Though several bills that would have mandated school district consolidation were derailed earlier this year, Governor Pat Quinn and Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon are still looking at the consolidation of school districts without local community approval. HB 1216 (Chapa La Via, D- Aurora), which has passed the House of Representatives and was approved by the Senate Education Committee on Thursday, would create a commission to study school district consolidation or reorganization. This bill is by far the most fair and useful proposal submitted this spring on the subject. It calls for a commission, with representation from all of the major educational stakeholders – school board members, superintendents, principals, school business officials, teachers, parents, Regional Superintendents of Schools, and legislators – to study the issue and submit a report to the General Assembly. The report would not have the force of law and would not be binding.
Generally, the commission would try to find the optimal number of school districts that should be in the State, the optimal target enrollment for school districts, and to find where consolidation or reorganization might be the most beneficial.
The proposal by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, yet again, would go far beyond that. Their plan would be for the commission to establish statewide “reorganization criteria”, then create a list of school districts that fail to meet the arbitrary criteria and direct them to consolidate or reorganize. The commission and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) would then “work with these school districts to identify the form of reorganization and the process, procedures and date by which the organization will be implemented on a voluntary basis”.
Under the Governor/Lt. Governor proposal, commission members would be appointed by the Governor instead of allowing the organizations (such as IASB, IASA, IASBO and IPA) to designate their individual representatives on the commission as is currently provided in the bill. Finally, the Governor’s plan would have the commission issue a report that would include:
A list of school districts that “the commission has concluded will not benefit from any form of reorganization”
A “list and status report of school districts that have voluntarily opted” to reorganize/consolidate
A list of school districts that were targeted because they met the reorganization criteria “but have chosen not to participate in any form of reorganization”. “These school districts will be subject to penalties” for not consolidating.
Recommended legislation that will include: “penalties for non-compliance with the commission’s recommendations”; amendments to the School Code to give the ISBE the authority to issue regulations to mandate school district consolidation/reorganization; and “any legislative action deemed necessary by the commission to implement reorganization”
This proposal is obviously not voluntary, but a plan for mandatory consolidation of school districts.
You are urged to contact your state representative, state senator, the Governor, and the Lieutenant Governor to oppose this proposal. Let them know that:
1) School district consolidation must be for the purpose of educational improvement 2) School district consolidation must be approved by the affected voters of the school district 3) HB 1216, which studies school district consolidation, must advance with no further amendments
House members: Senators: Governor: Lieutenant Governor:
http://www.ilga.gov/house/ http://www.ilga.gov/senate/default.asp http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/Pages/ContactUs.aspx) http://www2.illinois.gov/ltgov/pages/contactus.aspx
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