South Elgin HS student wins ECC math contest
South Elgin High School student Ethan Horton took first place Dec. 5 in Elgin Community College’s 22nd math integration contest.
ECC students Kyle Gilligan and Fnu Sweekar finished second and third respectively, according to a news release. Horton was presented with a $450 Amazon gift card, Gilligan a $150 Amazon gift card and Sweekar a $50 Amazon gift card.
This was the first time dual-credit students from local high schools joined ECC students in the competition.
A total of 61 students participated, the largest number to date. The contest has been held once a semester for the past 11 years and is open to students enrolled in calculus two or higher. It was judged by ECC math faculty and local high school math teachers.
“There are timed rounds for each round,” said Kenneth Beynon, event organizer, emcee and assistant professor of mathematics. ”Each participant works on the same problem. We put the big problem up on a big overhead so everyone could see it.
“They had certain amount of time to solve the problem. If they got it right, they proceeded to the next round. If they had it wrong, they got a strike. If they had three strikes, they were eliminated.”
Former Elgin city manager resigns town manager job
Under a cloud of controversy, former Elgin City Manager Sean Stegall resigned Saturday, Dec. 13, from his job as town manager in Cary, North Carolina.
According to reports from the Raleigh News & Observer and other media outlets, Stegall was put on paid leave in late November after a performance review in which he faced questions about “over-the-top spending and inadequate financial reporting … lack of transparency with the full council, staff and citizens and an unhealthy work environment,” town Mayor Harold Weinbrecht was reported as saying.
Among the allegations was Stegall’s discretionary spending fund had ballooned to $1 million dollars in his decade as town manager and Stegall reportedly signed off on a land purchase without the town council’s approval.
Stegall took the Cary town manager job in 2016. He was named Stegall served as Elgin’s city manager from 2009 to 2016, when he took the job in Cary. He previosly served as Elgin assistant city manager from 2000 to 2009 and assistant city manager in Batavia, New York.
School District U-46 promotes three administrators
The District U-46 School Board has appointed three internal candidates to new leadership roles in the 2026-27 school year.
William J. Johnson, currently executive director of high schools, will become assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, according to a news release. He will replace Brian Tennison, who is retiring.
Nicholas Baird, currently principal at Ellis Middle School in Elgin, will be the first principal of Legacy Middle School, which is currently under construction in Elgin. Baird has been with U-46 his entire educational career and is a U-46 graduate.
Cody Papp, currently assistant principal at Sunnydale Elementary School in Streamwood, has been chosen principal of Illinois Park Elementary School in Elgin, where she once was an early childhood special education teacher. Papp will assume leadership of the school for the 2026-27 school year when it transitions from an early childhood center into an elementary school.
