School Board Elections are April 5, 2005

Now that the November general election season coming to a close, the April 2005 election season is getting underway!

At the Oct. 25 Board Meeting, Supt. Hill announced that nominating petition forms for the April 5, 2005 School Board election will be available October 27th through December 17th, and from January 3rd through January 25th, 2005.

If you would like to run for the Board, you may pick up Nominating Forms on the above mentioned dates, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in the office of the Board Secretary at 403 Orchard Street, Fox River Grove, IL.

Four seats on the seven-member Board are up for election, three of which are 4-year terms, and one of which is a 2-year term.

To be eligible to serve, a school board member must be, on the date of election, a citizen of the United States, at least 18 years old, a resident of the State of Illinois and the School District for at least one (1) year, and a registered voter.

Nominating Papers may be filed by the candidate in person, by mail, or by an agent. They consist of the following:

1. Nominating petitions signed by at least 10% of the registered voters or 50 voters, whichever is fewer, residing in the District. Petitions must be securely bound together with pages numbred consecutively, and each page must carry the notarized signature of the petition circulator.
2. Statement of candidacy, which includes a request tht the candidate's name be placed on the official ballot, the address of the candidate, the office sought, and a statement that the candidate is qualified for the office and has filed (or will file before the close of the petition filing period) a statement of econimic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act.
3. A receipt from the county clerk that the candidate has filed the statement of economic interests, as noted above.

Other important dates for candidates are:

• Tuesday, February 1: Last day for filing objections to Nominating Papers in the office of the Board Secretary.
• Thursday, February 3: Last day for candidates to withdraw from nomination.

Further information on becoming a candidate in the April 5 Board Election may be obtained by contacting Lois Bowman, Board Secretary, at (847) 516-5100 during business hours.

Oct 25 Meeting -- Tentative Tax Levy

The Board Approved the Tentative Tax Levy presented at the meeting. The estimated levy would total $4.37 M, though they expect to get $4.01M. This is up from $3.56 M in 2003. The reason is that the District will receive only what the tax caps will allow, not what is asked for. Supt. Hill also said that he expects the levy from New Construction will increase, because the medical building on Route 14 was only partially complete when the estimates were done, and it is now complete.

Supt. Hill warned that the District only received 25% of its tax revenue in June, instead of the 50% it expected, because of the provisional ballots used in the last election. Provisional ballots are held for two weeks after an election, and are counted when voter registration is confirmed. Because of this two week delay, some tax revenue was also delayed. With the first 2005 election occurring in April, there is a chance that no tax dollars will be available to the District in June of 2005. So, Mr. Hill cautioned, monthly spreadsheets may not look very healthy next June, even though the money is coming, as the District waits for tax dollars to arrive.

Board Member Bob Nunamaker brought up the tax caps and asked if the caps would prevent the District from being able to access any funds. Supt. Hill said that the District will be able to access the funds, because the voters approved an increase in the cap rate with the approval of the referendum. Bob then noted that this will be true for 2 years, and then the tax caps will be tied again to the CPI (Consumer Price Index), which will prevent the District from accessing some funds. For this reason, Bob said, we should be sure to save now, rather than spend all of the increased funds.

Supt. Hill agreed, saying that we need to keep fiscal discipline, and avoid deficit spending. He also noted his feeling that HB 750, the school funding reform legislation now pending in Springfield, will likely not pass. But, he said, it will serve to start the conversation on school funding reform.

The Board approved the tax levy with all Members present voting Aye (Pat Hughes and Kay Laube were not present). The Board also approved a Public Hearing for this, which will take place during the Dec. 16th Board Meeting. Please make a note to attend if you are at all able to do so!

