The attendees in the audience were overwhelmingly against the tax increase in this economy. School board member Michael Carbone reiterated the issues about the economy in his comments with statistics showing 1 in 3 houses sold in the district in 2009 were in distress, and 50% in 2010.

More information will be coming when we get specifics about how the stimulus money was doled out.

A special thanks to Joe Calomino of Americans For Prosperity for helping with helping us get the word out about the meeting last night.

From the Daily Herald article about the meeting:

Grayslake Elementary District 46′s effort to capture as much tax money as possible next year has prompted concern.

 

About 70 residents attended a public hearing on District 46′s tentative tax levy for next year. Several who spoke questioned whether the district is misspending money or not managing its finances well.

You can read the original request here. The district has been spending frivolously in this economy (links below) and now is trying to find over $2 million in cuts. Despite this, they have not been willing to provide data to the public on how they spend their money. We must now demand an end to the practice of no representation without information. To put it simple, “No Info, No Taxes”.

Please join us next week. You do not have to speak, just have your presences felt by being in the audience.

Grayslake Middle School District 46 Board Meeting
Wednesday, February 3 @ 7 pm
440 Barron Boulevard, Grayslake
(847) 223-3680

Here are a few past stories of district expenditures:

• D46 ADMIN PAY RAISES? – http://educationmatters.us/2009/05/04/d46-admin-pay-raises/
• GRAYSLAKE ELEMENTARY CUTS 29 JOBS – WHO’S TO BLAME – http://educationmatters.us/2009/03/26/grayslake-elementary-cuts-29-jobs-–-whos-to-blame/
• Grayslake school district employees going to Disney World – http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=334943
• Dist. 46 board says sending group to Disney money well spent – http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=336703
• Money tight? Let’s go to Disney World – http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=335303
• DISTRICT 46 PAID FOR AWARDS – http://educationmatters.us/2008/06/11/district-46-paid-for-awards/
• DISTRICT 46 SUPERINTENDENT ELLEN CORRELL DEFENDS PAYING FOR CONSULTANT WHO GAVE AWARDS – http://educationmatters.us/2008/06/12/district-46-superintendent-ellen-correll-defends-paying-for-consultant-who-gave-awards/

The purpose of this letter is to inform the Grayslake School District 46 Board members that several parent groups and citizen activist have contacted my office (Americans for Prosperity: www.afpil.org) requesting our assistance in educating the Grayslake School District 46 Board members on the values of transparency within government bodies. Specifically, Americans for Prosperity will be educating and engaging the general public on the need for the Grayslake School District 46 Board to develop and produce an on-line check register.

Americans for Prosperity is a national grassroots – government watchdog organization. We have state-based chapters in 25 states with over 800,000 members nationwide. The Illinois chapter of AFP was formed in August of 2006. Currently, AFP-IL has over 20,000 members throughout the state with over 800 members residing in Lake County, Illinois.

We’re focused on sound public policy issues such as fewer taxes, less government, a more transparent and accountable government and more personal freedom. Our mission is pretty simple; AFP-IL educates and empowers citizens to hold their elected officials accountable for how they spend our tax dollars. .

For the past two years, AFP was the leading force behind a bi-partisan effort to pass the first ever, transparency legislation in the state of Illinois. Through all our battles, exposing government waste, filing lawsuits against our state’s governor and senate president, testifying at numerous committee hearings, fighting the efforts of the special interest groups and certain lawmakers who were opposed to government transparency, I am proud to say, that on August 17, 2009, Governor Patrick Quinn signed our transparency legislation (House Bill 35) into law.

House Bill 35 will create the “Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal (ITAP)” requiring the Department of Central Management Services to create an online searchable web site with information regarding state expenditures, tax credits, state employee salaries, and state contracts.

AFP believes that taxpayers deserve to know how their money is spent. Traditional budget publications are often inaccessible, incomplete and very difficult for ordinary taxpayers to understand. This opaque process creates a perception of bureaucrats funding unnecessary or even corrupt programs. It is incumbent upon government to make proper use of technology to provide transparency in government.

AFP believes that an online database, with technology familiar to most citizens can be used to create accountability and openness. Creating an on-line check register for the Grayslake School District 46 would bear little cost, and would allow spending information to be easily accessible to the public. This is a nonpartisan issue and follows common-sense principles of good government.

