Property tax bills in Dist. 300 skyrocket

Is reality setting in for those who voted yes and those who did not get to the polls? Will we see improvement in graduation rates and test scores? We doubt it. This folks is why it is so important to vote and get involved. People must no longer be intimidated into voting yes for referenda that will do nothing more than increase spending and fill the pockets of teachers, administrators and those doing business with the schools.

The following article appeared in the Daily Herald. It was also reprinted on the Students First Website.



Property tax bills in Dist. 300 skyrocket


5/22/2006

By Jeffrey Gaunt


Daily Herald


When Linda Mitsch first saw her property tax bill this year, the Carpentersville retiree said she was floored.

"I was shocked," Mitsch said. "Totally shocked. A $1,300 increase."

Across the street, Mitsch said neighbors saw similar spikes in their tax bills - anywhere from $1,300 to $1,900 or more.

"We're on a fixed income," Mitsch said. "We have to save almost $600 a month just to pay for our real estate taxes. That's crazy."

Mitsch wasn't alone. Many area residents saw large spikes in their tax bills this year -from several hundred dollars to more than $3,000 in one year.

And like many perturbed homeowners, Mitsch looked to Community Unit District 300, where voters earlier this year approved two big tax increases.

"Just for the referendum vote alone, for the schools, it went up $700," Mitsch said. "Where is this money going?"

In fact, the District 300 tax increases are only a piece of the puzzle.

For starters, only one of the two voter-approved hikes hit tax bills this year. Homeowners are paying the 55-cent education fund tax-rate increase. But the $185 million bond issue won't hit until next year.

And while it's true the 55-cent tax increase is increasing taxes, there's more at play.

Namely, large increases in property values are driving the large increases in tax bills, independent of the voter-approved tax hikes.

The property tax cap limits the amount of money District 300 can collect from property reassessments - even when voters approve a tax increase.

But the tax cap doesn't protect against shifts in property taxes.

In other words, if your home value increases by 20 percent, and most property values in the district increase by 5 percent, you will pay a larger percentage of any tax increase.

Take Mitsch for example. The value of her home rose almost exactly 20 percent.

It's now worth roughly the same as the home of District 300 school board member John Court.

But Court's home wasn't reassessed this year. The value didn't change.

As a result, Mitsch is paying an extra $1,300 - from about $4,250 to $5,250. Court is only paying an extra $200 - from $5,180 to $5,380. And their homes are the same value.

Court didn't get off the hook because he was a school board member, though.

Superintendent Ken Arndt's tax bill jumped $1,610 - from $6,570 to $8,180. And board member Karen Roeckner's bill went up $3,390 - to a total of $12,760.

"If a particular part of the community hadn't been reassessed in some time, now they are hit big," said Cheryl Crates, District 300 chief financial officer. "It's a good news, bad news thing. The good news is their house is going up in value. The bad news is so are their taxes."

Rather than blaming District 300, property owners should be looking to the county, Dundee Township Assessor Daniel McMahon said.

"We did our job according to state statute," McMahon said of the assessor's office. "Knowing there were some places that we're going to go up 20, 30, 40 percent in value.

"The Kane County Board, they had an opportunity last March to enter into a 7 percent tax cap," McMahon said. "They chose not to do that."

Karen McConnaughay, who heads the county board, said she doesn't remember all of the details of that vote.

But she does remember the county analyzed the numbers, and decided the 7 percent cap wasn't in the best interest of property owners.

"We saw it as a flawed piece of legislation that did not, in fact, accomplish what it was supposed to," McConnaughay said. "We did our own research on the implications of the proposed freeze and came up with the same analysis a lot of other counties came up with.

"It was not a permanent freeze, it was a temporary freeze," she said. "That increase in assessed valuation would be realized, just at a later date."

Even though the board opted not to impose the cap on reassessments, county board member John Noverini said he understands the concerns.

"People are getting fed up," Noverini said. "It's scary. People are being taxed out of their homes."

Noverini said he would support legislation that eliminates all property reassessments until a house is sold.

"That's the way it should be," Noverini said, arguing that houses are the only capital investment where people pay more each year as the value of the asset increases.

"People are upset," Noverini said. "I don't blame them for being upset."

Has Public Education Been Damaged Beyond Resuscitation?

This excellent piece appeared in the Georgetown Times


Has Public Education Been Damaged Beyond
Resuscitation?
Date: 4/10/2006
Georgetown Times Editorial
By John Brock

In spite of the fact that many honorable folks in the
teaching field have tried their best, I fear that in
bureaucratic attempts to sustain a failing public
education system, we have become more concerned with
“filling the pail” than with the more important task
of “lighting a fire.” Public education in America is
at low ebb.

With layers upon layers of bureaucracy, the prime goal
of which seems sometimes to be justifying a
bureaucrat’s job, we have hamstrung those trying their
hardest to educate our children by taking the
initiative from teachers and placing too much emphasis
on style rather than substance. Our children suffer as
a result.

Remember the old black-and-white television sets with
a host of manual controls? Once you set the
vertical-hold control, it necessitated adjusting the
horizontal hold, which in turn called for the
manipulation of yet another control, until the picture
was thoroughly torn apart and the repairman had to be
called. That’s what we have done to the public
education system. We have “adjusted” it to the point
it is no longer effective as a whole.

This is no less true in South Carolina. ABC’s John
Stossel produced a national segment recently entitled,
“Stupid in America,” pointing to our state as a poster
child for failed public education. Many teachers,
superintendents, and school personnel are doing an
admirable job, but on the whole, the public education
system is not offering quality education to all
students commensurate with the amount of money being
thrown at it. But, whenever someone professes
improvements to American public education, their
solution seems always to be: more money! This is
hogwash. We spend more money per pupil on education
than any other country but our ranking is far below
many smaller, less-developed countries. We have
sufficiently proved to rational minds that more money
is not the solution.

Many citizens fear that public education has reached a
point of no return. The entire procedure needs to be
scraped and a new model started from scratch — based
on ancient principles of learning. Since the
powers-that-be will never agree to a complete
makeover, then our only course of correction appears
to be allowing parents to transfer their children from
failing schools to schools that actually teach. In
many cases this would be private schools, which charge
tuition. We have a responsibility to parents at
under-performing schools to help out with vouchers to
cover the cost for alternative education.

But there is opposition to this approach because
schools will actually have to compete for students.
Competition works elsewhere. But many public educators
vehemently oppose this plan because it means they just
might lose their jobs. Good teachers will always be
able to get work whether in public or private venues.

Suppose we lived in a nation of socialized medicine.
You are assigned to one doctor and one hospital. Never
mind that the doctor is a quack and the hospital has
death rates triple that of other nearby institutions,
you must go to them unless you are wealthy enough to
go to another physician or hospital of your choosing.

Outrageous? You bet. But this is exactly the same
socialized public education situation in which parents
find themselves today, because government dictates
that your child must attend this public school or that
one, regardless of how bad the school might be.

Public school systems today have become huge
bureaucratic caverns where less than 40 per cent of
school personnel actually face students as teachers.
The others are engaged in ancillary functions,
including planning new ways to complicate the
otherwise simple process of teaching.

After careful thought and study, I have concluded that
public education in most parts of America has been
tampered with, adjusted, added to, micro- managed, and
further maligned far beyond our ability to repair it.
Our state is no exception and until we start all over
again or offer an alternative, our children will
continue to be undereducated.

It’s time to re-think the whole process of public
education.

But for South Carolinians, the future is bleak —
especially when the head honcho in the state’s public
school bureaucracy declares in the ABC television
special that South Carolina is seeing great progress
in some areas. “We are ranked No. 1 in the country on
improvement on SAT,” State Superintendent, Inez
Tenenbaum, boasted.

“That’s great” the television show’s host remarked but
added, "when you’re ranked at the bottom, improvement
doesn’t mean much, and South Carolina, even after it
is No. 1 in improvement is still last among states,"
(and then noted) "in government monopolies, that’s how
bureaucrats think.”

The television special concludes that the American
public is pretty much stuck with inferior public
education system unless drastic measures are taken. I
agree.

We must expect more from public education.

An excellent opportunity can be found in offering
parents of school children a choice of which school
their child can attend. What better way to accomplish
this than through vouchers? This will result in
spending no more (perhaps less) money than is now
spent but will restore sanity to public teaching. If
public school systems suffer, so be it! They have had
their chance. It’s time to offer every child the
opportunity of attending an excellent school.

It’s a win/win situation: all parents will have a
choice — regardless of income — public schools will
improve in order to survive and most importantly our
children will be educated!

Competition made America great. Why not give it a
chance to work its wonders in public education?

Mr. Brock lives in Georgetown County. He can be
reached by mail at this newspaper or by e-mail at
brock@johnbrock.com.

