Blog for Schools

The More Things Change

2009-09-29T08:46:00.002-05:00

While Steve Knar freed up his Monday nights by resigning as Vice-President of the School Board to accept an appointment to the Village Board, Devin Bright is now booked one Monday per month. Bright was appointed to fill Knar's seat on the Board until the next election.

A bit of confusion erupted later in the meeting when it came time to elect a new Vice-President from among the Board. Tom Mollet, Susan McGarrigle, and Gerry Blohm were nominated, and voting was underway on Susan (Tom had already been voted on and not elected) when it occurred to the Board members that they didn't know what procedures to follow for this election when there were multiple candidates. During the vote, a discussion arose as to whether or not a Board member could vote "Yes" on multiple candidates and whether the Board President had a vote or just a tie-breaker vote. When it was discovered that Bright had already voted "Yes" on both Tom and Susan, the Board took a "mulligan" and re-did the nomination process. This time Susan and Gerry were nominated.

To the observer, it was clear that none of the candidates could be considered to be campaigning for the job. Quite the opposite -- each candidate was actively promoting the others, and Tom looked relieved to not be nominated a second time.

After the rules of the vote were agreed upon, Gerry was elected Vice-President on a 5-1 vote, with Kris Germain voting for Susan McGarrigle, and Gerry abstaining. The vote on Susan was 2-4, with Gerry and Kris voting for Susan, and Susan abstaining.

New Post!!!!

2009-09-29T08:42:00.002-05:00

I know, it's been a while. My apologies... it's been crazy busy with me. Still, I have found time to get to school board meetings, even though I haven't found much time to write about them. So why now? Well, I promised. And for whatever failings I have, I do try to keep my promises.

So here's what happened at the Sept 28th BOE meeting.....

Warwak Still in Town, Still Meeting with Kids

2008-06-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

Despite his dismissal from Fox River Grove School District 3 last fall, former teacher Dave Warwak is still setting up secret meetings with some of his former students in Fox River Grove and is still distributing literature to them.

The latest incident happened May 23 outside the McDonald's restaurant. Notifications were sent by Warwak to students over the Internet. At the meeting, he distributed copies of a self-published book more than 700 pages long titled, "Peep Show for Children Only." The book includes photos of several of his former students. The photos were published by Warwak without permission.

Police were notified and have reviewed the material. Warwak has not been charged with a crime, though civil litigation is still possible.

Warwak Implements Not Implemented

2008-02-27T17:23:00.000-06:00

Following Dave Warwak's appearance at the February 25th meeting of the District 3 Board (where he passed out Earth-shaped stress balls to Board members and charged the district was responsible for future illnesses to students because of the recent meat recall) came word today that Mr. Warwak apparently met with some 8th Grade students and gave them vegan-themed pens to distribute to other students riding the bus today. Word quickly spread to Dr. Mahaffy, Middle School principal, and the writing implements were quickly confiscated.

Mr. Warwak might want to stick to distributing his vegan messages to adults in the future.

Warwak Fired

2007-09-25T12:18:00.000-05:00

Dave Warwak was dismissed unanimously by the Board yesterday at a special meeting that took place just prior to the regularly scheduled Board meeting. Despite the earlier time, many parents in town attended the meeting to support the community, the school district, and the administration in an action that was widely expected.

The meeting opened with public comments. Those making comments were limited to three minutes of speaking.

First off, Cindy Pilz addressed the Board. With her permission, here are her comments to the District:

"Thank you to Dr. Krause and Dr. Mahaffy for their expert handling of the recent personnel problem facing the district. They have led with dignity, and shown great diligence in making things right at the Middle School. Both would likely say that they are just doing their jobs, but issues of this caliber don’t appear in the training manual. Their self control and patience have been thoroughly tested and they have come out with grades of “A” in my book. On behalf of myself and my family, thank you for protecting our children’s best interests and our parental rights over all other concerns."

Next up was Steve Beyer. He addressed the Board with these comments, also included here with his permission:

"I am here to support the board of school's decision to fire Mr. Warwak. I have a major concern in Mr. Warwak's mental stability based on what he said to my son in class and giving out a book to him that was not approved by the board as part of the Art Department's curriculum.

