Consolidation Meeting at Rondout Summary

Rondout School District 72 and its Board of Education hosted a Community Forum on School Consolidation March 22.  Presenting and answering public questions at the forum were:

Ed Sullivan ( House representative - 51st District )
Jenny Wojcik ( Superintendent )
Keith Gray ( Board President )
Erika Lindley ( Executive Director ED RED )
Carole Sente's AM Assistant

A number of Oak Grove community residents and stakeholders were in attendance and actively participated in the question and answer session.

One of the questions asked of Carole Sente's representative was if she could confirm that Carole Sente will vote against HB 1216 if a voter referendum is not attached to the bill.  Carole Sente's representative confirmed that Carole Sente made this representation during the Forum held at Vernon Hills High School. However, currently there is no amendment pending to attach a voter referendum to HB 1216 and Ms. Sente will now vote in favor of HB 1216 having been unsuccessful in her attempt to convince Representative Chapa LaVia, author/sponsor of HB 1216, to amend the bill.

Representative Sullivan indicated he will vote yes to HB 1216. He indicated he is in favor of some forms of School District Consolidation but would oppose forced consolidation of schools like Rondout and Oak Grove if the studies authorized by HB 1216 recommend the consolidation of these schools. He advised and cautioned vigilance in the monitoring, lobbying, opposition and preemptive actions districts should take to protect against consequences and unintended consequences of legislation like HB 1216.

Please draw your own conclusions about the implications of the foregoing 2 paragraphs.

I took the opportunity to meet and speak with Ed Sullivan, our elected representative, privately before the Forum. I also took the opportunity to meet and speak with Jenny Wojcik and Keith Gray after the Forum.

I hope to be able to share the additional information I learned from these discussions and at the Forum with the Oak Grove Community Task Force on School District Consolidation on April 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Junior High Library.

Carl Ioos
Oak Grove School Parent

St. Charles Superintendent Discusses Consolidation

St. Charles Superintendent Donald Schlomann agrees we have too many districts in Illinois but combining them is now complicated. http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/stcharles/news/education/x1777814952/Superintendent-says-consolidation-could-save-state-money

Update on Consolidation Bills

School Consolidation continues to heat up in the Capitol. Last week HB 1216 (Chapa LaVia, D- Aurora) passed out of House Elementary and Secondary Committee. This legislation establishes a Commission to make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly on the number of school districts in this State, the optimal amount of enrollment for a school district, and where consolidation and realignment would be beneficial. On or before July 1, 2012, the Commission must vote on its recommendations and file a report with the Governor and the General Assembly. If the Commission adopts the report by a three-fifths vote, then the General Assembly must, within 14 days after the report is filed by the Commission, vote on whether to accept the report by the adoption of a resolution by a record vote of a majority of the members elected in each house. This is far better than several other legislative proposals that have been suggested. HB 1216 will allow for a thorough examination into school consolidation endeavors. Any effort to force mandated consolidation would have to be voted on by the General Assembly. The Commission is made up of 15 members one from each of the four legislative caucuses and individuals appointed by various educational interest groups including a school administrator, principal, school business official and a school board member. In order to file a report with the General Assembly it would take 11 votes from the members of the Commission. For clarification in Committee it was stated that the Commission recommendations could not unequivocally close or consolidate schools.

In a fast and furious move...Monday of this week Senate Amendment #1 to SB 2134 (Garrett, D-Lake Forest) was filed and posted for Senate Education Committee at 3:00 pm on Tuesday. This amendment would force school districts to consolidate and to eliminate elected regional superintendents of schools. Without major revisions to the bill, chances are it will never see the light of day. (See Senate Bills on the right hand pages of the blog for more information)

Diane L. Hendren Director of Governmental Relations Illinois Association of School Administrators

Rondout Consolidation March 22 Meeting

Panel Discussion open to the public.