No Fairmont referendum, no raise

Did this school district actually get it right? Only time will tell. Time and time again we see that they may not give out raises but in exchange will hand out more sick time which ends up costing taxpayers more in the end. Read between the lines. They will only hold off raises until a referendum passes. Langon is full of hooey. "Langon recommended the pay raises amid an effort to keep the district competitive." Please this is nothing more than the ratchet game that the Illinois Association of School Administrators plays to ratchet up salaries across Illinois. The following article appeared in the Herald News newspaper.




Fairmont referendum, no raises
Increases for staff: Board rejects hikes in wake of deficit

By Tony Graf
STAFF WRITER

LOCKPORT TOWNSHIP — Fairmont school leaders rejected pay raises for the superintendent, principal and numerous other employees this week.

The school district is facing a longstanding deficit around $700,000, and the board had to make tough decisions during
its Wednesday meeting, said board member Bradley Johnson.
Some want the board to tighten its belt, particularly because a November referendum is possible.

"What we did tonight, we did because we need to get a referendum passed," said board member Richard Myers.

The board rejected 5 percent pay increases for:
• Doris Langon, superintendent, to $133,755, along with a $400-per-month travel stipend;
• Stephanie Long, principal, to $92,495; and
• Teacher aides, secretaries, custodians and lunchroom hostesses.

Langon recommended the pay raises amid an effort to keep the district competitive.




"The district is making an effort to recruit highly qualified teachers and administrators, and to remain competitive to retain those individuals to improve the district," she said.

"You have to have highly qualified people — that's NCLB," she said, referring to the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

"I understand the dilemma the board is in, but we are showing improvement," Langon said.

Langon is asking for a special board meeting to determine the board's direction on salaries.

A possible November referendum, which the board will address next month, would follow voters' rejection of this spring's ballot proposal.

Fairmont leaders want voters' permission to transfer about $1.6 million in debt from one district fund to another. The move is not expected to increase the tax rate.

In 2001, the state had $4.6 million available for a construction project on the Fairmont campus. But in order to get that money, Fairmont had to come up with $1.6 million locally.

So Fairmont issued a bond, borrowing $1.6 million. The board didn't ask voters to issue that bond, so the money is being paid out of the district's education fund, which funds teacher salaries, supplies and other expenses for school operations.

This means Fairmont has about $140,000 less every year in the educational fund.

The plan is to move the debt from the education fund to the bond and interest fund.

This won't increase the tax rate, because another debt has been paid off in the bond and interest fund, Johnson said.

The move essentially would free up more money in the education fund for educational uses.



05/20/06

Did you know? Age of retirement for teachers.

Age Retirement Annuity
A member is eligible to receive a monthly retirement annuity when he or she terminates active service covered by TRS and meets the following age and service requirements:
• age 62 with 5 years of service, or
• age 60 with 10 years of service, or
• age 55 with 20 years of service (discounted annuity), or
• age 55 with 35 years of service.*
* If the member is eligible to receive a retirement benefit of at least 74.6 percent of the final average salary and will reach age 55 between July 1 and December 31, he or she will be considered to have attained age 55 on the preceding June 1.

The retirement benefit is calculated by applying a statutory formula based on average salary and years of service. The salary used in the calculation is the average of the creditable earnings in the highest four consecutive years within the last 10 years of creditable service. For post-June 1998 service, this average salary is multiplied by 2.2 percent for each year of service.

For service earned before July 1998 that is not upgraded (see below), the average salary is multiplied by the applicable percentage according to the following formula:

1.67% for each of the first 10 years, plus

1.90% for each of the second 10 years, plus

2.10% for each of the third 10 years, plus

2.30% for each year over 30.

Source Illinois Government.

Post-retirement Increases for Teachers and Administrators.

Post-retirement Increases
Annuitants annually receive 3 percent increases in their annuities. The first annuity increase occurs on January 1 following the first anniversary in retirement or the attainment of age 61, whichever is later. The first increase includes 3 percent for each year the member has been in retirement.

Source State of Illinois government.


Did you know teachers and adminstrator assocations oppose reform of the social security system?

Reciprocity in teachers pensions.

Reciprocity
TRS is one of 13 Illinois public pension systems covered by the Illinois Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act [40 ILCS 5/20]. The Reciprocal Act allows one or more years of service credit earned through any reciprocal retirement system to be counted toward retirement. Each system pays a portion of the retirement benefits. The member generally receives a higher total retirement benefit by retiring under the Reciprocal Act than by retiring independently through each system. The reciprocal systems are:
• Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois
• County Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Cook County
• Forest Preserve District Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Cook County
• General Assembly Retirement System
• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
• Judges’ Retirement System
• Laborers’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago
• Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago
• Park Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago
• Public School Teachers’ Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago
• Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund
• State Employees’ Retirement System of Illinois
• State Universities Retirement System

Source Illinois State government.

Do you know the unfunded liability of the TRS.

As of Fiscal Year 2005 the unfunded liability of the teachers retirement system is almost 22 billion dollars.

$21,989,811,000

This liability must be meant by the 12,419,293 residents of Illinois as per the Illinois constitution.

Tax increase on the way

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Northwest Herald.
The letter speaks for itself.

Well, the elections are over and McHenry District 15 now has the tax increase it wanted, "For the kids."

But wait, the teacher's contract ends this year.

Maybe we can add another step to the pay scale. How much can we increase our pay - 4, 5, 6 percent - the sky's the limit.

After all, we helped pass the referendum so we deserve something.

Maybe we should only ask for a one-year contract and a small 1 or 2 percent increase to make it look good to the public.
Then, next year we can ask for any percent we want, because the public doesn't have much of a long-term memory anyhow.

The spending already has begun.

Teachers, learning center directors and band directors are being hired.

Remember it was your choice to pass this referendum.

Wait until you get your tax bill. This year won't be too bad - but the shock of future bills is on the way.
Janice Jettner
McHenry

The Truth Behind the "Teacher Shortage"

The below article was originally posted in the Wall Street Journal.

The Truth Behind the "Teacher Shortage"
By C. Emily Feistritzer

The teacher shortage "crisis" has been resurrected -- again. It seems every few years this issue is trotted out and used to get more money, more programs, more publicity, more political points -- all in the name of meeting the huge demand, now said to be two million new teachers in the next decade.

This time it's President Clinton who's doing the scaremongering. In his State of the Union address, he asked lawmakers to approve billions of dollars in federal aid, in part to help recruit and hire new teachers. Several members of Congress also have proposed their own expensive programs to ward off teacher shortages.

But before the additional billions are spent on scholarships and loan forgiveness programs to recruit millions of new teachers, many of whom will never find a teaching job, the administration and Congress need to look at some of the realities of so-called teacher crisis.

The nation has recently been hiring at the rate of two million "new" teachers per decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The National Center for Education Statistics projects that annual growth in the number of teachers needed will decline as the current enrollment surge gets through high school during the next decade. "We don't see anything that would indicate there will be general teacher shortages," says Daniel Hecker, a BLS economist.

The first problem with the claim that we'll need millions of new teachers is in what exactly "new" means. When most people hear those words, they think it means teachers who have never taught before. Well, that is not what it means.

An NCES analysis shows that, of the 139,000 "new" public school teachers hired in 1993-94 (the latest year for which data are available), 42% had just finished a college program and had never taught before. Twenty-four percent were doing something other than going to college the year before teaching but were teaching for the first time. The remaining 34% of "new" teachers were actually former teachers coming back into the profession. Six years ago, the figure was even higher: In 1987-88, 52% of the "new" teachers were re-entering the profession. "It is not clear how much of this shift was due to changes in the relative sizes of the supply pools and how much was due to the policy preferences of schools to hire first-time teachers at lower salaries," NCES analyst Mary Rollefson noted.

The largest teachers' union, the National Education Association, reported last year that of the 2.2 million people working as teachers in the academic year 1995-96, only 2.1% were teaching for the first time. Thus the nation is hiring -- and is projected to need to hire -- approximately 45,000 newly trained teachers per year. That is a far cry from the 200,000 the "crisis" proponents would have you believe.

Now, just how many newly minted teachers is the country already turning out each year?

Every year in this decade, colleges and universities have been awarding more than 100,000 bachelor's degrees in education, and the numbers continue to grow. There were more than six million people holding at least a bachelor's degree in education in the U.S. in 1993, according to the Census Bureau. What's more, only about three out of four current teachers have a bachelor's degree in education. In all, there are plenty of people who are fully qualified to teach who are not teaching: at least four million of them.

Numerous surveys of high school and college students indicate there is widespread interest in teaching as a career. If even a portion of the young people expressing an interest in teaching become teachers, the demand will more than be met. And that doesn't take into account the huge interest in teaching that older people have -- people with experience from other careers, early retirees from the military and other occupations, former teachers, people who have raised their children and now want to teach.