Our Founding Fathers believed that the source of America’s greatness was its people, not its government. This led Thomas Jefferson to state the following reflecting on government transparency:

“We might hope to see finances of the Union as clear and as intelligent as a merchant’s books, so that every member of Congress and every man of any mind in the Union should be able to comprehend them, to investigate abuses, and consequently control them”

Jefferson’s statement rings true for every level of government, especially here in Illinois. I respectfully encourage the Grayslake School District 46 Board to embrace these concepts and provide your constituents with the open government our Founding Fathers intended.

I look forward to discussing this issue with the Grayslake School District 46 Board at future school board meetings. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions and/or concerns.

Sincerely,

Joe Calomino

State Director
Americans for Prosperity
200 S. Wacker, Suite 4000
Chicago, Illinois 606060
312-768-2373 – Office

joe.calomino@afphq.org
www.afpil.org

CC.
Ellen Correll
Keith E. Surroz
Karen L.Weinert
Susan Facklam
Ray Millington
Michael C Linder
Mary Garcia
Michael Carbone

I will continue to update you on the efforts and call for you help in letting the school board members know that we need transparency in their spending. The district is facing cuts of over $2 million dollars again this coming year and we need to know where all the money has gone. How much money was really spent on sending teachers/administrators to Disney World? What other trips have been taken and how much have they cost?

Here are a few past stories of district expenditures:

• D46 ADMIN PAY RAISES? – http://educationmatters.us/2009/05/04/d46-admin-pay-raises/
• GRAYSLAKE ELEMENTARY CUTS 29 JOBS – WHO’S TO BLAME – http://educationmatters.us/2009/03/26/grayslake-elementary-cuts-29-jobs-–-whos-to-blame/
• Grayslake school district employees going to Disney World – http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=334943
• Dist. 46 board says sending group to Disney money well spent – http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=336703
• Money tight? Let’s go to Disney World – http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=335303
• DISTRICT 46 PAID FOR AWARDS – http://educationmatters.us/2008/06/11/district-46-paid-for-awards/
• DISTRICT 46 SUPERINTENDENT ELLEN CORRELL DEFENDS PAYING FOR CONSULTANT WHO GAVE AWARDS – http://educationmatters.us/2008/06/12/district-46-superintendent-ellen-correll-defends-paying-for-consultant-who-gave-awards/

As I have explained many times before, the school district gets a raise every year that is 5% or CPI, whichever is less. So each December, schools and other taxing bodies levy as much as they can no matter what they actually budget to “maximize their revenue”. This is done whether the community can afford it or not. Watch the video at the Lake County website for more information on the Budget/tax levy cycle & assessment/tax bill process: http://lakecnty.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=266.

The school is already using their typical pass the levy or the cuts will be more drastic. See the following note from another forum:

To see some how the Grayslake High School District 127 has been overtaxing us every year as well see:

• Case study in how school districts overtax
• D127 EXCEEDS AMOUNT APPROVED
• TAXING U AND ME INTO EXTINCTION WHY?
• GRAYSLAKE D127 APPROVES LEVY
• (UPDATED) GRAYSLAKE HIGH SCHOOL LEVY MEETING
• GRAYSLAKE 46 AND 127 OVER DEBT LIMIT

**Note: The forcast shows that D46 will need to make $2.5 million in cuts for the 2010-2011 school year. That number will be $3.5 million if the board votes against a Levy.

If the school district controlled their labor costs better, they would not be in this situation. I have suggestion to them the past 2 contract negotiations that they limit raises to CPI. This would control their labor costs and thus their budget properly.

Here is the board agenda for tonights meeting including contact information for the board members. Please contact them today if you are not going to be able to attend the meeting.

Special Meeting Agenda
Board of Education
Community Consolidated School District 46
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Middle School
7:00 P.M.