"I have also read Mr. Warwak's comments in the paper, on PETA's website, and on MySpace, and again am concerned about his mental stability, and the safety and well being of our children.

"It appears to me that Mr. Warwak does not understand that what he is doing is wrong, and that our kids are not guinea pigs for him to teach non-art-related information. Our kids are in this class to learn about art. Mr. Warwak is using his classroom as a platform for vegan ideas and our kids have no choice but to listen to him.

"It is time for the board to send him home for good and let him spend his time teaching all those who want to listen to his ideas in a non-classroom setting."

Lastly was Mr. Warwak himself. He started by chastising the Board for limiting him to three minutes, while they spent weeks building a case against him. He again cited the policy for Teacher's Institute to provide humane and moral education and said that in the years he's been teaching in the district, he was not once given this education. He charged that the school goes out of its way to suppress his teaching of veganism and animal rights. Every time he tried to teach it, Warwak said, Dr. Mahaffy tried to stop him. He said the system is set up to censor him.

Warwak handed out cards to Board members that said "Do you want to know a secret not many people know?" on one side, and "Look up 'Factory farming'; look up 'vegan'" on the other. He said that right now, in many cities, people are handing out cards like this to children.

He also railed against the milk posters in the lunchroom, saying they were misleading. "When was the last medical journal you read about milk?!" he shouted to Dr. Mahaffy. He again made a plea for the school lunch program to become completely vegan and yelled to the Board, "you're killing my friends!"

Many of his comments were directed not to the Board, but to the audience and media representatives at the meeting. When Pat Hughes, Board President, requested that Warwak address his comments to the Board at a Board Meeting, Warwak shot back, "The world is my audience. I'm speaking to them." At least twice, the Board allowed Warwak to go over his allotted three minutes.

After a long executive session, where Mr. Warwak was again invited to address the Board away from the audience and the media, the Board voted 7-0 to dismiss Warwak. They issued a press release that detailed the reasons for Warwak's termination:

1. Warwak had stopped teaching art and without telling the board, the Principal, the superintendent, or the students' parents, converted his art classes into classes on veganism and animal rights. The board stressed that Warwak did not merely mention his vegan beliefs during his classes or casually mix in comments about animal rights during art projects, but rather from the beginning of the school year, he dedicated his instruction to preaching to fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders that eating meat, milk, and animal products was bad and that following a vegan lifestyle was good. According to the board, Warwak spent entire classes on veganism and animal rights, telling students that animals were tortured to make the meat they ate, assuring them that they would live ten years longer if they became vegans and having students read aloud from books advocating veganism. He also distributed tracts published by "PETA" and "Vegan Outreach" and directed students to Google terms such as "slaughtering" and "factory farming" which would take them to websites with graphic depictions of animals being slaughtered. The board noted that Warwak continued this conduct even after being told by administrators to stop.

2. After converting his art classes into classes on veganism and animal rights, Warwak told his students not to tell their parents or teachers or principal about what he was teaching them in his classes. Warwak told his students that parents would be mad, teachers would be mad, and the principal would be mad, so "let's keep it a secret."

3. Warwak repeatedly refused to answer questions from administrators and the district's lawyer about what he had been teaching and what literature he had distributed to students. On Monday, September 10, 2007, Warwak left a meeting set up by the district to interview him regarding parents' complaints about what was being taught in his art classes. Warwak walked out of that meeting without answering the district's questions, saying, "I don't like this at all. It's not about me and I refuse to participate in this [expletive]."

Board President Pat Hughes said, "Warwak shouldn't have secretly turned his art classroom into a zone of indoctrination. This is a democracy and other people have a say over the curriculum. Mr. Warwak shouldn't be allowed to impose his personal views on a captive audience."

Board Vice-President Steve Knar said, "The Board respects the right of all employees to follow their own belief systems and respects the diverse opinions of the individuals who make up our school community. This isn't about whether veganism is good or bad. It's about the right of the district to be informed about the instruction taking place in the classroom and its ability to control the curriculum. What Mr. Warwak could not do, and remain an employee of the district, was to unilaterally turn his art classes into classes on veganism and animal rights, tell his students not to tell their parents about it, and then refuse to answer the district's questions about what was going on in his classes."