It is this huge potential work force that is most ill served by the current system -- from the ivory towers of the self-described experts on who is qualified to teach, to the colleges that are supposed to train teachers, to the state-level departments that are responsible for licensing them, to the schools that are ultimately responsible for hiring teachers. Anyone who wants to make more new teachers available can begin by dismantling this elaborate system, which locks out potentially highly qualified teachers while accrediting many who don't belong in the classroom.

But to claim that there is a teacher shortage is simply wrong -- there isn't one, and there won't be anytime soon. One has to wonder about the agenda of someone who's willing to claim otherwise.

Are Teacher Unions the Fourth Branch of Government?

The following piece was taken in part from the Education Intelligence Agency to view the rest of the piece click here.

In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich is under fire for consulting with the Illinois Education Association (IEA) and the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) while crafting his school oversight plan. He didn’t, however, consult with legislators or state education officials. “I can’t bring a check to the table,” state Superintendent of Instruction Robert Schiller told the Chicago Tribune. The governor’s plan would strip power from the state board of education and place it in the hands of a new agency under the governor’s control. The unions held a news conference to express their support for the idea.
Arguing over the relative merits of each of these proposals is part of the democratic process. But who gave Barbara Kerr, Paul Hubbert and the IEA/IFT officials the right to negotiate state policy? If Gov. Schwarzenegger announced a budget proposal after negotiations with WalMart, people would be upset. If Lockheed held meetings with Alabama legislators and then announced a list of corporate tax breaks it desired, voters would be outraged. Gov. Blagojevich’s predecessor was indicted for steering state business to his friends and associates.

Hmmm? Would there be a "teacher shortage" if....

Retirement was not at 55 for teachers?

Union pressure force competent and qualified teachers to leave the profession?

Did you know that there are over 74000 teachers collecting retirement from Illinois. Same may be actually working in other states collecting a salary to work on collecting a second pension.

"There Is No Shortage of Teachers, Just Skilled Teachers"

The following piece is a speech from the President of Northeastern University.

Opinion Pieces by Richard M. Freeland

"There Is No Shortage of Teachers, Just Skilled Teachers"

Connection: The Journal of the New England Board of Higher Education

Fall 2001


We have once again experienced an annual ritual that speaks volumes about the state of our states and, indeed, our republic. As one school year ends, many public school teachers of long standing conclude that it is time to end their careers in education and move on to another profession or to retirement. By mid-summer, reports begin to appear in the local and national media about a looming teacher shortage as school districts anticipate September. By late summer, media coverage of the teacher shortage has taken on a sense of panic a la “Mass. schools scrambling to fill teacher vacancies.” The newspapers create the impression that fall will bring rooms full of 13-year-olds left to their own devices. Then comes September, as it always does, and we learn that virtually every teaching job is filled.

This annual roller-coaster ride suggests a few propositions:

First, getting the best teachers with the strongest skills in front of our students is the key not only to giving young people the chance to live full and rewarding lives, but also to improving the economy and the society.

Second, we do not face a "teacher shortage" per se, but rather something like a "skills shortage" among those who enlist to serve as teachers.

Third, without a doubt, there exists today sufficient numbers of individuals with the talent, interest, patience, intellect, character and determination to provide all students with the kind of teaching and nurturing we would want for our own children.

A further proposition: we as a society (we university presidents, we neighborhood residents, we corporate CEOs, we community activists, newspaper publishers, mayors and governors and senators and legislators) are responsible for letting our school districts down, for placing them in the unholy posture of having to "scramble" every year to find the talent they need to fulfill their responsibilities and to realize our hopes for our children and our communities.

A new study by Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies offers the first statistical glimpse into the challenge faced by Massachusetts school districts each year. The Northeastern study found that, come late September, all but a few classrooms in Massachusetts were staffed by a teacher. At the same time, the study found that more than one-quarter of all secondary school teachers hired in Massachusetts last year lacked certification in their primary teaching area. The problem was particularly acute among special education, foreign language and math and science teachers.

The study also anticipates that, over the next five to seven years, this fundamental teacher skills deficit will worsen considerably. An aging teacher work force combined with new incentives for older teachers to retire means that last year’s comparatively low teacher turnover rate will rise over the next several years. The increased rate of retirement will not only boost quit rates directly but will also increase teacher turnover indirectly as school districts replace experienced teachers with new entrants in the teaching field. These freshly minted teachers are much more likely to leave the teaching profession in the first few years after entry than their older counterparts — further exacerbating the shortage of qualified teachers throughout New England.

The much-discussed teacher shortage is not a classic labor shortage in which too many jobs chase too few qualified individuals. Rather, our predicament is the result of a recruitment and compensation system designed decades ago which has not kept pace with the contemporary economy. The hidebound set of contracts, rules, customs and professional relationships that may have worked in decades past to enrich our schools are now encumbrances that keep us from placing the teachers we need in front of students.

Is there a shortage of math and science teachers? How could there not be, when most of those men and women who are trained to teach math and science can substantially increase their salaries with a short hop into the private sector where they will surely encounter far better working conditions and greater societal respect for their efforts.

New England can rest on its laurels and revel in past glories. Or we can think anew about the implications of the so-called teacher shortage. Should we take the latter course, we might begin by asking ourselves what kinds of changes in teacher compensation and working conditions it would take to put in front of a class of 13-year-olds a woman or man who has dedicated her or his career to learning and teaching and who is richly equipped to impart to students the knowledge, skills and inspiration they need to make their maximum contribution to our communities.

To Destroy Public Education. Part two: The Munger Plan.

The following article appeared at american-partisan.com .


To Destroy Public Education.
Part two: The Munger Plan.

by Dave Munger

To review: the current educational system must die a violent death:
• Because the things that are accomplished by the government controlled system are either unnecessary, harmful or could be accomplished in other ways.
• Because even the proponents of the status-quo concede that the coercive, monopolistic bureaucracy would work best if it was run AS IF it were a private enterprise.
• Because it is so resistant to change that any reform profound enough to make a difference would be destructive anyway.
• Because an education system based on socialistic premises necessarily teaches socialistic values, and can't maintain neutrality on any issue, since socialist ideology is dogmatic on every conceivable issue.
• Because of numerous flaws in the system that are inherent and proverbial.

Glad we could get that out of the way in a hurry.

Post-literate America demands that whenever the elimination of a government institution is proposed, the party making the proposal must present them with an alternative government program to replace it. Catch-22: the only way to remedy this would be by educating the populace under a different system, one enforcing standards alien to the society we've got now; hence, one not likely to spring forth organically.

As odious as this sounds, in order for an alternative to be put into practice in the atmosphere and for the foreseeable future, it has to be passed into law at the federal level. A solution that requires initiative from the people acting independently of politics will have to wait for a later, less political era. The solution will have to provide education free of charge to the children of "the poor," as the current system purports to do.

To view the rest of the article go to american-partisan.com.

To Destroy Public Education, part 1: Die Monster Die

The following article appeared american-partisan.com.


Public education is one of those phrases that is now almost exclusively used in combination with the word "reform". Unfortunately, by the time something is so screwed up that the sheep realize that reform is necessary, it's too late, and the only satisfactory remedy is to destroy the thing and start over (or leave it behind and create an alternative, like the Puritans who originally set out to reform the Church of England, then gave. All new hope comes from despair, the death of old hope). Since systems tend to perpetuate themselves (actually most of them don't, but the successful ones are the ones that do, and that's what we're left to deal with), there is much more resistance to this than would seem to be warranted by the possible negative consequences of replacing the system, considering the supposed purposes of the system and whether it has ever filled these purposes better than an entirely different system (or no system at all) would. Even such a no-brainer as abolishing the Department of Education is considered too controversial for a politician to even mention, even though no one has ever gone so far as to come up with a reason for it to exist in the first place (Maybe there was something, I think it had to do with Sputnik...).

Next to the table I type on is a pile of books, topped with one by Major General John Stanford (foreword by Albert Gore),
subtitled "We CAN Give Our Children Excellent Public Education" (OUR children? Never mind). It is not made clear therein exactly why it is so important that education be public as well as excellent. One of the noteworthy premises of the book is that public schools ought to be run as if they were private enterprises. I've never been entirely clear about the meaning of the phrase "begging the question", but if that isn't it then it isn't a very useful expression.

The burden of proof is placed upon those who would eliminate public education, although it belongs on those who defend it, since what they defend is expensive, and their position concerning it is affirmative (this is why someone on trial is considered innocent until proven guilty. The prosecutor is saying that he DID do something. That he DID NOT is a negative statement, so it does not have to be proven.) When one tries to figure out why some feel public education is the only possible answer, one is almost forced to guess.

To view the rest of the article go to american-partisan.com.

D-158 wants audit answers

Hmm. I am sure many voters have similar questions in regard to the cost of educating our students. The following story appeared in the Northwest Herald.

D-158 wants audit answers

[published on Mon, May 8, 2006]
HUNTLEY – District 158 school board members want to know why fees for the district's audit have ballooned to more than three times the initial forecasts.


