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Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105 students suspended 131 times during 2023-24 school year

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Marcie Hanson Dean of Students | Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105

Marcie Hanson Dean of Students | Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105

Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105 reported 131 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 131 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 21.6 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

Among in-school suspensions all cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 96 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 35 incidents involved female students.

All 131 suspensions issued in the district involved elementary or middle school students.

In terms of ethnicity, Black students, who made up 43.3% of the Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 74 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by white students, who made up 28.2% of the student body, and received 30 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.

Pontiac-William Holliday School District 105 Student Discipline Report
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol--
Violence with injury--
Violence without injury--
Drug offenses--
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco--
Other reason5576
Total5576
Length of Suspensions
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less6-
1-2 days4639
2-3 days311
3-4 days-14
4-10 days-6
More than 10 days-6

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