Rep. Ed Sullivan, ED RED Director Erika Lindley, Rondout Superintendent Jenny Wojcik, and Board President Keith Gray

28593 North Bradley Rd.
Lake Forest, Illinois

March 22 7:00 p.m.

( Note to Oak Grove parents - This is the night of Race to No Where movie at Oak Grove)

Rep. Roger Eddy Explains Consolidation

This is an interesting video presented by Rep. Roger Eddy, Illinois State Representative and Superintendent of Hutsonville Unit #1.  Rep. Eddy talks about consolidation, and other education issues.   http://iasa.mediasite.com/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=b91b750c1df74c2198edbdfa3a2042781d

Rep. Carol Sente Meeting Summary

Thank you to our community members who attended the Representative Carol Sente presentation on March 14.  Oak Grove was very well represented. A large number of emails are coming to her from our area. We appreciate that Representative Sente agreed to speak with us about this important topic and she said that this was the largest audience of constituents that she has addressed. She spoke and listened well and I think we have made a connection with her. The audience seemed to find the meeting helpful and stayed until 10 p.m. asking individual questions.

Some points from the meeting:

1)   Continue to send in your emails and letters.  Rep. Sente requested that people be specific about how consolidation may affect them.

2)   Rep. Sente agreed to recommend to Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, the sponsor for HB 1216, that a vote of the people be added to the bill.  Rep. Sente said that she would eventually vote against HB 1216 if that were not achieved.

3)   Consolidation could mean dividing up a school as well as adding districts together.

4)   The amended HB 1216 slows the process and adds educators to the commission that will draw school district lines.

5)   A second bill, Senate Bill 1324 is moving through the Senate.

6)   Our school districts are doing well.

7) For information on bills:  http://www.ilga.gov


Thank you to District 128 for hosting the event and Superintendent Prentice Lea for doing a great job as the moderator and Mary Todoric for the photograph.

School mergers could boost teacher pay - DailyHerald.com

Read more: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110311/news/110319880/#ixzz1GQvgyNCa

House Bill 1216 Approved Unanimously with Amendments Today

By Jim Broadway, Publisher, State School News Service

Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia's bill to set up a commission on school consolidations was approved by a House committee unanimously this morning, but only after being amended to include representatives of public educator groups on the commission and protracting the period of the "study" of the subject.

Chapa LaVia, who chairs the House committee on PK-12 education, assured committee members that HB 1216 will not result in a set of recommendations that would automatically "become law" if accepted by the General Assembly.

That issue remains a bit ambiguous, even after the bill was amended today. Rep. Jerry Mitchell (R-Rock Falls) urged her to engage in a colloquy on the floor of the House when the bill is called on third reading, to clarify legislative intent in the record.

From an 18-member commission appointed by the legislative leaders and the governor, without any specific qualifications, the bill now requires members to be appointed from public education interests.

Both state teachers unions would be represented, as would the associations of school administrators, school boards, principals, school business officers, large unit districts, special educators. The Chicago Public Schools would be represented, and leaders of the legislature and ISBE would appoint members. The State Board would support the commission administratively and the members would serve without compensation until January of 2013. Instead of having to report its recommendations in just 60 days after the bill is signed into law, HB 1216 now has the commission voting on its report "on or before July 1, 2012." The legislature would have 14 days from the next time it convenes to accept or reject on the commission's report.

Unless a special legislative session were convened in the summer of 2012, that means the legislature could not take action before the fall veto session, in November or December of 2012.

Chapa Lavia said she expects the commission to hold a long series of public hearings throughout the state as a key part of its study. The goals remain the same - saving money, improving student learning, lowering property taxes, assessing the savings that the commission's advice would bring and giving "input to school districts on reorganization."

Again, she assured the committee that the report of the commission would not be a bill that legislators would have to vote up or down. The only reason the bill calls for a vote "to accept" the report is because "this is not a task force, it's a commission," she said.

Any bill based on the recommendations will have to be drafted, filed, heard in committee and moved through the normal legislative process, she  said.

