By Howard Packowitz and Kayla Johnson
PEORIA, Ill. (25 News) – The Board of Education for Peoria Public Schools has reached a compromise enabling Elite Community Outreach to work with at-risk students when the school year starts next week.
The board held a special meeting Friday that followed a session four days earlier that one observer described as a “volcano of chaos.”
The board voted 5-2, with members Andres Diaz and Brenda Wilson voting no, to continue the Game Changer program for just the fall semester. The cost will be about half of the initial price of $624,000, with PPS receiving $304,000 from an Illinois Safe School grant.
Calmer heads appeared to prevail at Friday’s special meeting although the discussion included claims by the board’s president of “incomplete” school district audits. Also mentioned were alleged “violations” without specifics about Elite, to which its Elite founder Carl Cannon said were unfair.
“Education, not incarceration,” was Cannon’s description of Elite’s purpose.
“I’m more than happy. and you’re going to see us double down on the work we have been doing over the past five years, and we are going to share this model because what we are doing here playing in Peoria, we are going to make sure it plays everywhere,” Cannon told 25 News.
Preventing failure is less expensive than paying later for the consequences of failure, said Pastor Mark McConnell, who was one of the public commenters.
None of the eight public commenters spoke out against Cannon’s organization.
Recently elected board member Andres Diaz said he knows of Elite’s successes, but he said he voted no because he has to consider what’s best for all students and for taxpayers.
“I’m glad that we are taking care of the students of this district”, said Diaz. “My concern is just the fact that only a third of the money that we are paying out is actually for the students to be given someone in the classroom.”
Meantime, the Peoria County Regional Office of Education is overseeing the state grant to help pay for the program.
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