The Sycamore School District is dismissing seven staff members.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Kathy Countryman says the seven staff members fill 10 positions. None of the positions are teachers.

The dismissals come as the district is cutting about $1.3 million from next fiscal year’s budget to eliminate a projected deficit that, administrators say, is being caused by state funding cuts and little new revenue from property taxes.

The Sycamore School Board has rejected all contractor bids for several parts for the middle school expansion.

District Operations Director Kreg Wesley says only four companies submitted prices for four parts of project, including general trades and some demolition. School Board President Jim Dombek says there were several area projects for contractors to bid on.

“They might have been more focused on those project than these bid packages which are a bit smaller than some of the other ones they would have been looking or focusing on," says Dombek. "Hopefully, if we rebid those we should do better, we should get more interest, we should be able to get people to sharpen up the pencils and bring the cost down for us.”

Wesley says the bids did come within budget but they feel they can get better prices. He says rebidding shouldn’t delay construction.

Sycamore is getting new bids from construction firms for its police station expansion.

Mayor Ken Mundy says the bids they just received came in higher than anticipated. He says adjustments have been made to the plan in hopes of lowering the cost, mostly by making changes to the expansion’s façade.

"We know what our number is. We know our range, our window, for being able to afford this," says Mundy, "and so we chose not to accept any bids at this time and to make some adjustments to the project.”

The expansion had been estimated at $3 million. Mundy says bids came in about $400 thousand over budget.

The project includes a two-story addition with a basement and 3 vehicle ports as well as renovating the existing police station space. Mundy says despite the re-bidding, the addition is expected to open in December or January.

Hear all of WLBK's monthly interview with Mayor Mundy on the Podcast Page.

It's going to cost more to attend Kishwaukee Community College for the 2010-2011 school year.

The Kishwaukee College Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition by $6. $5 will go towards tuition and $1 of the hike will go to fees, mainly for technology.

This is the second tuition increase in a year's time with a $4 jump for the 2009-2010 school year. This hike was made without the Board knowing how much funding they are going to get from the state. The rate was set in March so families can plan accordingly.

A DeKalb man is facing charges of criminal sexual abuse, battery and unlawful restraint after allegedly making advances at a co-worker. 

Police arrested 28-year-old Steven Jlopleh last week after the victim called Sycamore Police. Jlopeh is accused of pinning himself against the victim.

He was released from county jail after posting bond and will be back in court on April first.

A Hinckley woman was injured in what, sheriff's deputies say, was her second accident in two hours.

33 year old Jennifer Wyatt was flown to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford and charged with driving under the influence of drugs following the accident on Somonauk Road north of Pine Road shortly before noon Tuesday.

DeKalb County Sheriff's deputies say Wyatt's car drifted into the oncoming lane of traffic, hit another car and then went into the roadside ditch, where it rolled over onto its top.

Deputies say Wyatt told them that she blacked out and didn't remember what happened. She had reportedly been in a less serious accident about two hours earlier.

The driver of the other car in the Somonauk Road accident, 44 year old Todd Bunkofske of Somonauk, was also injured and was taken to Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich.

One of Governor Pat Quinn’s budget proposals could mean the City of DeKalb will need to cut another 15 city workers on top of the job cuts the city is already considering.

Ten-percent of what the state receives in income tax revenue is shared with municipalities. In a move that would affect all cities, villages, and towns, Quinn is proposing reducing what’s distributed to municipalities by 30-percent to help the state fix its budget problems.

DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen says that would mean the city would received $1.2-million less next fiscal year. To make that up, Povlsen says the city would have to either raise taxes or eliminate at least 15 city workers. That would be on top of the 19 positions that have been left vacant in the past few years and the 25 to 30 positions that may be cut to eliminate the $5-million deficit the city is facing now.

"I think it's disgraceful that our state government, who've had difficulties balancing the budget, wants to put this back on the citizens of the local municipalities," says Povlsen. "It will impact all of the municipalities and to me, it's just shifting the burden from the hard decisions that they're going to have to make back to municipalities and make it more difficult for us to operate."

ReNew DeKalb officials say the downtown businesses support completing the downtown revitalization construction on the current time line, but some council members are questioning the organization’s survey and are suggesting the final phase needs to be slowed down.

The city is getting ready to put the final construction work out for bid. ReNew DeKalb Board President Frank Roberts says, at a meeting last week, downtown business owners were asked if the city should continue with the current time line of completing the Lincoln Highway improvements and starting the Locust Street improvements this year, or if beginning Locust Street should be held for a year, or if all further construction should be put off until the economy improves. 

"I'm pleased to report that the general consensus of those that were in attendance was about 75-percent of the downtown merchants at that meeting believe that we should go forward with the existing time frame. 25-percent said let's do Lincoln Highway now and Locust in 2011," says Roberts. "While they did express some concern with going forward, nobody said 'no public improvements going forward'."

But Alderman Brendon Gallagher and Dave Baker questioned whether enough businesses were surveyed. Baker says he knows of businesses that weren’t surveyed that want the construction delayed, and Gallagher says while about 30 businesses supported the current time line, he notes there are 130 in the city’s Central Business District.

"I don't like to rush things," says Gallagher. "Let's take our time. Let's do it correct... before we push something through really quickly and get a small sample size." 

As a result of Monday night‘s discussion, the city will ask construction firms for prices for the current time as well as holding off on starting the Locust Street improvements until 2011. The Council will then decide how construction should proceed after bids are received.

City Manager Mark Biernacki reminded that, by law, the funds collected through the TIF program for the downtown improvements cannot be used to address the city’s general fund deficit.

DeKalb’s Seventh Ward has a new alderman. 

Lisa Kammas took the oath of office Monday night after her appointment by Mayor Kris Povlsen was approved by the City Council on a 6-0 vote. First Ward Alderman Bertrand Simpson was absent.

Kammas says she’s looking forward to giving back to the community. She’ll serve the less than two years left on Brent Keller’s term. Keller resigned last month after taking a job in Chicago. 

The 37-year-old Kammas has lived in DeKalb for the past 15-years and the Seventh Ward for the last six. She has an associates degree from Kishwaukee College, previously worked as an administrator at Edward Jones investments, and is now a stay-at-home mom with three children. She has also served on the Brooks Elementary School PTA Board.