Stanley Hall, the district's chief financial officer, said Friday that he would meet with representatives from the accounting firm William F. Gurrie to determine whether costs could be cut.
"Everything's negotiable," said Hall, who projected the audit's final cost to approach $90,000. That is about triple the amount called for in the district's contract with Gurrie.
Meanwhile, a bill from Gurrie for about $13,000 and expected additional fees remain unpaid while the district seeks answers.
Gurrie's representatives could not be reached for comment Friday.
Board member Larry Snow, who first called attention to the issue, said the firm charged the district $275 an hour and sometimes more for an audit beset by delays and discrepancies.
The district's audit was finalized in April, almost nine months after the end of the fiscal year. The audit contained a gap of about $60,000 between the district's books and bank balances, officials have said.
"A lot of the auditing work was needless because the monthly bank statements weren't balanced," Snow said.
Hall said he was not sure how the firm's hourly rate of $275 compared with previous years.
"It sounds high," he said, "but I'm from downstate and everything up here sounds high."
The district already has paid most of Gurrie's fees, Hall said, despite totals higher than expected.
That raised questions with Snow, who said he and other board members assumed that the bill would be closer to $30,000 than $90,000.
"[Administrators] didn't tell us that they had authorized the spending," Snow said. "Sixty-thousand dollars is at least one highly qualified teacher. It's not a small amount of money."
Hall said he hoped to have an update for the board in time for its monthly meeting May 18.

To view the rest of the story visit the Northwest Herald.

Behind in postings.

We have been a bit behind in postings. Once in a while we will back date and date forward some posts.

Did you know?

That teachers can retire at 55 with a full pension.

Unrealistic voucher system

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Northwest Herald.
Not surprising it is from a teacher on government dole.
If public schools are so great teachers and teachers unions should not oppose vouchers. Students and family would not leave the public school system if they were properly educating our children. The writer and the unions must fear vouchers because they know they are inadequate and given the chance students and families would leave the public education system. Opposing vouchers by these groups is about greed.

The following letter to the editor appeared in the NWH.

Unrealistic voucher system


[published on Sat, May 6, 2006]
To the Editor:

Those who would compare private and public schools and who support a state-funded voucher system do not paint a realistic picture.

Such comparisons are invalid because a level playing field does not exist.

For example, private schools are not bound by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Illinois State Standards, or the Illinois School Code.

Private schools are not required to adhere to any state mandates. Most important, private schools are not required to serve the needs of the physically, emotionally or educationally disadvantaged.

The rules are different. Vouchers will serve only to enhance those differences.

If we assume that a voucher system goes into effect, and as a result, private school enrollments swell, then private schools will choose whom to accept and whom to reject.

The current trend of private schools to deny services and programs to "special" students will continue.

Tax-supported vouchers will not provide a choice for America's neediest students.

Let's stop battering public education, and let's stop perpetuating the myth that private schools are doing a better job.

As an educator for 37 years, I never have been more proud of public education, its teachers and its students.


Robert Doran

McHenry

Annual Salary in 2005 $93,692

Rotten Apples - Teachers Unions

The following editorial appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
This editorial hits the nail on the head describing how teachers unions are the worms in the apple of the American public education system. Copy and forward this Wall Street Journal editorial to all of your friends who do care about the public education system.


Rotten Apples
May 4, 2006

If there were lingering doubts that teachers unions are the worms in the apple of the American education system, take a look at the monumental setback for school reform in Florida this week.

On Monday the unions in Tallahassee bullied all but one Democrat and four Republicans in the state senate to kill a school voucher bill that has already had a sterling record of success for thousands of children in districts with failing public schools. If that decision isn't reversed by Friday, one of the most heralded school reform measures anywhere in the country will be dismantled, and 775 school kids, 90% of whom are minorities, will be returned to the warehouses that are failed inner-city schools. A related voucher program that serves 18,000 learning disabled kids is also in jeopardy.

The program at issue is Governor Jeb Bush's seven-year-old "Florida A+ School Accountability and Choice Program." For the first time, schools have been graded on the reading, writing and math progress made by the children they are supposed to be teaching. (Imagine that.) Any school that received an F in two of four years is deemed a failure, and the kids then get a voucher to attend another school, public or private.

One immediate impact -- according to researchers at Harvard, Florida State, and the James Madison Institute -- has been that the mere threat of competition caused many inner-city school districts to improve. The percentage of African Americans who are now performing at or above grade level surged to 66% last year, from 23% in 1999. No union-backed school "reform" has had that rate of success -- not more funding, not higher teacher pay, not smaller class sizes, and so on. Two school districts in the state failed the program and the families were given vouchers. Those children have since made big academic gains.

But in one of the most absurd legal decisions in modern times, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that the voucher program violated the "uniformity clause" of the state constitution guaranteeing a high-quality system of public schools. Because the performance of the voucher kids was superior to those in public schools, the court ruled that education was not uniform -- or in this case not uniformly miserable. As they used to say in the Soviet Union, everyone gets to share their poverty equally.

Governor Bush and minority families throughout the state were so enraged that they vowed to change the state constitution through a vote of the people to allow the A+ Program to go forward. But the state senate this week failed by one vote to allow that referendum to take place. Union pressure was so intense that the GOP state senate majority leader broke with his own party, his own governor and the pleas of parents and voted to topple the measure; he was removed from leadership by his fellow Republicans on Tuesday.

We're not sure whom to hold in highest contempt here: the four Republicans who buckled to union pressure, the Democrats who voted en masse against the interests of their own constituents, or the unions that pretend their political actions are in the interests of "the children" -- except when that conflicts with their own economic self interest.

The senate Republican president says he will force one more vote before Friday. The lone Democrat to vote for the measure, state senator Al Lawson, charged that his fellow party representatives, including other black members, put their fealty to the unions ahead of what's best for poor children. "Don't their parents have a right, when they pay taxes, to have their kids get the best education?" he asked.

In Florida, at least for now, the sad answer is no. And what is worse is that this week the unions and their Democratic allies -- who claim to represent these black and Hispanic families -- are celebrating their triumph in relegating another generation of children to their educational ghetto.

Did you know ?

Did you know that TheChampion.org
now has a pension button option? Be sure to click the pension button to view pensions.

WoodfordTaxFacts.com

Another Illinois tax fighting group has entered the arena. Please welcome Woodford Tax Facts.com - The Truth Detectors
to the world of tax fighting.

Letter to the Editor: Public school monopolies

The following letter to the editor appeared on the Northwest Herald and Students First websites.

Letter to the Editor: Public school monopolies

4/28/2006

By Robert and Kimberly Sperlazzo , Carpentersville, IL



Northwest Herald


Most people lack appreciation of free-market principles in education. The public school system is a government monopoly that doesn't compete fairly, yet avoids all anti-trust lawsuits.

Private and home-schooled students' families must pay for government overhead, while reaping none of the benefits. We're funding a bloated bureaucracy instead of funding the students, the true goal of education.

Education tax credits are one solution. The government would not siphon off their huge expenses. More money would directly fund students, allowing many teachers to migrate from government schools.

No teacher should have to leave government schools. But the total number of students wouldn't change - only where they attend school and create jobs. Thus, teachers could transfer to private schools, teaching those same students while receiving better salaries.

The TV show, 20/20, reported: "American schools don't teach as well as schools in other countries because they are government monopolies, and monopolies don't have much incentive to compete. In Belgium ... the money is attached to the kids ... government funds education - at many different kinds of schools."

Let's end government's stranglehold on education (www.sepschool.org). More money is no answer to substandard schools. We must end our dependency on a failed system where the costs keep rising.

Socialization and Homeschooling

This is a cute little piece on homeschooling and socialization. This piece came from the New Oxford Review



Apparently, the problem with homeschooling is the socialization of children. In the Kolbe Little Home Journal (Fall 2005), there is a brief item called "Homeschooling Family Finds Ways to Adapt to a Public School 'Socialization' Program." Here it is:


"When my wife and I mention we are strongly considering homeschooling our children, we are without fail asked, 'But what about socialization?' Fortunately, we found a way our kids can receive the same socialization that government schools provide. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will personally corner my son in the bathroom, give him a wedgie and take his lunch money. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my wife will make sure to tease our children for not being in the 'in' crowd, taking special care to poke fun at any physical abnormalities. Fridays will be 'Fad and Peer Pressure Day.' We will all compete to see who has the coolest toys, the most expensive clothes, and the loudest, fastest, and most dangerous car. Every day, my wife and I will adhere to a routine of cursing and swearing in the hall and mentioning our weekend exploits with alcohol and immorality.... And we have asked them to report us to the authorities in the event we mention faith, religion, or try to bring up morals and values."


So much for socialization!
--
"You can have Peace or you can have Freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at the same time."
--Robert Anson Heinlein

It's time for "Taxpayers Week"

Thanks to our friends at the the Family Taxpayers Foundation for this piece.

