The Murphysboro CUSD 186 Board of Education voted to adopt K–12 English language arts curriculum and approved a set of related instructional purchases for the coming school year.
At the meeting, board members reviewed proposals from the curriculum council covering grades K–12. The district presented a detailed cost estimate for grades 6–12: "For 6 through 12, it'll be $108,581.61," a curriculum representative said. The board also discussed $8,089.15 to replace damaged novels and a $4,497.57 purchase for honors English materials. The high school requested two color printers contracted through a local vendor to support classroom projects.
District staff noted additional supplemental purchases still pending firm quotes, including Grammarly licenses for multiple teachers, a writable product and a licensed AI-detection program to standardize submissions across English departments. The board discussed phased approval of items, allowing staff to return with final quotes for the remaining purchases.
Board action: After discussion and clarification, a motion to approve the K–12 ELA curriculum as presented was moved, seconded and approved by roll-call vote.
What comes next: staff will finalize outstanding quotes for Grammarly, writable and an AI-detection product and return those supplemental items for approval at a future meeting.