According to news reports, Warwak has threatened to file civil charges against the district following his dismissal.

Warwak to be dismissed at Special Board Meeting

2007-09-23T21:41:00.000-05:00

The Agenda on the District 3 Website shows that Mr. Warwak is scheduled to be dismissed at a special Board meeting at 5:00 PM on Monday, September 24. The regularly scheduled Board meeting will still take place at 7:00 PM the same evening.

Warwak Threatens to File Charges Against District 3

2007-09-10T16:14:00.000-05:00

The Northwest Herald is reporting that Dave Warwak is threatening to bring legal action against District 3. Warwak's attorney said he may as the McHenry County State's Attorney's office to file charges against the district for child endangerment and violating the Illinois School Code. These charges would stem from the district's request that Mr. Warwak stop lecturing students on animal cruelty and the dangers of eating meat.

The article says that Mr. Warwak was not fired during today's meeting with Dr. Krause, Dr. Mahaffy, the district attorney and a representative from the teacher's union. There was no mention made as to when, or if, Mr. Warwak would return to classes.

Fox River Grove Middle School Teacher Ousted from School

2007-09-06T11:09:00.000-05:00

The Northwest Herald and CBS 2 Chicago websites reported that Dave Warwak, art teacher in the Fox River Grove Middle School, was removed from the school by Dr. Krause and Dr. Mahaffy for espousing views promoting a Vegan lifestyle and denouncing cruelty to animals.

According to the reports, Warwak refused to comply when Dr. Krause and Dr. Mahaffy asked him to stop distributing literature and discussing his viewpoints on vegan living and animal cruelty.

For now, Warwak is still employed by District 3, though no further comment was given by the Administration or members of the Board.

Personnel-ly Changing

2007-06-27T20:08:00.000-05:00

I know, it's been a while since the last post.... Sorry about that....

Some big personnel changes were announced at last Monday's meeting.

The first one came in a letter of resignation by Board Vice-President Bob Nunamaker. His letter stated that he was resigning as of August 1st to spend more time with his family.

The last two came after a lengthy Executive Session. The Board announced that Dr. Jackie Krause will retire after the 2007-2008 school year. Dr. Tim Mahaffy will take over as Superintendent in July 2008.

Dr. Krause said that she originally planned to retire in two years, but the recent retirement of her husband led her to the decision to retire a year earlier. She said she plans to stay active in the community after she retires.

Breaking: Teacher to be Added

2006-12-19T08:15:00.000-06:00

Last night, the Board unanimously approved adding one teacher for the next school year to work at the Middle School. More to follow......

Phone System Hang Ups?

2006-12-12T07:16:00.000-06:00

When District 3 approved its new, $29K phone system, one of the selling points of the proposal was that the new system would be cost-neutral, or very close to that, because the new system would give the district more bandwidth than it needed. The school district would then lease the extra bandwidth to village agencies, such as the Library, to recoup the costs of the system.

According to sources familiar with the proposal, the Library's decision to lease District 3's phone capacity is not exactly a done deal.

As mentioned in a previous post, the initial cost savings projection provided to the Library amounted to more than the Library spends for phone service (which might prompt the question: Will the Library receive one lump payout of the "savings", or would checks be sent on a regular basis?). Subsequent cost-savings analysis provided to the Library did not give that board a good estimate of what the costs would actually be by leasing the District 3 phone capacity, and what the actual savings might be. For the past couple of months, the Library Board has not even discussed the topic in its meetings.

According to sources, the Library Board is still open to the idea of leasing the phone capacity. The Library likes the idea of helping District 3 recoup costs, and likes the idea of improved phone services; however, the Library does not appear to be in favor of any changes that will increase its costs for phone service. If all things were equal, of if cost savings were reasonably demonstrated, then the Library might still go ahead with leasing phone service from District 3. Without these assurances, though, District 3 may have to find another way to recoup the costs of its new phone system.

