John Dewey’s Theories of Education on Marxists Archive - Notable AFT Figure.

By W. F. Warde (George Novack)

John Dewey’s Theories of Education

Written: 1960
Source: International Socialist Review, Vol. 21, No. 1, Winter 1960.
Transcription/Editing: 2005 by Daniel Gaido
HTML Markup: 2005 by David Walters
Public Domain:George Novak Internet Archive 2005; This work is completely free. In any reproduction, we ask that you cite this Internet address and the publishing information above.

October 20, 1959 marked the one-hundredth anniversary of John Dewey’s birthday. This eminent thinker of the Progressive movement was the dominant figure in American education. His most valuable and enduring contribution to our culture came from the ideas and methods he fathered in this field.

Dewey won a greater international following for his educational reforms than for his instrumentalist philosophy. Between the two World Wars, where previously backward countries were obliged to catch up quickly with the most modern methods, as in Turkey, Japan, China, the Soviet Union and Latin America, the reshapers of the educational system turned toward Dewey’s innovations for guidance.

Most broadly considered, Dewey’s work consummated the trends in education below the university level initiated by pioneer pedagogues animated by the impulses of the bourgeois-democratic revolution. This was especially clear in his views on child education which built on ideas first brought forward by Rousseau, Pestalozzi and Froebel in Western Europe and by kindred reformers in the United States.

In its course of development on a world scale the democratic movement forced consideration of the needs and claims of one section of the oppressed after another. Out of the general cause of “rights of the people” there sprouted specific demands voicing the grievances of peasants, wage workers, the religiously persecuted, slaves, women, paupers, the aged, the disabled, prisoners, the insane, the racially oppressed.

The movement to reform child education must be viewed in this historical context. Children as such are not usually included among the oppressed. Yet they necessarily compose one of the weakest, most dependent and defenseless sections of the population. Each generation of children is not only helped but hindered and hurt by the elders who exercise direct control over them.

To view the rest of the story go to Marxists Internet Archive.





The American Federation of Teachers has always counted John Dewey as one of its notable figures.

SAT scores dropped significantly this year. Blame the schools, not the test.

The following piece appeared in the Wall Street Journal.

How Low Can We Go?
SAT scores dropped significantly this year. Blame the schools, not the test.

BY DAVID S. KAHN
Friday, May 26, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT

Colleges across the country are reporting a drop in SAT scores this year. I've been tutoring students in New York City for the SAT since 1989, and I have watched the numbers rise and fall. This year, though, the scores of my best students dropped about 50 points total in the math and verbal portions of the test (each on a scale of 200 to 800). Colleges and parents are wondering: Is there something wrong with the new test? Or are our children not being taught what they should know?

Before 1994, the verbal section of the SAT was about 65% vocabulary (55 out of 85 questions) and 35% reading comprehension. Then the Educational Testing Service shortened and reworked the test, devoting half of the 78 questions to each area. Last year ETS changed the test again, and now it is heavily skewed toward reading: 49 of the 68 items require students to read, synthesize and answer questions.

In such a way, ETS has increased the penalty for not reading throughout one's school years. Studying vocabulary lists before the test--a long-favored shortcut to lifting scores--just won't cut it anymore. Students who read widely and often throughout their elementary and high-school years develop the kinds of reading skills measured by the new SAT. Students who avoid reading don't--and can't develop them in a cram course.

The math section of the test also got more challenging. The SAT used to test algebra, geometry and arithmetic. Students weren't allowed to use calculators on the original SAT, so some of those problems were simply difficult arithmetical calculations (fractions, decimals and percentages). In 1994, calculators were allowed, and the questions got a bit easier--and I watched my students' math scores jump. But last year ETS made it harder by adding pre-calculus questions, and my students have struggled.

Now there are also fewer math questions--each of which counts for more. The 54 math questions count for 11 points each now (on the 200 to 800 scale); before, there were 60 questions that counted for 10 each. So if a student gets 20 questions wrong, he effectively loses 222 points instead of the former 200.

