Byron High School (Byron, Illinois)

Byron High School is located in the small city of Byron, Illinois population: 3,284. Byron High School is located 17 miles southwest from Rockford, Illinois, the state's 3rd largest city.

Revenue

Taxes from the Byron Nuclear Generating Station play a critical role in the school's funding. In 2006 Byron passed a referendum that raised property taxes in order to build a new middle school and add a new wing onto Byron High School. The new Byron High School wing was completed in winter 2007. The new Byron Middle School, completed as of summer 2009, is currently in use.

Colors and Mascot

The Byron school colors are orange, black and white. The school mascot is the tiger.

Activities

Byron High school offers several sports and extra curricular activities for its student body. Non-athletic activities include: Chess, Scholastic Bowl, Speech Team, Drama Club, Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering, National Honor Society, Foreign Language Club, Future Farmers of America, Band, Chorus, Art Club, Student Council, Yearbook, Mission Statement Club, and Key Club.

The Byron Scholastic Bowl qualified for the State Finals seven times (twice in combined field, five times in Class A), winning the Class A State Championship in 2000 and placing second in 1997 and 2008.

Athletics

Byron High School competes in the Big Northern Conference. Athletic activities include: Basketball, Volleyball, Track, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Softball, Baseball, Swimming, Bowling, and Soccer.

Byron's Football team won the Class 3A state championship in 1999, finishing with a record of 14-0. The team set the state's single season scoring record by scoring a total of 673 points. That record has since been surpassed.^[1]

The Byron High School Wrestling team won the 1994-95 Illinois Class A state championship with a record of 22-2. The team also finished as the state runner-up in the 1998-99 season with a record of 23-3.^[2]

Byron's Boys' Golf team won the state title in 2007.

The Dreamworks Controversy

In mid-2009, the popular DreamWorks Playground, located adjacent to Mary Morgan Elementary along Colfax Dr., was replaced because the wood used to build the playground was purportedly toxic.^[3]

In April 2009, following a report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding the supposed negative effects of a chemical wood preservative used to treat the wood used in the construction of DreamWorks, the Byron School District Board of Directors announced that a sample of the wood used to build DreamWorks playground was tested by an independent lab in Chicago, Illinois, and was found to contain measurable levels of arsenic. The wood, which was used in the construction by Robert S. Leathers & Associates, of Ithaca, NY, was treated with wood preservative Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), which was discontinued following an agreement between manufacturers of CCA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) upon the conclusion that contact with wood treated with CCA can increase a person's risk of developing lung or bladder cancer.^[4][5]

The DreamWorks Playground was replaced with a new playground selected by a committee of parents and concerned citizens of the community. The new playground was opened to the public on September 9, 2009. Some community members have expressed a feeling of outrage or loss, some even claiming that the Byron School District Superintendent, Margaret Fostiak, purposely exaggerated the concerns over the supposed effects of CCA in order to remove DreamWorks playground to make room for a potential Mary Morgan Elementary school addition. This rumor has recently become a reality, with the Mary Morgan Elementary construction project having held its official groundbreaking on August 1, 2010.

Officers

The most recent Superintendent of district 226, Margaret Fostiak, was put on administrative leave by unanimous vote on July 13, 2011. Fostiak was then terminated by the Byron School Board by a unanimous vote on July 28, 2011. Her contract was originally supposed to run through June 30, 2014. The 7 board members were all elected in the most recent 2 elections, in 2009 and 2011. Dr. James Hammack is the current Superintendent. The principal of Byron High School is Jay Mullens.

Notable alumni

• Troy Drake - Philadelphia Eagles

External links

• Byron Home Page

Coordinates: 42°07′52″N 89°15′57″W / 42.13111°N 89.26583°W / 42.13111; -89.26583

References

1. ↑ "IHSA Football Records and History". IHSA.org. IHSA. Retrieved 10/3/14.  Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
2. ↑ http://ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysWrestling/RecordsHistory.aspx?url=/data/wr/records/team1-2.htm
3. ↑ http://www.byron226.org/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=2643
4. ↑ http://www.epa.gov/oppad001/reregistration/cca/
5. ↑ http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/46773652.html