Illinois School Board Association Position

ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BOARDS POSITION

The Illinois Association of School Boards strongly opposes these proposals for mandatory school district consolidation. The IASB has clear positions, initiated and approved by the members of the IASB, which state that any school district reorganization must be approved by a majority vote of the districts affected and that no arbitrary pupil enrollment or geographical component be used to force consolidation.
IASB Position Statements 7.01 and 7.02 can be reviewed at: http://www.iasb.com/govrel/positions.cfm

ACTION REQUIRED

School board members are encouraged to contact their State Representative, State Senator, and the Office of the Governor and voice their opposition to these proposals. The following talking points may be used in discussions with your elected officials:

o Consolidation should be intended to facilitate educational improvement rather than changes in district organization based only on enrollment or geographical location

o Reorganization and consolidation should be initiated by local citizens and final approval should be determined by a vote of the citizens

o Local citizens, and those elected locally to govern the school district, must have the authority to make those decisions which affect the educational well-being of the students living within their community

o School district organization should reflect the community’s interest and values and not be dictated arbitrarily from the State’s central government

o Suggested cost-savings from school consolidation have not been proven o Savings from eliminating a superintendent’s salary will likely be negated by the increase in overall teachers’ salaries after a consolidation

o Additional building and school construction costs will likely negate any administrative cost savings

o Stretching school districts boundaries to meet an arbitrary population figure will cause student transportation problems and increased costs in many areas

o Adjusting school districts by using the census could change school district boundaries every 10 years

Office of the Governor:    (217) 782-6830 207 State House Springfield, IL 62706 e-mail: http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/Pages/ContacttheGovernor.aspx
Representative Bob Rita: 4818 W. 137th Street, Suite 2 Crestwood, IL 60445 e-mail: robertbobrita@aol.com
Find your State Representative: Find your State Senator:
(708) 396-2822
http://www.ilga.gov/house/default.asp http://www.ilga.gov/senate/default.asp