It's time for "Taxpayers Week"

By Bill Zettler
 
After reading various news reports recently promoting “Education Week” I decided it would only be fair that I represent the taxpayer for “Taxpayer Week” where we taxpayers would solicit praise from various public employee groups.  I can see something like the following press release from the teachers union:
“We teachers want to take this opportunity to thank all the taxpayers out there who make our jobs possible.
 
First of all we want to thank you for giving us two weeks off during the Christmas Holidays and three months off during the summer. It would be a real drag having to work during the holidays and trying to find something to do with your kids during the summer is impossible.  We would love to work 12 months but we know you need the kids in the fields for the summer harvest.
 
And thanks for the guaranteed jobs.  We know it must be tough getting laid off and having to find health insurance and a way to make the mortgage payment, but hey, God must have loved taxpayers because he made so many of them.  If a few of you go down the tubes the others can easily pick up the tax ball and carry it across the goal line.  And to think some of us almost went to work for Motorola – whew, close call.
 
And thanks again for the 8% raises you gave us this year. We know that the average white-collar worker only received about 3% while their property taxes went up 7% but if you drop your vacation plans you should be okay.  Let the kids watch Disney on TV - they don’t actually have to go there.  And the really neat thing is we get the raises whether we do a good job or not.  Meritocracy is so overrated.
 
Thanks also for allowing us to retire at 55 on multi-million dollar pensions.  We know most of you will have to work until you are 65 or 70 to pay the $197 billion due to the Teachers Retirement System over the next 40 years but don’t worry Walmart is growing fast and there will be a huge need for greeters.  And besides those 401K’s and IRA’s that all of you have are so annoying having to worry about the stock market and stuff like that.  And did you know you have to invest your own money in those things?  What’s that about?
 
Oh, and thanks for making us the highest paid white-collar workers in the Chicago area.  Being ranked first on the Bureau of Labor Statistics list is really impressive.  How cool to make more than engineers, computer programmers and accountants.  And we didn’t have to take those impossible math courses in college either.  Maybe our new motto should be “First in pay, last in test scores.”
 
And finally, thanks for giving us the money to give to the politicians in Springfield.  It’s so much easier for you if you just let us do it.  After all, we gave the governor $2.5 million for his campaign and he hasn’t mentioned that silly voucher thing even once.”
 

Comrade columnist

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Northwest Herald.



If the Founding Fathers could read comrade Jennifer Martikean's April 14 column, they'd spin even faster in their graves.

Her puffery shows what's wrong with our country. The primary elections showed that like her, the majority prefer socialism and government nannies over freedom and responsibility.

I have my job because I studied hard in school and work hard at my job, not because I'm "lucky."

Your 1040 doesn't tell you how much you can give government.

You can give government everything you own if you want. Your 1040 tells you how much government forced out of you in exchange for not imprisoning you. In that sense, freedom indeed isn't free.

Compare the Bill of Rights to the Communist Manifesto's 10 planks at www.chrisjenner.org/BoRvCM-.htm. Which one lists "A heavy progressive or graduated income tax" (and also "government schools")?

In the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers told us what to do: After a "long Train of Abuses and Usurpations ... it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government."

A government that swipes half of its citizens' earnings, fattens itself inexorably, and operates with monumental inefficiency is nothing to be proud of.

Chris Jenner

Cary



The following is the article to which Mr. Jenner was responding.
Take pride in paying Uncle Sam, I do

[published on Fri, Apr 14, 2006]

This time of year might be taxing for some, but for me it always has made me proud to live in America.

No matter what form you fill out this weekend, you should feel good about the contribution you are making to keep the country running.

On the Internal Revenue Service Web site, the main piece of advice is not to procrastinate filling out the tax forms. Frankly, it is too late for that now. But this year you get a slight break because Tax Day, April 15, falls on a Saturday. So after eating a big slice of Easter ham on Sunday, you can sequester yourself and get cooking on the 1040 form and pop it in the mail first thing April 17. Or at least before midnight.

To view the rest of the article go to the Northwest Herald.

Pay hikes given to 7 in D-50

The Harvard school board has put the pocketbooks of the administrators ahead of the need of the children they are to protect and educate while not in parental care. Funny how a public school thinks raises are more important than textbooks. Surely this so called found money will be depleted with their recent spending sprees (salary increases). The question is will they plead poor and say they must run a thefterendum come November to buy new textbooks?

Pay hikes given to 7 in D-50

[published on Mon, Apr 24, 2006]
HARVARD – Although there still are a few things the district would like to accomplish financially, annual raises for administrators have been approved.



District 50 spokesman Bill Clow said the school board recently decided to give $2,665 raises for each of the district's seven administrators.

"They did flat across the board raises for all administrators," Clow said. "I think they felt it would be equitable, that everyone would get the same raise."

Those who received an increase, which will go into effect July 1, include Business Manager Donna Joyce, whose salary with pension will go to $72,705; Assistant Superintendent Sue Smith, who also works as principal of Central Elementary School, will have a salary of $84,534 after the increase.

Superintendent Randy Gross, who with pension now earns about $115,427 annually, was not among those slated to receive the pay hike. Gross plans to take a position with a Rockton school district after his contract with District 50 expires June 30.

Gross' departure has Harvard High School Principal Michelle McReynolds topping out as the highest paid administrator, with the upcoming raises putting her salary at $95,442.

School Board President Ken Book said the raises essentially were keeping in line with the cost of living.

At the same time, Book said District 50 still remained a "bare bones district" in terms of its finances. There still were several areas where officials would like to spend money, such as reducing class sizes and purchasing new textbooks, Book said. He said he understood that some people might question the annual raises.

"Everybody tries to watch their tax dollars and make sure those tax dollars are being spent properly," he said.

The district plans to hire an interim superintendent to replace Gross. Officials have said the person likely would work for between $40,000 to $60,000, because the person hired would work only 100 days out of the school year. The school board is expected to make a decision on the interim superintendent at its May meeting.


By GENEVA WHITE

gwhite@nwherald.com

To view the rest of the story go to the Northwest Herald website.

‘Strong political economy’ key to reform in Illinois

The following editorial appeared in the Daily Herald. The following is a quote from the editorial below "Illinois is the perfect breeding ground for corruption. It shuns openness. It champions pay to play. It has more government than most other states, making it more distant from the public, less transparent. There is a pitiful lack of corruption prosecutions in state courts, and a glaring lack of interest in initiating reform. Even as aggressive and effective as federal prosecutors have been in Illinois, we wonder whether they can detect and pursue all official corruption.

There is no one pill to cure this political sickness, nor will a cure come quickly. But it will not come without a “strong political economy” and public officials who either come by their honestly naturally or are forced to it by reform."

My question is when will newspaper columnists and reporters realize that public schools are nothing more than GOVERNMENT schools with corruption, fraud, waste, patronage and pay to play politics. This group also refuses to reform itself. I look forward to the day when the federal prosecutors investigate Illinois' public education system.


‘Strong political economy’ key to reform in Illinois

After George Ryan’s conviction — and being mindful that so many other Illinois public officials have been sent off to Uncle Sam’s slammer — you might wonder whether we are the most corrupt state in the country.

Well, take heart. We are only the fifth worst when it comes to corruption. That’s according to the Corporate Crime Reporter, in a 2004 report to the National Press Club. Mississippi, North Dakota, Louisiana and Alaska are, respectively, ahead of Illinois in the number of federal corruption convictions.

But being fifth is bad enough. Federal prosecutors remove a bit of muck here and bit there, but the swamp of corruption is not drained. Why can Illinois not shake its well-earned reputation as a crooked state? What will it take to change this culture of corruption?

“Perhaps what matters more than strong laws is a strong political economy — reporters, citizen groups, prosecutors, judges, religious leaders — who are willing to speak out about the rampant corruption in our midst,” concludes the Corporate Crime Reporter, a legal newsletter edited by Russell Mokhiber.

But that community of voices for change can’t grow silent between scandals. It must be persistent in demanding reform, not least of which is opening up government in a state that too often claims entitlement to secrecy.

Consider that residents and journalists in one of the states deemed to be among the least corrupt by the Corporate Crime Reporter — Iowa — have worked tirelessly to open up government. There, the courts can actually oust public officials who are repeat violators of the state’s Open Meetings Act and Public Records Law.

Government in Iowa still can be stubborn about obeying sunshine laws. But a culture of openness has been established there as opposed to Illinois, where toothless open government laws would not even be feared in Beijing.

Leadership on accountability in government is hard to find, but at least Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has been receptive to, and acting on, citizen and media complaints of government in hiding. Those championing open government have an ally in Madigan. Legislators should share her respect for the public’s right to accountability in government and at last enact open government laws that carry real consequences for violators. And then those laws should be vigorously enforced by state and county prosecutors.

But it is not enough to open government. Change must come in the way people get into government.

