School board sets registration fees, says farewell to Allen

By Kayleigh Rahn
The Tuscola Board of Education during it meeting Monday, May 21 approved registration fees for the 2018-2019 school year.

Registration will remain flat for all areas except Parkland College tuition, which increased by $50 for those high school students enrolled at the college.

“We’ve kept all the fees that we control the same,” Superintendent Michael Smith said. “It’s never my intention to gouge the families. These are fees that give a little help to offset the costs of the programs.”

Online registration for next year will open Wednesday, June 6.

Thinking to next school year, at least one familiar face at Tuscola Community High School will be gone. TCHS Principal Brad Allen attended his final board meeting as an administrator at the district. He will close his contract at the end of next month before heading to Prairie Central High School in Fairbury.

“Mr. Allen has been with us seven years, but I think so many people have forgotten where we were seven years ago,” Smith said. “I was hired in early fall. We didn’t have any principals; we didn’t have an athletic director. It just seemed like it went on and on and on.”

“Mr. Allen was one of about 50 people who applied for the three principal positions,” Smith said. “He was the only one who came over to my house, came to my basement and sold me on the spot. It’s been a real pleasure of my career to watch him grow from where he started and to have been given the opportunity at a larger high school, which comes some challenges as well as benefits.”

Allen said his seven years in Tuscola have flown.

“I couldn’t express my appreciation enough to this group for the support you give us in our daily jobs,” Allen said. “You’ve given me an opportunity to do a job I truly love. There are tough days, but we do it all together. There’s not a better support system than what we with our kids, who are second to none. We have phenomenal faculty who care about our kids more than anything. People don’t realize the time and effort and resources they spend out side the classroom to provide our kids opportunities for success. That doesn’t mean just academically. Our teachers are about the whole kid, and the stuff they do for our kids goes unnoticed, but they are OK with that. I couldn’t be more fortunate than to be a part of that.

The full story can be found in the Wednesday, May 23 edition of The Tuscola Journal.