West Central Reporter

Meredosia-Chambersburg Community Unit School District 11 reported 34 suspensions and an expulsion just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 36 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 35 were suspensions or expulsions, representing a rate of approximately 16.6 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

The expulsion was issued for .

Among in-school suspension where a reason was specified, the only case was given for incident involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, seven cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 27 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another eight incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 19 involved elementary or middle school students, while 15 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury and violence without physical injury, with 14 cases reported. Additionally, 12 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

All of the students suspended or expelled during the 2023-24 school year in Meredosia-Chambersburg Community Unit School District 11 were white, who made up 94.3% of the district’s student population.

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	Expelled
Alcohol	-	-	-
Violence with injury	1	7	-
Violence without injury	-	7	-
Drug offenses	-	-	-
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	-	-
Tobacco	-	-	-
Other reason	7	12	1
Total	8	26	1

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	-	-
1-2 days	7	8
2-3 days	1	6
3-4 days	-	9
4-10 days	-	1
More than 10 days	-	2