In the wake of the Ryan verdict, candidates are doubtlessly going to declare themselves to be reformers. But take them as mere speechmakers in search of votes if they are not serious about changing the rotten pay-to-play system that gives special advantages to those who contribute to campaigns — or if they are players seeking pay themselves. The power of the return on a campaign dollar is also one than corrupts.

Beyond this, changing the culture of corruption in Illinois means giving a chance to those who actually believe their honesty, integrity and sincere desire to serve without individual gain — and without having to pay to play — are good enough to get them elected. It means demanding of candidates real answers about how they will change a corrupt state that takes little interest in governing the conduct of its elected officials.

Illinois is the perfect breeding ground for corruption. It shuns openness. It champions pay to play. It has more government than most other states, making it more distant from the public, less transparent. There is a pitiful lack of corruption prosecutions in state courts, and a glaring lack of interest in initiating reform. Even as aggressive and effective as federal prosecutors have been in Illinois, we wonder whether they can detect and pursue all official corruption.

There is no one pill to cure this political sickness, nor will a cure come quickly. But it will not come without a “strong political economy” and public officials who either come by their honestly naturally or are forced to it by reform.

Daily Herald.

D-158 board checks out auditor's charges

Board present Mike Skala said the following about the audit firm investigating D - 158 "I want there to be some kind of checks and balances." The irony is that many of the taxpayers feel the same exact way about D - 158, it's administrators and it's board.

D-158 board checks out auditor's charges

[published on Sun, Apr 23, 2006]
HUNTLEY – Questions lingered Friday in District 158 over about $13,000 in additional charges from its auditor.


"We didn't give them authorization just for a blank check," school board President Mike Skala said Friday. "I want there to be some kind of checks and balances."

Board members on Thursday delayed a payment to accounting firm William F. Gurrie. Skala said he and his colleagues wanted more details to make sure that the firm's fees were accurate and necessary.

At Thursday's meeting, board members said they had agreed for the district to spend about $30,000 for its audit.

But the district already has spent more than double that – about $61,000 – its finance director, Stanley Hall, said Friday. That figure does not include the latest fee of about $13,000 and possible additional payments, Hall said.

Workers from William F. Gurrie recently finalized the district's audit more than nine months after the end of the fiscal year. A discrepancy of about $60,000 remains between the district's books and bank balances, down from about $2 million before experts discovered input errors and other problems.

To view the rest of the story go to the Northwest Herald website.

Dist. 214 cuts take their toll

The following article appeared in the Daily Herald and on Students First. Hmmm how will this play out is the school district really trying to balance the budget or are they starting to board the threat train on the way to thefterendumville?



Dist. 214 cuts take their toll
4/21/2006
By Erin Holmes
Daily Herald

For weeks, it's been about the numbers. The amount that has to be cut. The amount that can be saved. The budget.

On Thursday night, backed up by dozens of his co-workers, Tom Wiedemann stepped to the microphone and gave the whole scenario a human face.

Wiedemann, a Buffalo Grove High graduate who's worked at the school for more than two decades, is one of nearly three dozen Northwest Suburban High School District 214 staff members who got notices of possible termination this week - part of an ongoing effort to trim nearly $3 million from the still-pending 2006-07 budget.

In his role, Wiedemann does locker room security, works as a physical education assistant, bellows from the stands at football games as the "Voice of the Bison," is licensed to repair high-tech equipment in the weight room - he was there the night that room was dedicated; he helped raise the cash - and has done a plethora of other things at the school.

He's not sure how all those jobs can be eliminated, he says, but, beyond that, "I'm part of the family," he says simply.

His words drew a standing ovation from others in the district's support staff union - clerical staff, tech assistants, security personnel and others - who pushed the board to rescind any planned staff cuts and find different savings.

"Without these quality workers, some of whom have been with the district for over 25 years, the quality of education will suffer at our schools," union President Bob Kramer said.

The nearly 30 support staff notices represent the latest wave of a district-wide cost-cutting that Superintendent David Schuler said will impact all categories of employees.

The board in March OK'd 13 teacher layoff notices; the custodial maintenance union is next up for consideration. The administrative staff also has shrunk its ranks, in part by choosing not to fill positions that will be vacated in June.

But there will not be a full 30 support staffers laid off, Schuler insisted, saying that sum really represents "three or four times" the actual number of positions that will be officially nixed.

He could not say how many spots truly will be eliminated. Kramer put that figure around 13; Schuler said it most likely would be between six and 13.

Language in the support staff contract calls for those with high seniority whose jobs are terminated to bump those with less seniority out of their slots.

Since that has the makings of a domino effect, anyone who could potentially be affected is handed a so-called pink slip -the reason, officials say, for the larger number of layoff notices.

Schuler said a "vast, vast majority" of those who got the notices still will have jobs next year - just not necessarily the positions they're holding now.

No matter how many people get offered jobs again, though, Kramer pointed out some roles still will be lost, asking, "Who's going to do all this work?"

Beyond that, there's the sad reality of the bumping process: It's not exactly a great feeling to know you've pushed someone else out of a job, employees say.

Weidemann should know.

With so many years under his belt, he's got top billing.

But "How does that make me feel?" he said. "Pretty crappy."

Kramer and others will meet today with district leaders to go over some contract language and discuss the situation.

OF 100 CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL FRESHMEN,

The below story is yet another example of how the current public education is failing to educate the students of Illinois.

OF 100 CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL FRESHMEN,
SIX WILL GET A COLLEGE DEGREE

By Jodi S. Cohen and Darnell Little, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Tracy Dell'Angela contributed to this report
Published April 21, 2006

Of every 100 freshmen entering a Chicago public high school, only about six will earn a bachelor's degree by the time they're in their mid-20s, according to a first-of-its-kind study released Thursday by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.

The prospects are even worse for African-American and Latino male freshmen, who only have about a 3 percent chance of obtaining a bachelor's degree by the time they're 25.

The study, which tracked Chicago high school students who graduated in 1998 and 1999, also found that making it to college doesn't ensure success: Of the city public school students who went to a four-year college, only about 35 percent earned a bachelor's degree within six years, compared with 64 percent nationally.

Researchers say they're not exactly sure why Chicago schools alumni graduate from college in such low numbers, but that poor preparation during high school and too few resources at the college level contribute to the problem.

"Just focusing on getting kids to survive in high school isn't going to be enough," said study co-author Elaine Allensworth, a researcher at the consortium, a group that works closely with Chicago Public Schools. "This report raises a lot of issues that the colleges need to struggle with."

Schools chief Arne Duncan said the grim statistics in the report and the variation in college rates among city high schools are no surprise--they are what is driving massive private investment in high school reform.

"When students here are unprepared for college or the world of work, they are condemned to social failure," he said. "We're doing everything we can to dramatically change the high school experience for our teenagers."

Among other findings:

- Students who graduated from high school with a grade-point average below 3.0 were unlikely to graduate within six years, lacking the study skills that contribute to college success. Only about 16 percent of students with a high school GPA between 2.1 and 2.5 graduated during that time, compared with 63 percent of students who had a 3.6 GPA or better.

- African-American and Latino students from Chicago high schools have the lowest graduation rates--lower than the national average for those groups and lower than their white and Asian peers from Chicago. Just 22 percent of African-American males who began at a four-year college graduated within six years.

Chicago high school graduate Nigel Valentine, 26, is on the 10-year plan. He graduated from Kennedy High School in 1997. After getting an associate's degree from Daley College in 2003, he is now a junior at Northeastern Illinois University. He expects to graduate next year.

"Originally, I was hoping to be out in four or five years," said Valentine, who is studying criminal justice. He says he blames himself and a school system that didn't ensure college readiness. "It's all about preparation. The structure of the classes in high school and elementary school were not up to par."

The study also found varying degrees of success among colleges in graduating students from Chicago schools.

Of the Chicago students who start as full-time freshmen at Northeastern, only 11 percent graduate within six years.

Northeastern officials said the study is unfair to the university, which primarily serves non-traditional students, including many part-time students who take an average of 9 years to graduate. Many students are older, low-income and work while in school, said Provost Lawrence Frank.

But Frank said the study does point "to things we need to address," particularly improving the experience for freshmen. The university next fall will require that all freshmen take a small seminar class with a maximum of 24 students. Sophomores will receive more advising about course selection and major.

To be sure, there were limitations to the study. It only provided graduation rates for students who enrolled full time in a four-year college. It did not include students from alternative high schools or those eligible for special education. Researchers also did not have graduation data from every Illinois college, and DePaul University, Northern Illinois University and Robert Morris College were among those left out.

The researchers used data from the non-profit National Student Clearinghouse, a group that collects data from secondary school officials who want to track their graduates. More than 2,800 colleges participate.

Carole Snow, an executive associate provost at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said many students start college unprepared in math and writing.

The university recently opened a math learning center where students can get tutoring and work on study skills.

About 46 percent of UIC students, including Chicago public school graduates, complete college within six years.

Loyola University has one of the highest graduation rates for Chicago students. About 66 percent complete college within six years, nearly the same as the school average.