Quite simply, this is not the same SAT. Students, anxious parents and college admissions officers can't really equate this new test with those of previous years--or their results. We need to adjust our expectations accordingly. It used to be that a 650 was a really high score. After a batch of adjustments, 700 became a really high score. Now it's probably around 670. Or to use the new SAT scale--a scale that includes a writing sample graded for another possible 800 points--you've done pretty well if you eke out a score of 2000, out of a possible 2400.





Some colleges attribute the drop in numbers to the fact that the test is longer--the writing sample has added about an hour to the test's time. If so, then students should do worse on the last sections of the test than they do on the earlier parts. (There are 10 sections to the new SAT.) That hasn't been the case for my (admittedly small) sample of students.
The colleges also think that the lowering of average test scores may have something to do with the cost of taking the test. It is now $41.50, up from $28 in 2004, and so they suggest that fewer students are taking the test twice (which generally results in a slightly higher score). But that theory is weak. Colleges also report that potential students are sending them more applications than ever before, from an average of five per student to 10 or more. Given that college applications usually cost between $50 and $75 per school, the colleges are saying that students are paying an extra $250 and more to apply to additional colleges but won't pay to take the SAT a second time because the price of the test has gone up $13. I'm skeptical.

The explanation is much more straightforward. The average American receives a pretty mediocre education. The average SAT score drifted down from 1000 in the 1960s to 880 in 1993. Education activists attributed this plummet to cultural factors, a change in the testing pool and other matters. The blame was placed everywhere but on schools. That the quality of education in America declined from the 1960s to the 1990s was hardly noted in debates over the SAT.

And then the test was "recentered." Thanks to the change in the SAT scale and the change in the kinds of questions that were asked on the test, scores went up and people were able to ignore the fact that most students are not well-educated. Indeed, parents compared their children's scores with their own and concluded that their children were brilliant. Now ETS has made it a little harder to get away with not knowing your three R's.


People complain that the SAT is biased and that the bias explains why students don't do well. That's true--it is biased. It's biased against people who aren't well-educated. The test isn't causing people to have bad educations, it's merely reflecting the reality. And if you don't like your reflection, that doesn't mean that you should smash the mirror.
That the new SAT tests more reading comprehension than the old test did is a good thing. Colleges complain that their incoming students don't have sufficient skills to read and analyze the kind of material that their professors will assign them. I hope that the new SAT's emphasis will make students realize that you can't get much of an education if you can't read.

Maybe the decline in SAT scores will force people to notice that their children are not getting good educations. If your children don't read or do math, why would you think that they would do well on the SAT? I would love to get into a time machine and go back to 1960 and give this new SAT to high-school students back then. I suspect that they would do much better than today's students. If we want people to get good scores on the SAT, I have a suggestion. Stop complaining about how unfair the test is and do your homework.

Taxpayer advocacy group plans to file suit.

More Questions Arise as Suit is Being Finalized!
(Updated 05/20/06)


          While compiling the list of documentation supporting our claims of questionable practices surrounding our new schools, additional facts were discovered that raise even more questions about the validity of this project. Some of the questions we hope to get answers to during the course of litigation are as follows.
1. Did the state approve enough repairs to allow our district to legally sell bonds?
2. If the contracts specified same size buildings, why are the new buildings 30-40% larger?
3. Why would the regional superintendent give these buildings passing grades on annual inspections, then sign off on destroying them based on unsupported claims of serious safety concerns?

To view the rest of the story visit the Coalition For Public Awareness website.

We have often said investigate and you will find waste, corruption, patronage and/or fraud. That is exactly what the Coalition For Public Awareness
is uncovering. This site serves as an example for others to follow.

Public schools are nothing more than government run schools. Like in the government you will find waste, fraud, corruption and patronage. The governor and legislators of Illinois our essentially beholden to the lobbyist of the public education system. This can be seen almost daily in the newspapers and the legislation that is granted in favor of the employees of these systems.

