BLOOMINGTON - About three dozen people showed up at a District 87 Board of Education meeting Wednesday to recognize Bloomington Junior High School's wrestling team and its award-winning season.

But they also were there for physical education teacher and wrestling coach Jeremy Moser. Emotion-choked parents praised Moser's extraordinary dedication to his students, not only in athletics, but encouraging them about schoolwork and emphasizing self-respect and respect for others.

"He was like an extra parent," parent Eva Kruse told the board.

After the meeting, Superintendent Bob Nielsen said Moser was a first-year teacher whose contract was not renewed due to enrollment projections. Parents are hoping, however, he will be rehired.

"It was very emotional. Wrestling is like a family. His (Moser's) wife was at all the tournaments," said Nancy Jarnagin, who has two sons in wrestling.

In other matters, District 87 came up with way for the public to donate to the school district after people asked for a way to do so, said David Wood, the district's chief financial and legal officer.

The proposed nonprofit is the Bloomington Public School District 87 Foundation Inc. School board members are the foundation's board of directors. The board will vote on formalizing the non-profit on April 23.

The board also elected Cheryl Jackson as president, John Dirks as vice president, Wilma Gleason as secretary and Wood as treasurer.

The board also approved:

• Spent $362,000 for elementary language arts materials for grades K-5 for about 2,500 students. That was based on recommendations of more than two dozen faculty and staff forming an elementary arts language task force.

• Bought 1,200 social studies books and related materials, total cost of $78,000, to replace middle school materials bought in 1997.

• Approved rates for the group medical plan going into effect July 1, which is $545 for one person, an 8.13 percent increase; $965 for two people, an 8.06 percent increase; and a family rate of $1,286, an 8.07 percent increase.

It also upheld two suspensions: A 14-year-old boy was suspended for three days in March for a physical and verbal fight aboard a school bus and a nine-year-old was suspended two days for having a small pocketknife in his backpack. He never opened the knife, but showed it to another student on a bus.

The board also learned the Illinois State Board of Education said District 87 was in the highest category of financial achievement based on its 2007 fiscal year financial statements and the district's 2008 financial profile.