Loyola Vice Provost John Pelissero attributes that success to individualized student attention, including mandatory academic counseling. All freshmen also get a peer adviser.

The researchers said that the study could help high school guidance counselors better advise students about where to go to college.

"Our kids could be making better choices than going to U. of. I. Urbana," said co-author Melissa Roderick. "That is a very significant statement on that college, and they need to be paying attention to that."

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where some of Chicago's brightest students enroll, only 42 percent graduate within six years compared with 81 percent of all students, according to the study.

Robin Kaler, spokeswoman for the Urbana campus, disputed the consortium's numbers and said the graduation rate for Chicago students is nearly 65 percent.

"It is still not acceptable to us," said Kaler, who attributed the low number to a challenging environment at U. of. I. "We work hard to attract and identify students that we think can succeed. ... There is no way to predict perfectly who is going to have the most success and who isn't'"

She said the university has worked on improving student advising, with several colleges now requiring it. The advisers are supposed to not only monitor a student's academic progress, but also connect them with career-focused clubs and other services. The university also started a program last fall called "University 101," which is intended to teach students how to study, conduct research, and locate programs and services at the university.

That program came too late for Crystalynn Ortiz, 19, who started at the Urbana campus in fall 2004 after graduating from Prosser Career Academy in Chicago with a 4.5 GPA. She dropped out of U. of. I. after the first year, and now attends nearby Parkland Community College.

"I wasn't prepared to go to U. of. I. I got my first bad grades and then I wasn't motivated to do well," she said. "I felt really unprepared in study habits, how hard it was going to be here."

To view the rest of the story go to the Chicagotribune.com.

Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble

Below is my response to Diane Rado's story "Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble."

Dear Ms. Rado,

In your story below "Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble" Supt. Tenbusch states that "they are not making this up".  If this school district was so poor why did they hand out raises to the teachers and administrators last fall right after they claimed poor in front of a Lake County judge?  The answer pure and simple,  is greed.  These groups always put their pocketbooks ahead of the very children they are to teach.  Funny how their pocketbooks books are more important than textbooks.   I really wish you would ask the school boards more questions.  Ask them why they give out such large raises or raises when the school is in "financial difficulty".   The only ones to blame for this problem is the school board and administration.  If they can't balance the budget find someone who is capable of balancing the budget and not on the backs of the students they are to protect and educate while not in parental care.

Schools across Illinois have a spending problem not a funding problem. They have a problem with greed not need. No matter how much money they get it is never enough.  It does not take a grade school math teacher to figure out the TRS is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that is unsustainable and will bankrupt Illinois.  Sadly the legislatures are bent on catering to these groups instead of the taxpayers and students of Illinois.

Cathy Peschke
CRAFT

Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble

By Diane Rado
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 20, 2006, 9:53 PM CDT

In a rare move, state education officials voted Thursday to intervene in the financial affairs of Winthrop Harbor School District 1 in Lake County, where budget problems are some of the most severe in the state.

The Illinois State Board of Education certified that the district is in "financial difficulty," a status that allows state monitoring and could lead to even stronger oversight down the road.

Such state involvement is highly unusual and has happened in only a handful of districts, state education officials said.

Winthrop Harbor Supt. James Tenbusch said he and a majority of board members support the state's intervention after four years of budget cuts, including eliminating staff and cutting $45,000 for textbooks.

The district's tattered textbooks, some held together by rubber bands, were featured in a Tribune story Sunday on old and worn schoolbooks across Illinois.

The state monitoring "serves notice to our community we are not making this up," Tenbusch said about the district's financial problems.

The district relies mostly on residential property for its tax collections and has low tax rates compared with neighboring districts, he said. Trying to make ends meet, the district has been borrowing heavily and running deficits in its operating funds.

Voters repeatedly have rejected tax increases, including the latest ballot measure in March, and the issue has divided the community.

Tenbusch on Thursday accused some tax-increase opponents of making false claims about how an increase would affect property owners, prompting concern by state board chairman Jesse Ruiz. The chairman asked state board attorneys to look into how the state could regulate organizations making false claims.

Such charges are not unique in the clash over school tax increases. Elsewhere in the state, opponents have claimed that ballot language is deceptive and fails to inform voters of the true cost of tax increases.

Winthrop Harbor now has to submit a financial plan to the state and agree to monitoring, including providing budget and other information at the state's request. If the district fails to follow the financial plan, the state can appoint a financial oversight panel.

Also Thursday, state school Supt. Randy Dunn said the state board is looking at ways to curb violence after incidents at Chicago high schools and news reports about when schools fall into the category of "persistently dangerous" as defined by federal law. The Tribune reported this month that not one school in Illinois meets the state's definition despite reports of gang fights, teacher assaults and other serious problems.

Dunn said after the board meeting that the state's definition of persistently dangerous may need to be "more robust," given that no schools are fitting the definition. A change would require approval by state lawmakers.

Dunn also reported Thursday that delivery of 11th grade state exams to high schools is proceeding "pretty well," following a debacle over the delivery of grade school tests this spring. There have been some delays in districts getting instruction booklets and student identification labels for the tests scheduled next week, but high schools have been receiving the exam booklets, Dunn said.

For the rest of the story go to the Chicagotribune.com.

Textbook sticker shock - Yet another explotation of our taxdollars and a group jumping on the public education gravy train.

The following story appeared in the Chicago Tribune.

Textbook sticker shock
4/17/2006
By Diane Rado, Tribune staff reporter. Staff reporters Ana Beatriz Cholo and Darnell Little contributing.

Chicago Tribune


In Illinois, books that cost $600 online can be $800 at school as fees and markups drive up the prices

By the time Loryn Kogan got out of the New Trier Township High School Bookstore in August, the bill was nearly $800 for her two sons' textbooks--materials that are free to students in most states.

What disturbed the North Shore mother the most, however, was that she later found the same books at Amazon.com for nearly $200 less. She quickly bought the books online and returned the others to New Trier.

Kogan didn't know it, but the district contracts with a private company to run its bookstore and allows the firm to mark up new books by 20 percent over cost.

The contract is unusual because private booksellers usually are found on college campuses. But markups as high as 25 percent are not uncommon in some of Illinois' largest public school districts, a Tribune investigation has found.

High schools in the Oak Park and River Forest, Glenbard and Elmhurst school districts, among others, also mark up books sold to students, though they run their own bookstore operations.

According to state law, districts can charge extra to cover shipping and handling, but how those costs are defined is in question.

Districts say they can tack on the cost of salaries for staff involved in bookstore operations, saying that fits into the definition of "handling." But schools already collect local property taxes to pay salaries for school employees.

The law is "far from crystal clear" on the matter, said Jonathan Furr, general counsel of the Illinois State Board of Education.

In general, Illinois law seeks to control costs to ensure the best deals for students, he said.

"I certainly think the state board is going to have concerns about potential abuses in this area, and I think we would be interested in looking at the specific facts of these cases and reviewing whether or not those costs should be allowed," Furr said.

Illinois pays for public education mostly with local property taxes, rather than state dollars, and the $29.1 million state budget for textbooks has been flat to declining since 2000-01.

With most districts struggling with deficits and voters rejecting tax increases, nearly all districts rely on parents to buy their children's books or pay fees to offset book purchases.

Too few books, and they're old

Even with parents' help, however, districts are struggling with book shortages and texts that are outdated and worn, a Tribune investigation found in a survey of 50 districts of varying wealth and size across all regions.

Illinois collects more textbook revenue from parents than any other state, about $74 million in 2002-03, according to the most recent federal data. Twenty-eight states collect no textbook fees.

Updated figures from the Illinois State Board of Education show districts collecting $87 million from book fees or sales in 2004-05, three times more than the state provides for textbooks.

The figure is likely an underestimate because it excludes some districts, such as New Trier, where the private Follett Higher Education Group had sales of about $1.3 million, according to the district. Chicago Public Schools also did not report book revenue because individual schools collect their own fees.

Elmhurst District 205 did not report $548,186 from high school book sales because it was accounted for separately and excluded from state financial reports, said Patricia Palmere, assistant superintendent for finance. Students got $169,888 in credits for future purchases by selling books back, she said.

Districts typically have such buyback programs. They also waive book fees for impoverished students and offer installment plans so parents to spread out book payments.

Still, some parents are shocked by the price tag for attending a public high school.

Prices add up for parents

Laura Font paid $442.26 for her freshman son's books this year at Elmhurst's York Community High School; that didn't include other fees that pushed the bill to more than $500.

"When they totaled it up, I couldn't believe what it cost," said Font, a public school teacher in DuPage County. "If you have two or three high school students, you're talking about $1,500 to start school, and you haven't even bought shoes or clothes."

Not all parents pay that much. More than 500 districts, most of them Downstate, reported collecting $50 or less per student for textbooks on average in 2004-05, according to state figures.