U.S. Army Spc, E-4, Eric D. Clark

Dear Friends and Readers,

We were out of town and also dealing with the loss of a good friend's son in the Iraq conflict. Memorial Day is May 29th. Please take a moment to say a prayer or if you do not pray take a moment to remember all those who have fought and died for our freedom.

We updated our Blog with posts for the following dates May 12th through May 25th.

We realize this is not an ordinary post however it is because of men like Eric D. Clark that we are a free country. Bravery of our soldiers allows us to fight for education reform and education spending reform.

United States Army Specialist E-4, Eric D. Clark, age 22, of Pleasant Prairie was killed while on active duty, serving his country at Camp Liberty, Baghdad, Iraq.

Born in Winfield, IL on July 14, 1983 and destined for great things, Eric was the first born to proud parents, Joanne Leipzig and Kevin Clark.

He attended St. Therese Elementary School, St. Joseph Jr. High School and was a 2001 graduate of Indian Trails Academy where his interest in multimedia expanded. While attending High School, Eric enjoyed working for Tinseltown, and enlisted in the U.S. Army while employed at Pizza Hut. His enlistment was a personal goal because Eric wanted to serve his country. He enrolled in an accelerated program, allowing him to achieve a higher military rank when he began his service career.

His faith was enhanced as a member of St. Anthony Catholic Church - his talent as a musician flourished as a member of the CYO Band where he played the flute and drums. But Eric’s life was really more about what he did for others that made such an impact. Considered an “Impressionist”, Eric could flawlessly assume the voice and character of actors as well as social and cultural dialects. He had a true passion for acting and aspired to one day influence the lives of children through a career as a teacher.

Aside from the selfless act of serving our country in the U.S. Army, Eric was an incredible person. He had the natural ability to lighten the mood, put a smile on your face, and add positive energy to any room. Wherever he went and whatever he did seemed to make a lasting impression on the lives of those he came in contact with. Young and old alike took to this young man full of life – touching people’s hearts and minds at every turn.

Eric’s military career spanned only a few short years, but included: Boot Camp at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, graduating in May 2003. He was then deployed to Korea, at Camp Hovey – 2-17th Artillery “Steel Battalion” Alpha Battery serving from June 2003 to July 2004. Eric achieved placement in 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York in July 2004, then was deployed to Iraq in August 2005.

He will always be remembered for unselfishly protecting the freedoms of his country, and remarkably influencing the lives of his family and friends.

Eric leaves to cherish his memory his mother and step-father, Joanne and Bob Marfechuk, of Pleasant Prairie; his father and step-mother, Kevin and Paula Clark, of Kenyon, MN; a sister, Jade Clark, a student at Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ; a brother Evan Clark at home; twin half-sisters Meg and Audra Clark; Maternal Grandmother, Mary Leipzig, of Kenosha; Paternal Grandparents, Dan and Yvonne Clark, of Pardeeville, WI; Maternal Step-Grandparents, Walter and Josephine Marfechuk, of Warren, MI; a step-brother Jared Buckingham; and a step-sister, Anna Buckingham.

He was preceded in death by his Maternal Grandfather, Harry Leipzig; and a brother, Eric Joseph, in infancy.

Everyone Has Been Conned!

"Everyone has been conned - you can give public schools all the money in America and it will never be enough." Ben Chavis a former public school prinicipal now runs a Charter School.

The above quote was found in John Stossel's Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity Get Out the Shovel Why Everything YOu Know Is Wrong.

Class size, tax promises bother District 93 parents

The article below appeared on Students First and in the Daily Herald. . The first mistake the parents made was trusting the school district and voting yes for the referendum. The following quote is classic and speaks volumes as to how this and most districts pass referenda. "Superintendent Hank Gmitro said the district had merely warned of class sizes increasing if the tax increase failed." They used fear and threats to pass the referenda and the voters of District 93 fell for it.