A. Call to Order
B. Roll Call
C. Establishment of Quorum
D. Pledge of Allegiance
E. Public Comment
F. Discussion Item:
1. Review of PMA forecasts – Brad
2. Continued discussion of Levy
G. Action Item:
1. Approval of Taxation Hearing Resolutions Items:
• Certificate of Tax Levy
• Resolution Regarding Amounts Necessary to be Levied for the Year 2009
• Certification of Resolution Regarding Amounts Necessary to be Levied for the Year 2009
• Resolution to Levy Certain Special Taxes for Special Education District IMRF Purposes
• Certification of Resolution to Levy Certain Special Taxes for Special Education District
IMRF Purposes
• Resolution to Levy Special Education Tax
• Certification of Resolution to Levy Special Education Tax
• Resolution to Levy Working Cash Tax
• Certification of Resolution to Levy Working Cash Tax
• Resolution Publication Truth and Taxation Notice
• Certification of Resolution Publication Truth and Taxation Notice
H. Adjourn
Thank you for attending the meeting of the Board of Education. You are reminded that these are meetings held
in public but are not public meetings. You are welcome to address the Board during “Public Comment.” You
are asked to limit your remarks to under four minutes. Guidelines for Public Comment are available at each
meeting along with the current agenda. Board members and/or administrators may be contacted to respond to
specific questions at:

Board Members Schools
Michael Carbone 223-3540 ext. 5648 District Office 223-3650
Sue Facklam 548-2930/223-3540 ext 5565 Avon School 223-3530
Mary Garcia 223-3540 ext 5691 Prairieview School 543-4230
Michael Linder 223-3540 ext 5692 Woodview School 223-3668
Ray Millington 223-3540 ext 5678 Meadowview School 223-3656
Keith Surroz 223-3540 ext 5679 Park School 201-7010
Karen Weinert 548-0436/223-3540 ext 5664 Frederick School 543-5300
Middle School 223-3680

The District web site address is www.d46.org

1). Many people in the community would like to become more involved with the School Board and the Schools in D46. Listed as one of the goals of the BOE, is reaching out more to the community. While presenting their SIP Reports, Administrators expressed a need for more parental involvement. Are the Board Members and Administrative staff aware that their demeanor, expressions, and tone, yield feelings of being “unwelcome” and “condescended to”? Would at least 1 Administrator and 1 BOE Member address this and help the Parents at the Forum understand how we can be more involved in discussions with the BOE along with the Administrators at their respective schools?

2). Would it be possible to review the policies currently in place for student conduct (and consequences) in the classroom, school-grounds, and buses? Would the Policy Committee consider meeting with members of the community and note their suggestions on policy modification?

3). There are reports that the Education Fund has a “surplus”, a “rainy day fund” if you will, of somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million dollars. What is the dollar amount in this fund? You have stated that some programs and personnel were eliminated due to low enrollment; what was the reason for not obtaining the balance of programs and personnel by utilizing a small portion of what is in the Education Fund?

4). With the State of Illinois in financial straits and D46 having $2.7 million dollars pending payment from the State, what provisions are being made should the monies not be provided as expected?

5). We submitted the idea of moving toward more paperless options from the schools. The response we received is that paperless options are being looked at.
Please expand on that: Is the technology in place? Has a cost analysis been done to see how much it would cost to put a system in place? How much money will the district save? Have you considered using 1 school or a small group of parents to test a system on? How can the community help this become a reality?

6). Have Band/Chorus fees been discussed further or decided on? If the BOE decides that fees for programs will be implemented, will it be in the ‘09/’10 year?

5). With 7 schools in our district, has any research been done on the impact of adding on to some current buildings and selling off other buildings to consolidate fees for property, building, teachers, staff, technology, etc.?

6). Are the Park Campus Buildings being used to capacity? If not, how much is not being used? Can you provide the approx. cost for maintaining the un-used portions? What are the plans for filling the buildings to capacity?

7). Will you please provide an explanation for purchasing 258 Laptop computers? Could the purchase have been made utilizing less sophisticated laptops, in an effort to reduce cost?
a). We were advised that the BOE Members, Administration, and Tech Dept. have agreed that Tech Hardware Expenses will be way down in the next years to come in order to keep the Ed Fund money to pay for teachers salaries. Are the new Board Members aware of this and can we rely on you to follow through on this “promise”?

8). Will you please explain why the district opted to obtain 38 SMART Boards (when many districts have 1 or none)?
a). Currently, only 5 District Personnel have been formally trained on the SMART Board; What are the Districts plans for further training of those who have not been formally trained?
b). Cost of this training?
c). What is the lifespan of a SMART Board?

9). Have the Administrative Salary increases been determined?
a). If yes: By what % per individual?
b). If no: When does the BOE foresee this decision being made?
c). Has the BOE considered tying salary increases to CPI with a cap?
d). What about Salary Freezes or Decreases?