Fees are steeper around Chicago, with about 70 districts, mostly in the six-county suburban area, collecting at least $100 per studenton average. A dozen districts reported at least $200 per student for textbooks, though some said their revenue included other fees unrelated to books. The Illinois Constitution states that education in public schools "shall be free," interpreted by courts to mean free classes and instruction--but not free books.

Elsewhere, education officials were surprised that Illinois charges for books. "That is illegal in California; textbooks have to be free," said Tom Adams, a top curriculum official at the California Department of Education.

Illinois educators said books tend to be replaced more often when districts charge parents rather than rely on state funds.

Cheryl Witham, chief financial officer in Oak Park and River Forest high school district, said she has worked outside of Illinois and has found that when fees weren't charged "over time, that curriculum became stale."

Districts defend markups

Her district marks up new books by 25 percent for shipping and handling, which she said can include bookstore employee salaries, based on the advice of the school district's attorney. Elmhurst District 205 has a 25 percent markup to cover overhead at its bookstore.

Glenbard High School District 87 in DuPage County has a 20 percent markup on new books, and Township High School District 113 in Lake County charges a 15 percent markup, plus shipping costs, on new books. District 113 officials said they don't exceed 15 percent because of a lawsuit in the late 1970s over unreasonable charges for books, and they cap book prices at $85, regardless of cost.

District officials stressed that their markups are over discounted prices they get from publishers, so students should still be able to get textbooks for less than retail prices.

But Kogan, of Wilmette, was able to find better prices on Amazon.com.

She said she bought mostly new books for her sons at New Trier, because used books get snapped up quickly and sometimes aren't available. She wanted to bring the books home before shopping online to make sure she could find exact matches.

Kogan found several better deals, she said, including a $63.49 advanced biology book on Amazon.com that cost her $98.95 used at New Trier.

Follett, which operates college bookstores around the nation, pays New Trier a $40,000 annual commission to operate on campus, said Donald Goers, the district's assistant superintendent for business.

After the Tribune began asking questions about the arrangement, Goers said it may be re-examined.

"We were trying to look for a novel approach" for bookstore operations, he said. "We do need to go back and re-evaluate to see if this is still the best way."

Money won't improve schools

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Northwest Herald.



Money won't improve schools

[published on Mon, Apr 17, 2006]
Money won't improve schools

To the Editor:

Thirty years of experience has shown us that spending more money doesn't produce better schools.

The "it's for the kids" argument is losing its effectiveness, as most education referendums have failed in recent years.

Rather than promise what they can't deliver – better schools – the new strategy of the education establishment is to threaten to make schools worse if referendums don't pass. Threats of unnecessary cuts in extracurricular activities fill the news.

Rational people know that a public school system capable of decades of mediocrity certainly is capable of shortchanging students even further.

Because busy people don't have the time or energy to demand change, they give into threats.

Taxpayers continue to increase revenue to public schools at a rate that outpaces both inflation and enrollment growth.

But because of the Illinois public school finance culture, no increase in funding ever will be enough.

Very few certified public accountants, or people with master's degrees in business administration or serious private-sector business experience sit on school boards or serve as district chief financial officers.

The Illinois Constitution calls for an "efficient system of high quality."
Public schools lack the proper incentives to fulfill this mandate. We need school choice.

John Biver
Carpentersville

Money won't cure spenders

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Northwest Herald. To read this story in the Northwest Herald. Click on the title of the post.


Money won't cure spenders

[published on Mon, Apr 17, 2006]
Money won't cure spenders

To the Editor:
Dig deep; property tax bills are due in a few short weeks, and guess what? The new school taxes are retroactive to last year.

Surprised they raised your taxes for last year, too? They're going to skyrocket every year now.

The con men in your school district are laughing all the way to the bank.

Be sure to attend the next school board meeting; the agenda is "bigger raises for everyone" (and a super bonus with perks for the great administrator, too).

Does anyone think we've cured the education money problem? They've already planned the next referendum.

I really do feel sorry for our elderly; they've given everything, and now are forced to move because of education's taxing greed.

In a few short years, all the brainwashed students who celebrated this past election will realize that they can't afford a house or apartment, thanks to education insanity.

With 90 percent of your property tax going to education, how long before we have monthly property tax bills more than $1,000? Weekly?

It's a disgrace, criminal and has bankrupted the county, state and our future.

I do feel sorry for our schools. They are sick, and money won't cure them.

Bill Russin
Richmond

Dr. Phony Ph.D.

How many teachers or administrators purchased their degrees on-line in your district? The below story appeared in the Daily Southtown newspaper.

Dr. Phony Ph.D.

4/16/2006

By Kati Phillips

Daily Southtown

Special ed director had fake degrees

The director of one of the state's worst elementary school special education programs purchased her Ph.D. for about $250 from an Internet diploma mill specializing in metaphysical theology.
This is one of three apparently fake credentials on Judith Blakely's resume, the Daily Southtown has learned.

Blakely, who earns $75,000 a year as director of student services at Calumet Park School District 132, claims to be a 2000 graduate of the business ethics doctorate program at the American College of Metaphysical Theology, according to a copy of her resume obtained by the Southtown.

The suburban Minneapolis, Minn., outfit advertises a Ph.D. for a fee of $249 on its Web site, up from the $199 deal it offered when Blakely purchased hers.

The school has no campus, awards credit for "life experiences," and boasts most students graduate in 60 days.

Getting a Ph.D., according to the school's Web site, could mean increased salary, enhanced prestige and heightened credibility for recipients.

"Psychologically, the title 'Doctor' and the word 'healing' have a natural affinity in one's mind," it reads.

The Daily Southtown performed a background check on Blakely - turning up this fake degree and other false information - after reviewing state reports that outlined compliance problems within the Calumet Park School District 132 special education program, many of which predated her hire in 2003.

The Illinois State Board of Education is threatening to "nonrecognize" the district and withhold as much as $6.7 million this year and next if the issues are not corrected.

Blakely oversees $500,000 in grant money and the 1,300-student district's special education, bilingual and tutoring programs.

The ISBE has found that grant expenditures were not tracked, teachers were not certified in special education, and speech therapy and social work services were not provided to students.

When reached at the telephone number listed for her education consulting firm Thursday, Blakely declined to comment on the problems with the District 132 special education program on the advice of her lawyer, whom she declined to name.

Attempts to reach American College of Metaphysical Theology to verify Blakely's doctorate were unsuccessful.

A 1-800 number listed on the Web site rang to a woman who said she knew nothing about the college. The college did not respond to an e-mail request for verification.

Calumet Park School District 132 Supt. Doris Hope-Jackson, hired in 2004, was not surprised to hear Blakely had misrepresented her background.

Hope-Jackson said she had recommended the school board send Blakely for additional special education training because of ongoing problems in the program.

"I told (board president) Mr. Connor, I'm concerned. Things she should know, she doesn't know," Jackson said. "He said to let it go."

The phony Ph.D. is not the only fake degree on Blakely's resume, and Blakely did not respond to requests for information about the errors on her resume.

The Daily Southtown provided Blakely's maiden and married names, a partial Social Security number and partial birth date to other institutions she listed on her resume.

Two other degrees appear to be falsified.

Blakely claims she earned a "Master Online Teacher Certification" from the University of Illinois at Chicago, in 2003.

The title puzzled spokesman Bill Burton, who said that program did not exist. He checked variations of the title with university officials.

The university does not offer a master teaching certificate online nor does it offer a degree in online teaching, he said. And there was no record of a Judith Blakely Riggins attending the school in 2003 either, he said.

In addition, Blakely's resume lists two doctors of education degrees from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - one in higher education in 1998 and one in school leadership in 1993.

But spokesman Gariot Louima said Blakely received just one doctor of education degree in education leadership and that was in 1995.

Some educational experience listed on Blakely's resume checks out.

She did receive a master's degree from Governors State University in 2002. A spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Education confirmed Blakely holds elementary and early childhood certificates and both superintendent and general administrator endorsements. She also has approvals for learning behavior specialist and building administrator for special education, he said.

A Chicago State University spokeswoman did not return a call last week to confirm Blakely received a master's degree there in 1985 and a bachelor's degree in 1980, as stated on her resume.

Prior to being hired as the director of student services at District 132, she was a well-regarded head teacher at Worthridge School, which is part of the Eisenhower Cooperative.

She is an adjunct professor at City Colleges of Chicago and DeVry University and is the executive director of the Best Practices in Education Consulting Firm in Homewood.

BPE LLC was approved in 2003 by the state to provide continuing education and professional development units to teachers, a state spokesman said.

On Supt. Hope-Jackson's recommendation, the District 132 school board on a recent 4 to 3 vote did not renew Blakely's contract for next year.

Blakely has not returned to work at the district since the state issued an 11-page non-compliance report in March. She has missed more than 90 days of work due to vacation and illness.

To view the rest of the story go in the Daily Southtown click here.