East Central Reporter

Arcola Consolidated Unit School District 306 reported 37 suspensions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 37 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 5.4 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence without physical injury, with two recorded cases. There was also one incident involving tobacco. Additionally, 17 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 20 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 17 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 29 involved elementary or middle school students, while eight involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with five cases reported. Additionally, seven cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 48.1% of the Arcola Consolidated Unit School District 306 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 30 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 47.1% of the student body, and received four suspensions.

Illinois has approved a 2025 budget that allocates $8.6 billion to K-12 education, a $350 million increase from the previous fiscal year—the minimum required under the state funding formula.

In 2024, Illinois registered a teacher retention rate of almost 90%. Yet, around 91% of superintendents reported having a 'serious' problem teacher shortage problem. In total, almost 4,100 teaching positions remained vacant by the end of the year.

“They’re putting a substitute in there, that’s somebody with a four-year degree that’s not in teaching. They’re using a retired teacher…or worse than that, they’re canceling the class, putting the kids in other classrooms, putting them in study hall, but those are strategies we have to use if there’s no qualified teacher,” said Beth Crider, regional superintendent of Peoria County Regional Office of Education #48.

Type of Incident	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
Alcohol	-	-
Violence with injury	-	-
Violence without injury	2	5
Drug offenses	-	2
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	1
Tobacco	1	2
Other reason	17	7
Total	20	17

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	10	3
1-2 days	10	5
2-3 days	-	4
3-4 days	-	2
4-10 days	-	2
More than 10 days	-	1