Enrollment down at Spring Valley Hall High School

Enrollment is declining at Hall High School in Spring Valley.

Superintendent Jesse Brandt told the board Wednesday there are 389 students enrolled, which is down from 407 at the end of last year.

There are 89 freshmen registered, which is lower than normal, 110 sophomores, 91 juniors and 106 seniors.

“We knew the freshman class was a smaller group but there are also a few students that haven’t registered that were here last year,” Brandt said. “We are trying to contact those families. In addition, there are a few students that are being homeschooled due to the pandemic.”

In relation to the lower attendance, there are fewer athletes participating in fall sports. There are 101 athletes playing football, golf, soccer, cross country and volleyball, as well as 15 girls in Devilettes and 22 in cheerleading.

There are no spectator limits for sporting events but athletes and spectators must wear masks for indoor sports.

In other news:

• Brandt presented the tentative fiscal year 2022 budget to the board. Overall the budget shows a surplus balance with a surplus in all funds with the exception of debt services and transportation. Brandt explained in regards to transportation only a certain amount of money can be levied but he is hopeful the administration will find ways to save some money in this area. “We will make some tweaks to the tentative budget during the next month then we will look over the final budget and approve the budget on Sept. 22 after the budget hearing.”
• The budget hearing will take place 5:55 p.m. Sept. 22, before the regularly scheduled meeting.
• The board approved the employment of Doug Narczewski as auto mechanics teacher for the 2021-2022 school year.
• Ed Riordan was approved as a volunteer golf coach for the 2021-2022 school year.
• The board learned of a FOIA Request from WBBM-TV Chicago in regards to Cyber Security.
• Changes to the student/parent handbook were approved. There were no major changes, just some language updates. Also, there were several board policies that were updated.
• The next meeting will be 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, in the school’s library.