Oct 25 Meeting -- Public Comment

Yours Truly was the lone commentor for the public comment portion of the meeting. I thanked Pat Hughes, who was out of town and not able to attend the meeting, for his help in answering the questions we'd received the previous week. To sum up his answers once again:

On the question of Supt. Hill receiving a $10,000 bonus for passing the referendum, Pat said that the story is just not true. John Hill received no bonus at all, not for the referendum, nor for any other reason. After talking with some residents after the meeting, it seemed that this question may have come up because of the raise Mr. Hill received for this school year. But I believe that this raise was already a part of Mr. Hill's contract, which was negotiated three years ago, before the referendum vote. Pat reassured me that there was no additional bonus paid to Mr. Hill.

There was also a question of dropping the Gifted Program to save money for sports. Pat answered that the Gifed Program is self-funded by the students participating, just like other outside activities such as sports, Band, and Choir.

I did ask about the teacher negotiations, and while she declined to give any specifics, President Zasadil did offer reassurance that the negotiations are continuing in a positive manner, and the Board hopes to have the teacher contract agreement done soon.

My thanks to all who attended the meeting, and to those who sent in questions and comments. Remember, if you are unable to attend a meeting, you can send in questions or comments beforehand, and we will present them to the Board. Of course, if we can get an answer to you earlier, we will. Please keep 'em coming!

Oct. 25 Meeting -- Thank You Volunteers!

After the presentation to the Cross-Country team, the Board showed its gratitude to the volunteers who stepped forward to coach and assist with the fall sports at the Middle School. Board President Paula Zasadil awarded all of the volunteers a Certificate of Appreciation and the sincere thanks of the School Board and administration.

Oct. 25 Meeting -- Hail to the Champs!

The Oct. 25th Board Meeting started off with a salute to the State Champion FRGMS Cross-Country team. The team, which finished 8th and 9th in previous years, finished first in the state. Recognition was given to coach Stan Ozarowski, and to Beth Diller, and Kathy and Kevin Cunningham for their work in supporting the team. All team members were awarded certificates, including individual State Champion Michael Zasadil.

After that, Village President Steve Tasch read a proclamation from the Village Board naming the week of Oct. 25th to be Middle School Cross-Country Team Week. Congratulations again to the team!

Oct 25 Meeting Agenda is up!

The Agenda for tonight's Board Meeting has been posted. If you want to download a copy, it is at:

http://www.dist3.org/board/agenda.pdf

If you can attend the meeting, I'll see you there!

Steve

Referendum Bonus Item - Early Answers to Early Questions

Two question/comment e-mails came in so far for Monday's Board Meeting (remember, if you can't attend the meeting, and want to ask a question or submit a comment, e-mail it to the list, or post a comment on the Blog). One question stood out, as it was on both e-mails. It went something like this: Why did Mr. Hill get a $10,000.00 bonus for getting the referendum passed?

I hadn't heard this. So I decided to e-mail Board member Pat Hughes and ask him about it. Did he get a bounus? Was it for passing the referendum? Was it in the amount of $10,000, or was it some other amount? Here's his response to this, as well as to questions about the teacher contract negotiations and the gifted program:

"Thanks for bringing these issues to my attention and I'm happy to answer them...especially rumors.

"First, there was NO bonus paid to John Hill or anyone of our administrators for passing the referendum. I could see how this rumor started when you saw how hard John worked on the referendum, but I think that shows his dedication to our kids.

"Second, we continue to work with the teachers union in a positive manner and feel we will have a contract completed soon.

"Third, the Gifted Program is an after school function fully supported by the kids that decide to join that program. Like our other outside activities (Sports, Band, Choir,..) they are paid for by the parents. Also, there has been no discussions of funding the sports program with any extra money. We are very pleased with the parents that have stepped-up to help coach these programs so our kids can participate without paying up to $300.00 per sport.

"Lastly, I'm not sure what access the public has to contracts, but I will find out."

I e-mailed back to ask him to clarify that Mr. Hill did not receive a bonus, not just for the referendum, but any bonus at all. Pat's reply:

"[Y]es, there was no bonus paid to John."

Thanks, Pat, for all of your help!