Many school districts will be back in November to try to pass referenda. Will you vote yes based on fear and threats or will you hold the people to educate and protect our children accountable for their actions.

Parents you need to do research. Pass grade 3 class size does not matter. What does matter is the quality of the teacher and parental involvement. See our resources page for information to read about class size.

Would you rather have your child in a classroom of 20 with an average to poor teacher or classroom of 30 - 35 with a good to great teacher? Which is more efficient and economical? We would take a classroom of 30-35 any day for our daughter. The fewer the teachers in a school the more likely you will have better teachers.

Class size, tax promises bother District 93 parents

5/26/2006

By Jack Komperda



Daily Herald


Several parents of third-graders at Carol Stream's Heritage Lakes Elementary are upset because their children's class sizes will rise by at least six students come next fall.

The parents have met several times with school administrators to persuade them to lower the class sections from the current 24-student average.

Though school officials refute it, the parents say the unexpected spike is akin to a broken campaign promise Carol Stream Elementary District 93 administrators made shortly before a successful 2004 tax-hike referendum.

"One of the things they promised during the referendum was smaller class sizes," said parent Ginny Furioso. "Now we're being told the class sizes can increase. Such a sudden jump for these kids … it's an extreme shock."

Superintendent Hank Gmitro said the district had merely warned of class sizes increasing if the tax increase failed.

He said the districtwide average of 21 students per class will remain, though some classes will be larger. He pointed out it's an inexact science since the district can't control the number of students who show up.

"I'm the one who shared the referendum information (before the vote)," he said. "What I talked about was maintaining class sizes. From my perspective, we've kept our commitment."

Heritage Lakes isn't the only district school with some class sections that will surpass the average, according to district enrollment projections.

Six grade levels across the district's six elementary schools will see, on average, spikes of four or more students in classroom sections next fall.

Overall, administrators also identified nine cases at all six elementary buildings in which class sizes in an entire grade level could remain above 21 students.

"It's a moving target," Gmitro said. "Five to seven years ago, we had class sizes of 28 to 30 students. We have none of that size now."

Indeed, the largest class size projections are expected at Carol Stream Elementary, where the incoming fourth-graders will have class two sizes of about 25 and 26 students. Those students are now split into three third-grade sections averaging 17 students.

Next year's third-graders will also have larger classes. The students are projected to have one less section with classes of 22 and 23 students.

At Elsie Johnson Elementary School in Hanover Park, next year's third-grade classes will have 23 and 24 students, up more than six from the current second-grade average of 17 students.

And at Cloverdale Elementary School in Carol Stream, the incoming fifth-graders will see their class sizes jump from 20 students to about 24 per class.

That spike, though, is offset by next year's third-grade class sections, whose average class size is expected to fall from about 26 to 20 students each.

"Class sizes are always a sore point with parents," said Maria Balas, a PTA member and Cloverdale parent. "From other parents I've talked to, the ideal comfort level would be a class size of 24."

Gmitro said he expects hundreds of children will move in or out of the district by registration time in August. Some class-size averages could change depending on where those population shifts occur.

Mary Lynn Campagna, another parent of a Heritage Lakes third-grader, said she hopes more children show up in her child's grade so the district would ad a section.

"I only hope more kids move in to give us another teacher," she said. "At that point, what would they do?"

Tasteless journalism

The following letter appeared in the Northwest Herald.


Tasteless journalism

To the Editor:

The Northwest Herald's May 19 editorial about electioneering in District 300 truly sets a new low for tasteless journalism. A more appropriate title might have been "Why we love taxes and hate Jack Roeser."

No matter what one thinks of Roeser, the Northwest Herald's assertion that his inquiries are sour grapes is totally baseless. Pass or fail, the District 300 referendum had more than enough "unusual" activity to justify raising questions. When did Roeser ever claim referendums couldn't pass without election interference?