Catch-up

2006-09-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

"I've been one poor correspondent
I've been too, too hard to find
But it doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind."

-- America, "Sister Golden Hair"

Well, that took a long time......

I haven't posted in quite a while. And I really don't have much of an excuse. It's been busy, very busy; work, family, work, work...... Work has been a big part of it. It's just been relentless, and down time is very hard to find.

While I haven't been posting (and shame on me!), I have been attending the meetings. Since Monday night at 7 PM is the next board meeting, I'll try to do a capsule of some of the things that have been happening in this post, then add some of the detail later.

Monday night's meeting is a Public Hearing on the proposed budget. If you can, please come to the meeting and have your voice heard!

The proposed budget presented by Dr. Krause at the last board meeting projects a surplus of 0.58%, which is significantly lower than the surplus projected in previous years. Dr. Krause cited increased fuel costs and less money from the state (due to about 100 fewer students in the district than a few years ago) as some of the reasons. She also said that she was intentionally conservative in her estimates.

Tim Kassel presented what turned out to be his last presentation of the test scores data analysis to the board. Despite the findings the analysis has yielded and the changes to the reading program brought about by the analysis, and despite that Tim Kassel has been providing his analysis and assistance to this study over the last year at no cost to the district, the board did not entertain a motion to continue the study. So, the effects of the changes made in the system, and the probability of the gap in reading level as students approach 8th grade will not be measured using the same methodology as the previous study. As of the last meeting, no alternative measurement study was discussed.

The board reiterated the district's purchase of the new $29K phone system. At the June meeting, Dr. Krause and former Board Member Don Rose, who is representing vendor Siemens, proposed the idea of leasing the system rather than purchasing it outright. This would spread the cost over five years instead of requiring the district to pay the entire amount up front. Leasing would cost the district $33K over five years instead of $29K for purchase. The board voted unanimously to purchase rather than lease the system. Board members voting to purchase included Bob Nunamaker, who previously voted against the system and seemed to favor leasing at the meeting prior, and Steve Knar, who expressed interest in a more modest phone system at the previous meeting. Knar abstained from the vote at that previous meeting that initially approved the purchase of the system.

One of the features of the new phone system is that the district will have extra capacity, which it is trying to lease to other public entities in town, such as the Fire Department and the Library. This was a topic of discussion at the last Library board meeting, but the Library board had some questions about the savings opportunities of the new system. It seems the savings opportunities presented were greater than the Library currently pays for service. They have asked Don Rose for a more detailed analysis of the savings opportunities of switching to the school district's phone service.

If you haven't heard yet, Chicago Magazine has selected Algonquin Road School as the top school in McHenry County! Congratulations to the Board, the administrators, the teachers, the students, and all who made ARS the top school! Also, thank you to Chris Ruckoldt, Laura Rosenthal, and Sarah Edwards for bringing this to my attention! If you haven't seen the Chicago Magazine article, it is available at the Library.

More to come.....

Be a Contributing Writer for Partnership for Schools

2006-06-24T14:14:00.000-05:00

I know that there are those loyal, faithful readers of this blog, who wait each month to read items from the Board Meetings. And wait.... and wait... and wait.....

And I apologize. I try to write stories on a more timely basis, but work, family, and other obligations do sometimes get in the way.

And I know there are loyal, faithful readers of this blog who think, "I could write this stuff faster than Steve does!" And they may well be right!

What I'm getting at is, if you are a reader who feels this way, however justified you may be, you can help! You can be a Contributing Writer to this space.

How do you do such a thing? Well, really, you just show up at a Board Meeting with pen and notepad, and write what you see. You can stay for a whole meeting, or just a part of it. You can write about all of the business at the meeting, or just about a topic that interests you. You can attend every meeting, but if you find you can't, just show up at meetings when you can.

See how easy it is?

To contribute a story, you can e-mail it directly to the website, or use the websites e-mail form. I can post your story unedited, or I can run it through a spell- and grammar-check. Whatever you like. Your stories are attributed to you.

And don't feel weird about me or someone else writing about the same thing you're writing about. You may have a different point of view, or notice something that everyone else missed. You may catch a comment made that no one else was able to write down. The key is, the more voices, the better.