Reminder -- Board Meeting Monday, Oct. 25, 7:30 PM

A reminder that the School Board will be meeting in the Junior High School Library on Monday, Oct. 25, at 7:30 PM. If you are able to attend the meeting, I encourage you to do so. Remember, to speak at the meeting, you must sign in on the form on the table in front. (The sign-in sheet on the table on the side is to show that you've attended the meeting. The Board does not use it to recognize speakers). The Public Comment section is early in the meeting, so please be on time.

If you are unable to attend, but would like to submit a question or comment to the Board, here's how:

1) If you are reading this on the News Blog, click on Comments, then post your question or comment. Please indicate that it is for the Board.

2) If you are reading this in the e-mail group, reply to the e-mail (or post another to the e-mail list) with your question or comment. Please indicate that it is for the Board.

3) If you are on the Partnership for Schools website (www.PartnershipForSchools.org), click on Contact Us, then submit your question or comment via the web form.

I have already received questions for Monday's meeting. Please keep them coming (if you are unable to attend the meeting yourself)! The responses we get from the Board to your questions and comments will be posted on the News Blog and in the e-mail group.

Thank you again for your participation!

Steve

8th Grade Cross-Country State Champs

Dr. Mahaffy sent out this e-mail this morning:

"CONGRATULATIONS to Coach Ozarowski and the 8th grade boys cross-country team. The 8th grade state qualifying team took the state championship over the weekend in Normal, Illinois. Michael Zasadil was the individual state champion. Other state champion team members were: Michael Aulert, Brian Bajorek, John Busch, Nick Diller, Steven Ippolito, Brett Psenka, Adam Resseguie, Kai Rikardsen, and Matt Springer.

Very proud of you gentlemen!"

I'll second that!

School District 3, teachers may be ready to OK contract

BY VICKI TEDESCHI STAFF WRITER

Fox River Grove School District 3 board members may vote tonight (Thursday) to approve a three-year contract for the Fox River Grove Education Association.

The union's current contract expired in June. Since then, the district officials and union representatives have been meeting.

No one would disclose any details of the contract, which has not yet been ratified by the teacher's union, School Board President Paula Zasadil said.

Holiday Shop-A-Thon

WANTED…
Direct Sales Consultants
(i.e. Tupperware, Party Lite, etc.)
&Crafters
(No rummage, please)

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Holiday Shop-A-Thon
4PM – 9PM November 18, 2004
FRG Middle School Multi-Purpose Room

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If you are a Direct Sales Consultant or Crafter today is your lucky day. The PTO’s Shop-A-Thon is a great opportunity to promote business and sell your products to local consumers. A PTO Bake Sale, prize raffles, 50/50 split the pot raffle, and Mini-Business Expo will be set up in addition to vendor spaces attracting a phenomenal crowd.

The cost per space is $25.00 plus 5% of sales payable to the Fox River Grove PTO. Vendor spaces will be approximately 10’x10’ (bring your own table).

Priority will be given to FRG residence so please respond by 10/22. Open registration will begin 10/23/04.

For more information regarding the Shop-A-Thon contact Amy Lowe – 462-9066 or fishntoon@aol.com

Mini-Business Expo

Attention
Business Owners & Independent Contractors

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Mini-Business Expo
4PM – 9PM November 18, 2004
FRG Middle School Multi-Purpose Room

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In correlation with a Holiday Shop-A-Thon the PTO will be hosting a Mini-Business Expo. Combining the Business Expo with the Holiday Shop-A-Thon that includes a PTO Bake Sale, prize raffles and 50/50 split the pot raffle will draw a large crowd of local consumers. This is not only a cost effective opportunity for you to promote your own business, but also a way to support District 3 schools.

It is not necessary for you to attend the Business Expo to promote your business. A large table will be set up at the Shop-A-Thon to display business cards, flyers, or brochures. The cost to display business cards is $10.00 and to display flyers or brochures is $20.00.

For more information regarding the Business Expo contact Amy Lowe – 462-9066 or fishntoon@aol.com