By the Northwest Herald's logic, O.J. Simpson's prosecutors were petty, vindictive types who couldn't accept defeat simply because O.J. was acquitted.

How can a newspaper fail to value a citizen's right to ask questions?
Watergate anyone?

Without fail, most districts faced with a referendum defeat simply return months later for another. Why is there no "sour grapes" outcry from the North-west Herald over this unwillingness to accept defeat?

The reason is clear.

The Northwest Herald never met a tax increase it didn't like, a school district it didn't trust, or a taxpayer advocate it didn't denounce.

Taxpayers know better, and they certainly won't be cursing at Roeser when they get their latest tax bills.
Jim Peschke

A Former Teacher Tells the Truth - Hat tip Extreme Wisdom

The following letter appears at ExtremeWisdom.com. Be sure to visit Bruno Behrend's website for more letters. For those living in Lake County you can listen to his radio show on WKRS 1220 from 6 - 8 p.m.



Our Union Focused Only on the Teachers
Your May 4 editorial "rotten apples" expressed a belief I've held for almost 50 years; "... unions pretend their political actions are in the interests of "the children" -- except when that conflicts with their own economic self-interest."
Not once in my 35-year teaching career did the Union -- mine was the Michigan Education Association -- negotiate an item not having teacher benefit at its center. It did get me a perpetually better salary, a great medical plan, some extra duty pay for extra work, at least one class period to be devoted to preparation, and some other class-size control attempts. But I, even in retirement, still cannot find a direct correlation between these " negotiated" features and improved teacher classroom performance.
Everything was for me and my fellow teachers. We were all paid the same, a typical Union maneuver, which means no incentive for one to excel, even though some did. And the Union protected members equally regardless of competence. Certification rather qualification determined hiring practices. Most school administrators doing teacher valuations are only competent to assess those teaching in their own former area of classroom teaching. Morals were the only reason any teacher was ever released at my school.
I will eternally remember an admonition from a regional MEA leader to "take coil wires, put sugar in gas tanks, and let air out tires of scabs [teachers who had taken positions of strikers]" during an unusually bitter contract negotiation. Considering all of this along with what you cited in your editorial, it's a real stretch to find the Union rationale that "we care about kids."

Do you know the average monthly benefit of TRS recipients?

The average retirement annuity of those receiving monthly TRS benefits as of June 30, 2005 was $3043. The number of recipients is 73,464. Yep that is right the average benifit is $3043 per month for sitting on their behinds doing nothing.

Taxing bodies unite to preserve funding aka Doing every thing we can to grab as much money as we can.

Nothing more than money grubbing. The following article appeared in the Illinois School Board Journal.




llinois School Board Journal
May/June 2006

Taxing bodies unite to preserve funding
by Robert Madonia
Robert Madonia is superintendent of schools for Frankfort CCSD 157-C in Will County.

One problem facing school districts, as well as other taxing bodies, is the constant requests by corporate and commercial properties for a reduction in their assessments. Compounding this concern is that these requests are filed after taxes have been collected.

Thus, if approved, these requests carry the potential of large rebates that can deplete fiscal resources. As this occurs, it also starts to shift the burden of taxation from commercial properties to homeowners.

That's why Frankfort School District 157-C has taken the initiative to organize and chair a "taxing body coalition" to help protect property tax revenue at the lowest possible cost. An additional goal is to make certain taxation is fair.

In addition to District 157-C, taxing body members include: the village of Frankfort, Lincoln-Way High School District 210, the Frankfort Fire Department, Frankfort Library, Frankfort Park District and Joliet Junior College.

"It is only through the Frankfort Area Property Tax Appeal Coalition that an institution our size can work for the fair taxation of commercial property within the library district," said Detlev Pansch, administrator at the Frankfort Public Library. "Fair taxation will result in an equitable distribution of support for the library and prevent an undue share from being born by the homeowners."

How does it work?

The process begins when the taxing bodies receive a legal notification of assessment reduction requests of $100,000 or more. The county board of review is the first group to review the commercial owner's request. Typically, the board of review supports the township assessor's valuation of the property.