If you want to be a Contributing Writer, you don't have to let me know in advance (although you can if you like), you just have to go to a Board Meeting and write about something. You will be doing a great service in the community, and, since the blog is read by a few newspaper reporters, you may just break an important story. It could happen!

Plus, you would receive my eternal gratitude! If you're looking for ways to help the community, and you have some time on Monday nights, please keep us in mind.

Thanks!

How Two Board Members Approved a $29K Phone System

2006-06-24T12:57:00.000-05:00

A correction from the teaser for this item, the cost is around $29K, not $30K. Call it a rounding error.

Supt. Jackie Krause introduced this item by saying that the current phone system is 5 years old, and has had one hard drive failure. There is no backup system for the phone system or any messages left. The cost to upgrade the software alone is$6500.

The new system will have the software upgrade plus a new server, backup capability, one number for the public to dial, and will be using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) using wireless access in the village. Dr. Krause also intends for the district to recoup the costs by leasing extra bandwidth to the village and the library.

Dr. Krause said the current system, which uses a T1 line, costs the district $17K, but that Brian Sawyer has negotiated this down to $15K. She says the current T1 line is slow, especially during peak hours. Sawyer said that current speeds can get to 1.5M in the Middle School, and around 400K at ARS. The issue is that when the system gets a lot of traffic, the phones get priority over internet usage.

Board Member Steve Knar noted that a lot of businesses run on 300K of bandwidth. He asked whether the district should encourage parents to use e-mail rather than call the schools whenever possible. Dr. Krause said that parents prefer to call the school instead.

Former Board Member Don Rose attended the meeting to describe the new phone system as a representative for the company doing the new phone system. In response to current Board Member Tom Mollet's comment that the fire signal uses a T1 line, Rose said that SBC (now AT&T) has a dedicated circuit for alarms that cannot be removed.

Rose went on to say that with the increase in internet capacity, that voice mail could be delivered via e-mail. In response to current Board Member Pat Hughes' question about how reliable the wireless access would be, Rose said that the system would have a standard phone line backup. He also said that the system should be installed over the summer to keep from impacting the school year, and that it should be done this summer because the current contracts are up for renewal.

After current Board Member Bob Nunamaker noted that much of the cost savings would be realized by the district because of Sawyer's negotiation of the T1 costs, and would not be a part of installing a new phone system, Dr. Krause emphasized the features of the new system. She said that the district would be able to back up e-mail, while Dr. Tim Mahaffy said that the district would be able to track down voice messages and identify prank callers. Dr. Krause also said the new system would be able to automatically dial homes with pre-recorded messages to alert parents of snow days during the school year.

Knar responded that he felt the district was going for the "Cadillac phone system," and asked if all of these features were really needed in order to serve the district. He said that the Board will have to explain why it's spending $29K on a phone system when the savings are effective over 5 years. He said the district is putting a lot of money out up front, but only getting a trickle back.

Knar then asked if this project was going to a single vendor, and Dr. Krause replied that it was. Knar asked if the Board can do a $29K expense to a single vendor, and Dr. Krause replied yes, because it is an upgrade to an existing system.

Former Board Member Don Rose said that the library could contribute $3K, plus a portion of the phone bill. Current Board Member Bob Nunamaker said, since the district is concerned about its cash flow, they should consider leasing the system. Dr. Krause replied that the phone system would be paid for in FY07. Rose said that a lease would cost around $600 per month over 5 years. Knar replied that the disadvantage is that the district would need a new phone system in 5 years. Rose noted that in 5 years the system would likely be obsolete, since the lease does not include software upgrades. That would require a separate service contract.

In the end, neither Knar nor Nunamaker were swayed to buy the system, but the motion to buy the system passed anyway, even though only two Board Members voted for it. You see, the meeting was not well attended; President Paula Zasadil, Vice-President Doris Sadik, and Board Member Gerry Blohm were absent. Only Nunamaker, Knar, Mollet, and Hughes attended the meeting. Mollet and Hughes voted for the new phone system, Nunamaker voted against it.

