April 19, 2011
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
OGS JUNIOR HIGH GYMNASIUM
Join us in this opportunity for two-way communication. Topics will include:
Consolidation Legislation
Special Guest, Erika Lindley, ED-RED
ED-RED is an advocacy organization that monitors and actively influences education policy at the Illinois Statehouse, particularly issues that are priorities for our member school districts.
Brief School District Update
Proposed Idea to Change School Schedule for 2011-12
Dialog on other topics presented by the community
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Elementary Consolidation SB 626
Senate Bill 626 http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700SB0626sam001&ga=97&sessionid=84&doctypeid=SB&legid=55455&docnum=626&gaid=11&session
The amendment to Senate Bill 626 creates one elementary district for each high school district.
Senator Chris Lauzen (R)
25th District
Senator Chris Lauzen (R)
25th District
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Consolidation is a Study Now
Linda Chapa LaVia, an Aurora Democrat, is sponsoring a plan to form a 19-member commission to study consolidating school districts.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Oak Grove Committee First Meeting Summary
The Committee to Protect Oak Grove School (CPOGS) had its initial meeting on 4/4/2011. Members at the meeting reviewed options available to the district with regards to opposition to forces school consolidation. We discussed a proposed framework that addresses five areas:
1) Engaging the community
2) Influencing our legislators
3) Consideration for media relations
4) Shared services opportunitie
5) Preemptive consolidation scenarios
Please check this blog often and watch your email for important consolidation related information and activities. Make plans to join CPOGS for future meetings and events!
1) Engaging the community
2) Influencing our legislators
3) Consideration for media relations
4) Shared services opportunitie
5) Preemptive consolidation scenarios
Please check this blog often and watch your email for important consolidation related information and activities. Make plans to join CPOGS for future meetings and events!
Meetings with Legislators
Here are some of my views on HB 1216 and SB 2134. I went to Rep. Sente's Coffee in Vernon Hills Saturday morning and I attended Senator Garrett's Forum on April 4.
HB 1216- Rep. Sente confirmed at the coffee on Saturday that forced consolidation seems to be off the table but that her committee's job to study consolidation is still alive and well. She tried to emphasize that her co-sponsored bill is a study bill and that the only thing that will come from it is recommendations. The House and Senate would need to accept the recommendations, and then after an acceptance (or rejection) a new bill would have to be written for any action (i.e., actualconsolidation) to take place.
SB2134 I am not sure how Senator Garrett's SB 2134 bill works with/against Sente's/Chapa LaVia's 1216 bill. Garrett said it is a compromise bill. It would encourage districts to share resources in areas such as transportation, maintenance, personnel (business office, superintendent office, curriculum, testing, staff development, grant writing, instructional programs, etc) in a way that would save money and in turn put the money back into classrooms/student learning. It would require that districts report to/document their efforts (annually?) to their ROE. This bill is currently being redrafted/amended and should be finished by the end of the week.
Paula Sterner
Oak Grove School Board Member
HB 1216- Rep. Sente confirmed at the coffee on Saturday that forced consolidation seems to be off the table but that her committee's job to study consolidation is still alive and well. She tried to emphasize that her co-sponsored bill is a study bill and that the only thing that will come from it is recommendations. The House and Senate would need to accept the recommendations, and then after an acceptance (or rejection) a new bill would have to be written for any action (i.e., actualconsolidation) to take place.
SB2134 I am not sure how Senator Garrett's SB 2134 bill works with/against Sente's/Chapa LaVia's 1216 bill. Garrett said it is a compromise bill. It would encourage districts to share resources in areas such as transportation, maintenance, personnel (business office, superintendent office, curriculum, testing, staff development, grant writing, instructional programs, etc) in a way that would save money and in turn put the money back into classrooms/student learning. It would require that districts report to/document their efforts (annually?) to their ROE. This bill is currently being redrafted/amended and should be finished by the end of the week.