10). Is the BOE aware at this time of any upcoming cuts that to be made? (Can the BOE give us any idea on items or areas that will be looked at in the event that more cuts need to be made from us getting less revenues than we have expenses?

11). Why were we caught so completely off guard with the CPI? The economy has been in a recession since late 2007; did the PMA projections in 2007 & 2008 show this?
a). What provisions are being made to make sure we are covered when our housing assessments start to decrease and revenue declines as a result?

12). Is the Staff Development Budget being reduced for ‘09/10?
a). What % of the projected budget is for travel?
b). Have reductions been made in this area for everyone from administrators, teachers, to non-certified staff? If not, will reductions be made in this area?
c). How much of the Staff Development budget is allocated for Blue Ribbon of Excellence, Inc.? How much of the Superintendent’s Professional Development Account is allocated for Blue Ribbon of Excellence, Inc.?
d). Will any administrator, teacher, or staff member (certified or not) be attending the National Conference in Dec. 2009 @ Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Orlando Florida?

13). What can the community do to help the Members of the Board? Superintendent? Administrative Staff? Schools?

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the results Tuesday. They say that only 27 percent of the more than 600 candidates who took the test passed. The test was administered in March of this year.

The teacher’s licensing exam tested potential teachers on their knowledge of elementary school mathematics. This included geometry, statistics, and probability.

To learn more about everyday math read the following links:

• Illinois Loop Math Program Reviews
• Math Curriculum by Town (Grayslake District 46 uses everyday math)
• DANCE OF THE MATH LEMONS
• MATH VIDEOS
• NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS: TEACH THE BASICS
• SUCCESS: TEST SCORES NOT DROPPING
• EVERYDAY MATH

District 46 resident Shannon Smigielski said she and other parents want elected board members to host a proper forum so there can be give-and-take on major issues such as spending. Smigielski said the effort has been unsuccessful so far.

“We don’t want to have a ‘their side’ and ‘our side.’ We don’t want there to be such a great divide between the district board and us,” said Smigielski, who estimates she now has about 50 parents involved in an online group for District 46 issues.

District 46 Superintendent Ellen Correll said officials aren’t against having a board forum. Board members tabled discussion on the idea at a meeting Monday, but it may arise in June.
——————————————-
District 46 resident Sharon Hetz said spending and budget cuts would be areas she’d like to address in depth with the school board. Hetz also said she has questions about Blue Ribbon Lighthouse Awards given to two schools by a South Carolina education consultant hired by District 46.

More information on the Blue Ribbon awards the district paid for can be found at the following:

• GRAYSLAKE DIST. 46 PAYS FOR AWARDS
• DISTRICT 46 PAID FOR AWARDS
• DISTRICT 46 SUPERINTENDENT ELLEN CORRELL DEFENDS PAYING FOR CONSULTANT WHO GAVE AWARDS

• Avon
• Grayslake Middle School
• Meadowview
• Grayslake High School
• Illinois Schools

• Math Committees at Grayslake Elementary Schools
• How should District 46 communicate with the community?
  

  Grayslake Elementary District 46 board members Monday night discussed the pros and cons related to sending fliers and other written materials to parents. Some board members said the district can keep down costs by making available a majority of materials online, but concerns later arose about those who don’t have computer access. Board member Susan Facklam said while she has access to a computer, she prefers hard copies of District 46 communiqués. Board members also have been mulling the idea of sending a brochure to residents with District 46 information. Superintendent Ellen Correll presented the board with brochures from other suburban school districts. District 46 board members asked Correll to provide cost information about the other schools’ materials.

• District 46 looking to trim costs
  

  Grayslake Elementary District 46 is seeking ways to cut expenses because of a possible decrease in tax revenue.

  District 46 Superintendent Ellen Correll floated tentative ideas at a meeting Monday night, which included something as simple as eliminating color printing on copy machines to save $100,000 annually.
  ————————————————-
  Previous estimates have shown District 46 is on pace for a $2 million revenue shortfall in the 2009-10 academic year, which is why the spending cutbacks are being discussed.

  They are facing a deficit and yet gave teachers guaranteed raises for the next 3 years instead of tying raises to CPI. I have previously made suggestion on how to cut spending, like competitive bidding on utilities and healthcare instead of consortiums that may actually be costing them more than need be.