One of Knar's concerns was that the full Board was not in attendance to hear and vote on the proposal, and he argued to have the discussion tabled to the next meeting. But Don Rose thought that might delay the installation of the system, if it were approved, and impact the school year. Mollet and Hughes voted in favor of the system, Nunamaker voted against it, but Knar chose to abstain from the vote, thus allowing the motion to pass on a vote of 2-1.

And so, with the official approval of only two Board Members, District 3 will get a new, $29K phone system.

Painfully Slow Summary from Last Meeting

2006-06-21T13:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know...... where the heck are the postings? Well, I apologize, but I've been much busier than expected. I simply haven't been able to find the time.

The next meeting is Monday, June 26, so I'd better find some time to post these. I'm still quite busy, so these will be sort of "Reader's Digest" items. Except for one item that is so... unique... that it deserves its own posting. It'll be called "How Two Board Members Approved a $30K Phone System"

-- Item --

The June 26 meeting will also be a public hearing on the amended budget for FY06. If you would like to comment on the budget, I encourage you to attend the meeting at 7:00 PM, Monday, June 26. The meeting will be held, as always, in the Middle School Library.

There were no Tax Anticipation Warrants requested at the last meeting, and Supt. Jackie Krause said that the district treasurer believes the district will be able to meet its obligations through interfund loans, and no TAW's will be needed for the fiscal year. Excellent news!

-- Item --

Something interesting came out at the beginning of the last meeting, when the Board paid tribute to Betty Foley, who left the district at the end of the school year. In her remarks during the meeting, Mrs. Foley introduced several teachers who were in attendance. Among the teachers was Beth Achey, who was introduced by Mrs. Foley as the new 4th Grade teacher. What is interesting, at least to me, is that this move had not come up during any Board Meeting I attended. But, a check of the District 3 website shows that the want ad placed for a 4th Grade teacher has come down, which would indicate that some official action was taken by the Board to move Mrs. Achey from Spec. Ed. to 4th Grade. I'm just curious about when this action was taken.

-- Item --

The new Facilities Director postition that caused some discussion turned out not to be a new position at all, but a renaming of Rick Miller's position. According to Dr. Krause, the position was renamed to reflect the additional duties that Mr. Miller is already performing in the district.

-- Item --

Board Member Steve Knar got an opportunity to say "I told you so" to the Board, but graciously declined to take it. He remarked on a measure brought before the Board earlier in the school year to join a legal action contesting the assessment of property tax on an apartment building on Opatrny. Mr. Knar said that the apartments are being turned into condominiums, and as such, will generate more in property tax for the district than they would under either assessment given to the apartment building. Mr. Knar opposed the earlier measure for the district to join the legal action, and the measure was defeated.

I'll submit the telephone system story in a separate posting. Thanks for your patience.

Meeting Preview

2006-05-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

Preview for tonight's Board Meeting at 7:00 PM in the library of the Fox River Grove Middle School:

There is some budgetary biz on the agenda for tonight's meeting. The Board is set to approve $200 Million in interfund loans, in an effort to stave off Tax Anticipation Warrants. At last month's meeting, Supt. Jackie Krause said that it was still a possiblity the district would seek a TAW, but there is no discussion of a TAW on the agenda for tonight.
A hearing date will be set for Public Comment on a revised Budget.
The District is set to hire a Facilities Director for the 2006 - 2007 School Year. The hire, and the job description, are scheduled to be approved tonight.
There is no mention of hiring for the 4th Grade teaching position. The District is hiring a 4th Grade teacher to replace Betty Foley, a 5th Grade teacher, who is retiring at the end of the current school year. If there is no major change in enrollment or funding next school year, this means that the current 4th Grade class will retain the largest class size for a third year as they enter the 5th Grade next year. If there remains no major change in enrollment or funding after next year, the stage will be set for the current 1st Grade to be divided into two classes of approximately 30 students when they enter the 3rd Grade in the 2007 - 2008 School Year.

