McHenry Times

Community High School District 155 reported 1,002 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,004 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,002 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 18.8 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There were an additional two cases of students being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 28 recorded cases. There were also 27 incidents involving drugs. Additionally, 578 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 675 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 327 incidents involved female students.

All 1,002 suspensions issued in the district involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 65 cases reported. Additionally, 173 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 72.3% of the Community High School District 155 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 532 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 21.2% of the student body, and received 385 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	6	8
Violence with injury	3	12
Violence without injury	28	65
Drug offenses	27	47
Firearm	1	2
Other dangerous weapons	6	14
Tobacco	16	16
Other reason	578	173
Total	665	337

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	55	7
1-2 days	439	123
2-3 days	151	60
3-4 days	19	82
4-10 days	1	55
More than 10 days	-	10