, and senior Tristan Staggs were also celebrated for surpassing 100 career wins. The board additionally recognized the Elementary Science Olympiad team, which brought home medals in seven out of eight events during recent competitions.