The bill has similarities with 1324, which is in the Senate Executive Committee at this time. Today's action suggests the Chapa LaVia bill is the vehicle most likely to emerge from Gov. Pat Quinn's call for school consolidation, and that the governor now understands his goal will not be reached without the input and acceptance of affected interests.

House Bill 1216 Committee Amendment No. 1
Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the bill as introduced with the following changes: makes changes in the membership of the School District Realignment and Consolidation Commission; requires the report to be filed on or before July 1, 2012 (rather than 60 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act); and provides for repeal of the provisions on January 31, 2013 (rather than January 1, 2012). Effective immediately.

This amendment slows the bill process. It also improves the committee membership.
Ten new legislators signed on as sponsors of the bill today. 

See HB 1216 sponsors and status:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=1216&GAID=11&SessionID=84&LegID=57174#actions

School mergers: More details, more opposition in Springfield - chicagotribune.com

School mergers: More details, more opposition in Springfield - chicagotribune.com

Local Districts In Our Feeder Pattern

Community High School 128 and the elementary feeder districts in are group are Rondout, District 70, Hawthorn and Oak Grove.

www.rondout.org

http://www.d70schools.org/

http://district128.org/

http://www.hawthorn73.org/index.php/headlines/news/hawthorn_joins_in_opposing_governors_proposal_to_force_school_district_cons

Number of Districts by County

Lake County has 29 elementary school districts and 10 high school districts.

Chicago Tribune

One-school districts cost - chicagotribune.com

MARCH 5, 2011 article in the Chicago Tribune. 

Southern Illinois Uni. Prof. Supports Consolidation in 1994

William Edward Eaton, Professor at Southern Illinois University opinion in support of consolidation   Written in 1994.    http://www.lib.niu.edu/1994/ii940710.html

State Superintendent Chris Koch

Chis Koch is State Superintendent.   

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110304/news/703049979/


http://quincynews.org/local-news/illinois-school-superintendent-says-consolidation-is-needed.html

http://www.starcourier.com/homepage/x742400315/State-school-chief-Consolidation-needed

Contact Your Legislators

Please contact your representatives to express your views on school consolidation.  Feel free to cut and paste from the Oak Grove School Board Position statement listed to the right of the blog.
Representative Ed Sullivan Jr.:                 Ilhouse51@sbcglobal.net

Representative Carol Sente:                      repsente@gmail.com

Senator Dan Duffy:                                   Dan@SenatorDuffy.com

Senator Terry Link:                                   Senator@link30.org

  Representative talks about receiving information from the public.

ED-RED Meeting in Park Ridge March 21

We are a member of ED-RED which lobbies on behalf of our districts in Springfield.  ED-RED is planning a meeting to discuss consolidations on March 21.  This is the Oak Grove School Board Meeting night so our Board will not be able to participate, but residents may want to attend.
ED-RED Member Meeting
Topic: School Consolidation
Monday, March 21, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Maine South High School Board Room, 1131 S. Dee Road in Park Ridge
We will review statewide district population data, recent studies on
the impact of district consolidation, and discuss your district's
position on school consolidation.

March 14 7:30 p.m. Vernon Hills High School

Thank you for adding your responses to the poll on consolidation and the very thoughtful responses that a number of community residents have made on the blog.

Everyone is invited on March 14 at 7:30 p.m. to  Vernon Hills High School  145 Lakeview Parkway, Vernon Hills (not LHS as I earlier listed).  State Representative Carol Sente who is a sponsor of HB 1216 to consolidate schools will be will be the guest speaker.

House Bill 1886.

 March 3, 2011
News Tribune - News - Local - School consolidation plan falters

What is Your Opinion on Consolidation?

Gov. Pat Quinn is considering a school consolidation plan that could reduce Illinois' current 867 school districts to no more than 300. Quinn maintains consolidation could save taxpayers $100 million annually through elimination of administrators and improved efficiency. 

How do you think the Oak Grove School Community should respond at this time?  Take the simple poll on the right.