Cary Distirct 26 Opposes SB2288/HB750

In a 6-0 vote, Cary Community Consolidated School District 26 passed the following resolution against the passage of the SB2288/HB750 tax grab. They joined Palatine District 15 and the Village of Grayslake to pass similar resolutions against it passage.

          

A RESOLUTION ADVOCATING AGAINST SB2288 and HB750
A RESOLUTION to send a letter to the [...]

DuPage County Requests Unnecessary Registration

Please share with any home school residents in DuPage County that this form is not required and should not be filled out.

          

The Home School Legal Defense Association was recently alerted by a member family in DuPage County that they received a letter dated February 8, 2008, from the regional superintendent asking the family to [...]

Expelled The Movie: Is Darwinism Science or Worldview?

I went to see the Ben Stein movie Expelled Friday night. Ben interviews scientist who research Darwinism and scientist who claim the evidence leads to an Intelligent Designer (ID) instead.
It becomes very clear throughout the movie that the theories of the origin of life has no scientific basis. These theory that life sprang [...]

Grayslake Mayor Says No to SB2288/HB750

Grayslake Mayor Tim Perry and the Grayslake Board voted 5-0 this week against the passage of SB2288/HB750. [Emphasis mine]

          

Grayslake village board members voted 5-0 in favor of a resolution against the Senate proposal. The village’s position will be communicated to lawmakers in Springfield.
“If there is no guarantee there is permanent property tax relief involved, it’s [...]

Worse than Catholic clergy sex scandal?

Teacher Sex Scandal in Joliet

          

Eight additional female students came forward Friday to accuse an unpaid assistant track coach at Joliet Township High School of carrying on illicit affairs with them, police said.

Another assualt at East Leyden High School near Maywood, IL

          

An East Leyden High School teacher who allegedly sexually assaulted one of his female students [...]

No Playing Tag

          

Robyn Hooker, principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School, has told students they may no longer play tag during recess after determining that the game of chasing, dodging and yelling “You’re it!” had gotten out of hand. Hooker explained to parents in a letter this month that tag had become a game “of intense aggression.”

They also [...]

Go Ahead, Blame the Assessor, But You’d Be Wrong

Last week I published the statements of Grant Towship Assessor, Walt Kubalanza explaining how the Assessor is not blame for the high taxes. This week, I have an excerpt from a letter to the editor claiming Mr. Kubalanza is not telling the truth.

          

He forgot to mention that when the tax rate does not go [...]

Grayslake Middle School Released Early Due To Threat

Yesterday, the Grayslake Middle School was released early due to a threat found in a student bathroom. Below is the report from the News-Sun.

          

GRAYSLAKE — On a day that saw schools from Chicago to Michigan affected by threats of violence, officials at Grayslake Middle School dismissed students early on Monday and contacted police after [...]

Chicago Public Schools Doesn’t Know How To Choose Principals

Designs for Change claims Chicago Public Schools doesn’t know how to pick good Principals. (Hat tip: Students First).

          

Chicago Public School officials have an “abysmal” record at picking principals to invigorate ailing high schools, especially at 20 such schools where reading and math scores sank or showed little progress, a school reform group charged [...]

Palatine School District 15 School Board passes resolution opposing SB2288 and HB750

From the Champion News (April 10th):

          

Editor’s note: The Palatine District 15 School Board passed a resolution yesterday evening opposing SB2288 and HB750. The resolution passed with 6 Yes votes and 1 Abstention. Some Republican legislators are rumored to be supporting the bills, which would allow the General Assembly to override a possible Blagojevich veto. There [...]

Public School Leadership

In what is becoming a regular occurrence, another public school official is in trouble with the law. This week alone has brought us the following stories:

Principal from Spring Grove was caught in a motel with a 15 and 16 year old
Principal Accused of Stealing $35,000
Fired Cop accused of misconduct hired as school security chief
Student [...]

Taxes: Where Does The Money Go?

I happened to be looking at the Village of Grayslake website yesterday and found the page outlining where your taxes go if you live in Grayslake.
As I have stated many times, the local school get the majority of your taxes. The chart on the page verifies this as well showing that 71% of each [...]

Condoms For Prom

In Arizona, the school board of Bisbee Unified School District has decided it would be appropriate to give all the students coming to Prom a condom (Hat tip: Citizen Link). Of course, some parents were upset.

          

Students in Bisbee, Ariz., attending this year’s prom will receive a prom bag that includes condoms — a decision [...]

Reject Ploy to Hike Taxes for Education

“Reject ploy to hike taxes for education” is the title of a letter to the editor in the Daily Herald. [Emphasis mine]

          

State government thinks educating Illinois children is about money, not learning.
The Illinois State Board of Education regularly lowers the achievement bar so we can keep wishfully thinking no child’s being left [...]

Assessor Explains High Property Taxes

Lake County has the distinction of having the highest property taxes in the midwest as reported by Forbes.

There has been action on the assessment side of the equation by the Citizens Action Project in bringing more transparency to the system. I understand their mission is to focus on assessment, which is admirable. [...]

Teachers Unions, School Administrators enlist the PTA to Push SB2288, HB750

I received the email below today from a resident of District 15/211. This was sent out by the PTA from my understanding.
The PTA, Teachers Unions, and school officials are hosting a meeting on Saturday, April 12th to push the $8 Billion Dollar tax increase known as HB750 or SB2288. Since this is [...]