Published on November 10, 2025 7:59 pm
Last Updated on November 10, 2025 8:23 pm
(2025 EHS Varsity Soccer Team:
Kael Allison, Alberto Zaragoza, Will Hagerstrom, Maicol Sefton, Ina Mapes, Connor Delong, Alan Barojas, Rodolfo Garcia, Sebastian Simoni, Brady Wilson, Luis Gonzalez, Bryson Marler, Gregory Hernandez, Dani Angel, Rece Kinney, Jacob Warner, Jake Niebrugge, Brady Patnaude, Coach Logan Arney, and JV Coach Kaleb Blake
Not Pictured: Andrew Wagoner, Gage Kinder, Luis Sarmiento, Camilo Aden, and Skylar Longardner)
Effingham Unit 40 school board members Monday heard the annual Report Card Data presentation for the district.
Curriculum Director Chelle Beck said the district’s low-income rate was down, the English language learning rate is up, and the mobility rate is slightly up.
Beck said as far as the teaching staff, 60% are Bachelor’s degree equipped, the three-year teacher retention rate is up, and the district’s four-year graduation rate is up.
District expenditures per student is below the state average, as is usual for most downstate districts. Beck said the dropout rate is down, the attendance rate is up, and the truancy rate is down.
Also Monday, the school board agreed to be the administrative fiscal agent for the Effingham Regional Career Foundation that oversees the CORE program operating at the Effingham Technology Center. Unit 40 will be reimbursed for serving as the fiscal agent.
The Board set high school graduation for Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 2pm, and approved a bus lease with Midland States Bank. Nine buses will be involved at a cost of $1,394,109. The buses were acquired two years ago. The Board also acquired a mower from Bahrns Equipment. Four new courses were adopted…Environmental Science, Public Service and Safety, Music in American History and Early Childhood Care and Education.
Unit 40 Superintendent Andy Johnson discussed seeking the annual $50,000 school maintenance grant with a final decision at the December meeting.
The Board also recognized Logan Arney and the EHS Soccer team, which won the first regional championship and conference championship in school history and finished 22-2-3 on the season.
