Education Matters US

Emotions ran high tonight at the Grayslake Elementary District 46 School Board meeting. The 2 contentious items were votes about additions to both the Woodview and Avon Schools and the abatement of the 1999 bonds.

Jill Rohrer pointed out many discrepancies/inaccuracies in the numbers provided in the previous facilities discussions. Jill, Kristen and Sue wanted more answers and felt the needs of Frederick and the Middle School were being neglected in the discussion.

Other board members thought there was enough information to continue and that the questions could be answered as the process progressed. Keith stated, “The board cannot break ground without board approval.”

The vote to approve moving forward with drawing up plans for both additions was approved 4-3.

The first motion made about the bonds was to abate the entire $8.1 million over 2 years. This motion was defeated 4-3.

Keith Surroz then offered a compromise motion to abate the $6.9 million that exceeded voter approval and to keep the $1.2 million that was legally authorized by the voters.

The discussion became very lively with board member Mark Hannan trying to delay the vote on the grounds that this was a new motion and it was unfair to make a snap decision.

Other board members stated that this information has not changed and has been presented multiple times. Every number was known and had been for months. The vote was finally forced due to the fact that the Woodview/Avon addition votes had been forced earlier without delay and without accurate information.

It became very apparent during the vote that the taxpayers in the district had expressed their wishes to the board to not be overtaxed. The board realized that they were making an ethical decision and approved the motion 4-3 to abate the $6.9 million over 2 years.

For the owner of a $200,000 home this will mean a saving of approximately $361 on your 2006 taxes and approximately $206 on your 2007 taxes. (Estimates from Facilities Discussion 9/18/2006)

I’ll get my board notes typed up later this week and posted at d46news.com.