• Round Lake Beach grade school principal removed from job – The principal who was supposedly removed for performance issues is put in charge of setting up a financial system for the district when they already have problems paying teachers and staff the correct amount.
• Prairie Crossing Schools
  • Prairie Crossing Charter School studying teachers’ pay
    

    Prairie Crossing Charter School in Grayslake is paying for a compensation study in the wake of reports its teachers are upset about not making enough money.
    —————————————
    “While those (Woodland and Fremont) districts have escalated teachers’ salaries by at least 5 percent each year over recent history, we have not,” Dagley wrote to Prairie Crossing’s board

    But Dagley said class sizes are larger at the Woodland and Fremont schools. He said Prairie Crossing also has classroom teacher assistants, a rarity at most public schools, and that he informs prospective employees about the school’s lower pay scale.

  • Lake Co. school board has reminder of breaking law for next 4 months
    

    An illegal closed-door discussion that Prairie Crossing Charter School board members had wanted to keep secret instead will remain quite public for the next four months.

    Board members at the Grayslake elementary school approved an agreement with the Lake County state’s attorney’s office to make public a transcript of the chatter that violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act on July 29.

    Prairie Crossing’s Web site will feature passages that violated the Open Meetings Act through April.

    Board members agreed in October to the Open Meetings Act violation deal with the state’s attorney’s office. It isn’t publicly known how the improper closed-door talk came to the attention of Lake County prosecutors.

News from schools around the country:

• Teacher allegedly seduces boy, 13
• Warren school expansion may include offices – They passed a referendum to expand school facilities and are now looking to use part of the money for administration facilities.
• Principal: Poor kids ‘kicked out’ to make room for rich
• Chicago Public Schools’ cappuccino bill: $67,000
• School official says strip-search ‘never justified’
• School district mum on candidates
• Detroit School Lacks Toilet Paper, Light Bulbs
• Fayette schools ask teachers to give back raise – This would have to be unanimous by all County Employees so this is just a public relations stunt.

I did ask several other questions that could not be answered. One was whether the contract offer from the district was actually 3.25% as stated in the Daily Herald (comment #124). This comment also stated the teachers union wanted 5.5%. Here is the relevant portions of the comment below.

Most of the teachers don’t want to go on strike. My mom is one of them. one reason is that the board is offering 3.25% raise a year for 3 years. While the union wants 5.5% a year for 3 years. The boards offer is very fair. The teachers want the boards offer, but the union doesn’t. Another reason is that they have many pregnant teachers at the school this year. When you go on strike your medical benefits are suspended. This is not good at all for someone who is expecting. Today they told the administration that they would be leaving at the contracted time of 3:20 instead of waiting around to monitor the halls to make sure your children didn’t get hurt or into fights. But the administration decided to release the kids 5 mins early. The union rep got on the speaker and told the teachers to leave as well.

If this comment is true, then the board has made a more than reasonable offer given our current economic times while the union and the teachers who voted in favor of the the intent strike are being unreasonable to the district and the taxpayers who pay their salaries.

The teachers deserve respect for their profession, but they also must respect the taxpayers. If they want to be fair to all, then the union and board would agree to tie the salary increases to CPI. This would allow the teachers to given a guaranteed raise each year, while virtually guaranteeing there would not be a need for an Education Fund referendum. This is because the schools already get an increase in tax revenue every year equal to the lesser of 5% or CPI.

As you can see from my previous article, that average TRS compensation has risen at a higher rate than CPI:

Here is some background information on the raises Grayslake District 46 teachers have received on average since 1999. This was calculated using the TRS compensation data from the Champion

1998/99-1999/00 - 6.89%
1999/00-2000/01 - 7.63%
2000/01-2001/02 - 7.41%
2001/02-2002/03 - 7.83%
2002/03-2003/04 - 8.17%
2003/04-2004/05 - 6.10%
2004/05-2005/06 - 6.95%
2005/06-2006/07 - 3.67%

*UPDATE: I inadvertently used the year of the data as the start of the school year instead of the end of the school year. Years above reflect this Fiscal Year change. This does not affect the average increase percentage in TRS Compensation

Methodology:

• Match on teacher name between years
• Only full time teachers included
• Averaged: (current year compensation – previous year compensation) / previous year compensation
• Issues: Teacher names changed sometimes in the yearly records. These were excluded for now. Only used exact matches.