D204 Budget
The Indian Prairie School District 204 board officially approved a proposal for the fiscal year 2022 budget at Monday’s board meeting. The budget included almost $380 million in revenue and a projected surplus of about $500,000. About 85% of the budget’s operating expense goes to educational programming. The budget includes money for about 28 new full-time hires. That will help reduce K through 2 class sizes, and allow for more nursing staff and district-wide math, social-emotional learning, and literacy coordinators.
Naperville Art Committee
A panel tasked with ironing out a proposal to create a Naperville art committee as a spin off to the work of the Naperville Special Events Cultural Amenities (SECA) Commission is one step closer to making it happen. The art committee, if created, will oversee the administration of the city’s art curation process. The panel envisions the new committee will be responsible for issuing an annual call for projects and responding to requests throughout the year, as needed. The SECA Commission is expected to make its pitch to Naperville City Council at its October 19th meeting.
Benet Academy
A message from Benet Academy’s chancellor suggests the school may yet again go back on its decision to hire a woman who is in a same-sex marriage as the lacrosse coach. In a statement on the St. Procopius Abbey website, Abbot Austin Murphy raised concerns over hiring someone whose public life is in opposition to Catholic moral teaching, and said he is “deeply troubled” by the school’s decision to offer the woman the job. The school had initially rescinded a job offer after learning about the same-sex marriage, but reversed the decision after public backlash.
Naperville Music Festival
The Naperville Music Festival won’t return to Naper Settlement next year. The third party rental event’s first outing at Naper Settlement featured performances from Vanilla Ice, Smash Mouth, and more. After festival guests gave feedback about lack of organization, long lines and other issues, the museum apologized for the disappointment and announced it will not allow the event to return next year.
Parade Of Lights
Katie Wood, who is the executive director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance (DNA), will be one of the grand marshals for this year’s Parade of Lights. Wood announced her retirement from the role on August 5. During her 14 year tenure she’s led the city’s Central Business District, which is comprised of 300 businesses, including shops, restaurants, spas, and service businesses. Mayor Steve Chirico will serve as the other grand marshal.
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