If you are able to attend the meeting, please arrive a few minutes before 7:00 PM in the library of the Middle School. Remember, if you wish to address the Board during the Public Comment portion at the beginning of the meeting, you must sign in at the table in the front of the room. If you are not able to attend, you may submit a question or comment to the Board via e-mail.

Re-making the Grades

2006-05-10T11:52:00.000-05:00

The Board unanimously approved modifying the grading scale for the 2006-2007 School Year, putting each letter grade in a 9-point range.

The change came at the suggestion of teachers who felt that the current scale funneled students to the C and D grades, since those bands have an 11-point range, and away from the A and B grades with a 9-point range each. Dr. Mahaffy noted that this proposal was not the same as previous proposals to adjust the grading scale to a 90 (A) – 80 (B) – 70 (C) – 60 (D) scale.

Board Member Gerry Blohm asked if the district has had a problem getting students into high school. Dr. Mahaffy said that when students are identified as having a problem getting out of middle school, the school will work with the students after school to get them what is needed for graduation to high school. He stressed that the district helps these students, and that there is no social promotion for them. He also said there is an opportunity for some struggling students to take outside remedial courses, which are paid by the student’s parents. He said if the students did not complete the courses or pass the tests to graduate to high school, they are not offered a chance to retake the program. Dr. Mahaffy said that if the middle school did not do any intervention, about five students a year would be retained in the 8th Grade.

Blohm said that he would like to see the middle school use the same 90 – 80 – 70 – 60 grading scale that the Cary feeder schools use. He said that it is traumatic for students who do not graduate to high school along with their classmates.

Board Vice-President Doris Sadik disagreed with Blohm, saying that, while she could agree with the reasons for adopting the proposed 9-point grading scale, she wouldn’t want to lower District 3’s standards because other feeder schools have less challenging grading scales. Blohm countered by saying that he’s not proposing lowering standards any further than a typical school, to which Sadik replied, “Is that what you want to be?”

ARS Principal Karen Machroli said the school district from which she came had a 90 – 80 – 70 – 60 grading scale, and she felt that some of the students promoted from the lower end of the scale weren’t as well-prepared.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the new 9-point grading scale.

Tax Anticipation Warrants May Not Be Warranted

2006-04-01T11:52:00.000-06:00

The Board did not issue Tax Anticipation Warrants (TAW) as expected, but did approve the issuance of warrants in the future if they are needed. The move came after a presentation of the District's cash-flow analysis, which was better than expected. It now looks like the District can get through April and the better part of May without needing the warrants. The District can loan itself money from the Transportation Fund to the Education Fund if necessary.

If District 3 can get through the next 2.5 months, no TAW will be necessary because the June property tax distribution will be coming in.

Instead, the District adopted a resolution approving the issuance of up to $500K in TAW if Supt. Krause decides they are needed. The district's cash-flow will be reviewed for the April 24 Board Meeting. Dr. Krause said if the budget shows the district will be $200K short, she will consult with Sarah Ireland and Tammie Beckwith Schallmo, the consultant from UBS Investment Bank, on a course of action, but that her preference is for the district to loan itself money from the Transportation Fund. If money is loaned from the Transportation Budget, it would need to be repaid upon receipt of the next distribution of property taxes. It is projected that the issuance of TAW will cost District 3 $5K in interest and fees.

Dr. Tim Mahaffy said that the deadline for teachers to order supplies has passed, and that teachers have been careful to order only supplies that are needed, instead of focusing on how much is in the supply budget.

New Extra-Curricular Activity Fees

2006-03-23T15:21:00.000-06:00

The Board adopted a new Extracurricular Activity Fee schedule designed to more closely align fees with the costs of activities, although it will leave some activities shy of being self-funded. Overall, the new fee schedule will not cover $1,200 of transportation costs. If no changes were made, $3,300 of costs would not have been covered.

Here is the new fee schedule:

$125
Soccer (Boys and Girls)
Softball
Boys' Volleyball
Scholar Bowl

$100
Jazz Band
Basketball
Girls' Volleyball

$75
Band
Cross Country
Gifted Programs

$50
Chorus
Track
Cheerleading
Art Club

$20
Beta Club

Activities that require no fee (due to being self-funded)
Middle School Play (funded by gate receipts)
8th Grade Trip (funded by fund-raisers and dances)

Costs will be paid by the district for any team qualifying for a state tournament/contest. The Fee Schedule and costs of extra-curricular activities will be evaluated each year in the Spring, as long as District 3 has extra-curricular fees.

