Joliet West High School - Alpha Omega Yearbook (Joliet, IL)

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Before the school board meeting at West in September, Central students picket the probable closing of their school. N K 'gmt ff 3 Q V is nigga: A elif ettre District Faces Budget Cuts g This is it - the year of the budget cuts. The week before school started in August, students began to pay their 330.00 activity fee, instituted by a vote on April 14, 1981. Upon paying their fee, students received activity cards, which entitled them to free admission to all home athletic events, a free yearbook, and six issues of llger Tales. The activity fee, paid by 9570 of the student body, and the funds raised by the Save Our Schools Committee made extra-curricular activities possible. As soon as school started, students noticed the changes in the atmosphere. The fifth subject option was eliminated for everyone, except seniors and students in music. This meant most students had at least one full period study hall. Rather than being in a study hall, some students became runners, media center assistants, and lab assistants. In addition -to the elimination of the fifth subject option, levels were changed to A and regular, weighted 1.2 and 1, respectively. Driver Education was also affected by the budget cuts. It was offered to half the sophomores as a full year class. The remaining sophomores had to take it in summer school or during their junior year. Freshmen felt the effect of the budget cuts in Freshman Seminar. Each period, one teacher monitored the entire group of freshmen in the Little Theatre. Budget cuts were of primary interest to the athletic programs. Across the district, the number of coaches was cut by 2Oofo. Freshman sports were also cut: but to compensate for this, freshmen played on the sophomore team or sophomore reserve team. Sports' budgets were also cut drastically. The boys' budget decreased from 825,000 to 37,800 and the girls' budget from 315,000 to S6.000. Staffs and faculty were also reduced. Forty-three teachers and six administrators were released from the district. Nineteen teachers from West were releasedg also, Assistant Principal Dr. Richard Samlin's contract no longer included the summer months. Secretarial, custodial, and cafeteria staffs were also reduced. At the October board meeting the school board received the marketing survey submitted by Marwick, Peat, Mitchell, and Company of Chicago and acted upon it, closing Joliet Central for the 1982-83 school year. This closure caused controversy in the communityland created opposition to the school board. Some concerned citizens formed the Save Central Committee and, on November 3, helped to elect write-in candidates Arlene Albert and Ford C. June to the school board, along with Marshall Crandall and Berverly McNiff. This was thefirst time in the history of District 204 that write-in candidates received a greater number of votes than those already on the ballot. To accomplish this, the Save Central Committee placed ads in the Joliet Herald News and held rallies, which taught citizens how to correctly vote for write-in candidates. Other board members were Francis Holmquist, R. Joseph Huff, and Ernest Tonelli. Three of the newly elected board members, Albert, June, and Crandall, along with Francis Holmquist, voted to reverse the previous decision and open Joliet Central for the 1982-83 school year. Other reversals included the extension of Dr. Samlin's contract to twelve months, and a limited reinstatement of the fifth class option second semester. To avoid scheduling problems, students were allowed to elect one class, during their study hall period. 3

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t During an all-school assembly, the 1 cheerleaders and Tiger Paws perform Q the VWnner's Circle. A cappella choir members perform at the Fall Concert on October 30. N l ' we ' s c W c A ..,. r 1 c l 3 U 'i 3 X l l E f Mn Joseph Bennington takes atten- dance of some 80 freshmen in his third 3 period freshman seminar. Senior Connee Redmond, a runner for I the dean's ofhce, picks up absence blanks from the typing room. l l l W N l l W - 2 Alpha 9K as i 1 I i Mr. Miles Carlson prepares activity cards for y students who have paid their 530.00 activity fee.

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e During the gifted trip to the United Nations, Mike Carlson, John Bittermann, Dan Arnold, Shashank Soni Beth Kransberge Jacaway, Tony Columbus, Mrs. Diane Malon- ' ey, Mike Marmer and Nancy Zinneman visit New York City tourist attractions. Filled with Valentine flowers, teacher's mailboxes are an example of the work of S.P.O.71 4 Alpha li., After placing second in state wrestling, Junior Dean Magro stands among the 185 pound winners. Junior Dave Wittkofski and Senior Steve Richardson anxiously await their chance to antnr thn namn Advanced Journalism students, Eric Ftuden and Meg Powers, read weekly news and sports items during period two on Friday. up-.-5-,