Paula Sterner
Oak Grove School Board Member
Monday, April 4, 2011
Little Support for Forced Consolidation
Governor Quinn has assigned consolidation to the Lt. Governor Sheila Simon. She indicates that this is just a discussion starter.
Daily Herald 3/31/2011
Daily Herald 3/31/2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Shared Services Meeting with Senator Garrett
Last week, the Senate Education Committee approved SB 2134 which encourages districts to engage in shared services with other districts. The sponsor, Sen. Susan Garrett, met with ED-RED prior to the committee hearing and agreed to amend the legislation to address concerns about the scope of the bill. Last week, we met again to discuss the importance of starting with data to determine how districts are collaborating and if policy changes are necessary to help districts coordinate efforts.
Sen. Garrett will hold a forum on Monday, April 4 at 10am at Oakton Community College to hear from local districts on these issues. The meeting will take place in Room 1610 and attendees are asked to park in Lot D. Please RSVP to Sen. Garrett’s office at ilsenate29@sbcglobal.net or 847/433-2002 by April 1st.
Oak Grove School District will be represented at this meeting by Board Members, our Business Manager and a parent from the Consolidation Committee.
Sen. Garrett will hold a forum on Monday, April 4 at 10am at Oakton Community College to hear from local districts on these issues. The meeting will take place in Room 1610 and attendees are asked to park in Lot D. Please RSVP to Sen. Garrett’s office at ilsenate29@sbcglobal.net or 847/433-2002 by April 1st.
Oak Grove School District will be represented at this meeting by Board Members, our Business Manager and a parent from the Consolidation Committee.
The Myth About School Consolidation
http://www.iasaedu.org/images/stories/op%20ed%2032811.pdf
Longer version of this report
IASA Brief on Consolidation Facts and Myths
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Rep. Pam Roth on School Consolidation
Rep. Pam Roth, Full-time legislator 75th District, certified public accountant since 1999; former board member and President of Saratoga School District 60c in Morris, Illinois. Rep. Roth supports choice in consolidation, shared services and the need for the ROE (Regional Office of Education).
Message from Rep. Carol Sente
April 1, 2011
Dear Neighbors,
It has been a busy and productive week in Springfield! After many people reached out to my office expressing concerns over the forced consolidation of schools, I am happy to report that those voices have been heard and forced consolidation has been taken off the table.
Yesterday, Illinois State Superintendent Christopher Koch said opposition to the idea came from all over — local school officials, lawmakers and voters. Koch offered assurance that forced consolidation is all but dead, and that the state would instead focus on incentives, saying, “I doubt there is going to be anything that comes out this year that gives that kind of direction, that says you have to consolidate.”
I want to assure you, that I will continue to fight to ensure that any measure that comes forward in the future that would force our local schools to merge and jeopardize the quality of education and property values in our area should require local taxpayers to approve the measure.
Carol Sente
State Representative, 59th District
Dear Neighbors,
It has been a busy and productive week in Springfield! After many people reached out to my office expressing concerns over the forced consolidation of schools, I am happy to report that those voices have been heard and forced consolidation has been taken off the table.
Yesterday, Illinois State Superintendent Christopher Koch said opposition to the idea came from all over — local school officials, lawmakers and voters. Koch offered assurance that forced consolidation is all but dead, and that the state would instead focus on incentives, saying, “I doubt there is going to be anything that comes out this year that gives that kind of direction, that says you have to consolidate.”
I want to assure you, that I will continue to fight to ensure that any measure that comes forward in the future that would force our local schools to merge and jeopardize the quality of education and property values in our area should require local taxpayers to approve the measure.
Carol Sente
State Representative, 59th District
Monday, March 28, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
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
Thursday, March 17, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Rondout Consolidation March 22 Meeting
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
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Rep. Carol Sente Meeting Summary
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.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
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
Sunday, March 6, 2011
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
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
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
Friday, March 4, 2011
State Superintendent Chris Koch
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)