A representative of the coalition attends all public meetings of the board of review where assessment reduction requests are heard. This puts the public and commercial property owners on notice that the taxing bodies are aware of the assessment reduction requests and of their involvement to make sure that taxation is fair. This simple meeting attendance actually has caused many assessment challenges to be withdrawn.

If the taxing bodies are not going to be involved, sometimes the commercial owners will take a chance to get a refund without a challenge. The fact that some assessment reduction requests are withdrawn at this level makes us believe that, in these cases, the property was not unfairly assessed.

Once the county board of review rules on a case, a commercial property owner can appeal to the state-level Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB). Again, it is a legal requirement for taxing bodies to receive notice of any appeal to PTAB that is $100,000 or more.

After the taxing body receives this notice, it has 30 days to intervene. The coalition assesses the merits of intervening and will do so when it is financially appropriate. An intervention on a PTAB appeal means the coalition must engage the services of an attorney and secure an independent appraisal of the property in question.

Typically, in our experience, the independent appraisal supports the original township assessor's valuation of the property. Once an independent appraisal has been submitted to the commercial property owner, negotiations usually begin between the coalition and the appealing property owner.

Sometimes a deal can be struck for an assessment somewhere in the middle (below the assessor's level but above the property owner's request) or in some cases it goes all the way to the Property Tax Appeal Board for a decision. If PTAB rules and the property owner is not satisfied, the only other avenue is to appeal PTAB's decision through litigation. In our experience, this rarely occurs.

What has it meant?

As a rapidly growing community, Frankfort has new businesses move in annually. In 2004, we received a PTAB challenge that could have potentially cost District 157-C a $20,000 rebate. In 2005, a department store request potentially could have cost a $30,000 rebate, and the district anticipates a 2006 request from a large national chain of hardware and home supply stores for an assessment reduction that could cost us more than $50,000.

For District 157-C, chairing the coalition has been a proactive measure to preserve fiscal resources, support fair taxation and prevent the burden of taxation from shifting to homeowners. While all taxing bodies must be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we cannot let our fiscal base erode.

As a coalition, we hope that being proactive instead of reactive will earn the community's respect.

"Since the tax cap and limited tax rates, this coalition of taxing bodies has provided a viable source to fight tax reductions," said Jeff Boubelik, director of the Frankfort Park District. "As part of a fast growing community, the Frankfort Park District relies heavily on the tax dollars we receive to operate and develop new parks, facilities and programming. We only want to collect on the fair assessments of properties in our district. We would be remiss if we did nothing to protect our tax base."

Important facts

If you also are in a growth area, before encouraging you to rush out and create your own taxing body coalition, we would be remiss if we did not share additional important facts about the process.

You must believe in the importance of being proactive rather than reactive and be able to form a working relationship with some ground rules. One of the ground rules is agreeing that the individual taxing bodies in the coalition pay the percentage of all costs at the same percentage level that their tax rate is of the total rate.

This process takes oversight and intervention, and you're never assured of success. The coalition never totally wins these challenges. The goal is just to control our losses.

Property assessments are made by a township assessor. This person is an elected official who is considered the expert in the area of valuing property. Property valuations are based on many factors that are reviewed by the assessor for accuracy. Because of the assessor's expertise, the coalition believes those assessment numbers should be upheld.

The county officials designated to fight these challenges have too many challenges to address and no funds to be effective. Little support is realized at the county level.

In some cases corporate and commercial property owners file automatically every year without any basis to justify that their assessment is accurate. The hope is that they will get money back without experiencing any cost to make the challenge. Some appellants have attorneys on retainer who handle this on an annual basis.

That's why it is so important that taxing bodies intervene in these challenges to preserve their revenue. This process is part of good fiscal stewardship.

Taxing bodies also owe it to their community to prevent the burden of taxation from being shifted from commercial properties to the homeowner.
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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.