Over the past tow years, District 3 has spent around $14K for transportation for extra-curricular activities.

Board member Steve Knar argued against raising fees to a level he felt might adversely affect participation in extracurricular activities. He proposed raising all fees by 10%.

Board member Gerry Blohm and Board Vice-President Doris Sadik expressed the need to represent to the community that the programs are self-funded, as they told the community they would be. Sadik said that, until the district is in a position not to have to issue Tax Anticipation Warrants, the activities need to be self-funded. Blohm said that the activities are important, but the Board has to abide by what they said they would do. He said he could go along with the fee schedule that was approved because the Board was making an "honest effort."

Blohm said that liked the multi-tier fee schedule. He said he had no problem raising fees, since the biggest increase is $25. He said that he talked with several people in the community, and the most feedback he got was from people saying they didn't want their child's activity fees to go toward paying for another activity's bus trip. He noted that the parents of the softball players should be informed that their $125 activity fee still does not cover the expense of the activity.

Knar challenged Blohm's point, saying that Blohm wants to cover the expense, but he doesn't want to raise the fees to ensure the expenses are covered. Blohm countered that self-funded is self-funded, but he doesn't want to drop a bomb on people. Board Member Pat Hughes said he didn't think the Board was dropping a bomb on people, they were just saying what the costs are.

Board Member Bob Nunamaker noted that the fee increases may destroy the extra-curricular activities, but that parents already think that teams are not competitive, because the volunteer coaches are required to play all students equally.

Sadik acknowledged Nunamaker's argument that the quality has gone down, but until we see that, she said, the District should cover the costs. Knar said that every kid should have the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities, and worried that raising fees would be a hardship to families on a tight budget. Knar voted against the new fee schedule, while Nunamaker, Sadik, Blohm, Hughes, and Tom Mollet voted in favor. Board President Paula Zasadil was not in attendance for this meeting.

Tax Anticipation Warrants to be Approved at Tonight's Board Meeting

2006-03-20T12:08:00.000-06:00

The Board is expected to approve the issuance of approximately $567K in Tax Anticipation Warrants (TAW) during tonight's meeting, which starts at 7:00 pm in the library of the Middle School. Tax Anticipation Warrants allow school districts to borrow money when County tax distributions are late, enabling the School District to pay bills on time, instead of delaying payments until the tax money is distributed. In order to issue TAW's, the school district must, by law, perform a cash-flow analysis.

District 3 has issued TAW's the last few years. Last year's TAW cost the district $37K. This year's TAW is expected to cost the district $32K, even though the district is issuing TAW's for far fewer dollars than last year. The similarity in fees is due to changes in market conditions since last year, including higher interest rates.

At last month's Board Meeting, Supt. Jackie Krause said that the district has enough money in the bank to get through April, and may have enough to get through May, but that the comfort zone is not there. She said the district should issue TAW's now because, if a deficit is encountered in the budget, and the cash flow doesn't look as good as it does now, the district may not be able to secure as favorable an interest rate. She said that one extra student or need can throw a budget off track.

Middle School Activity Fees -- Possible Increases to be be discussed at Monday Night's Meeting

2006-03-17T13:44:00.000-06:00

Middle School Activity Fees are on the agenda for the Monday, April 20 Board Meeting. Residents who would like to comment on Activity Fees will have the chance to do so during Public Comment at the beginning of the meeting, at 7:00 pm, in the library of the Middle School.

After the referendum was approved, the Board, in making promised budget cuts, heavily increased fees for extracurricular activities. In doing so, the Board said that each extracurricular activity would need to be self-funding.

As Supt. Jackie Krause said in the February 27 Board Meeting, an investigation of how fees stack up against costs of activities came when some parents suggested that the fees were too high, and may be offsetting other more expensive activities, or activities with lower participation. Each activity is intended to be funded within itself.

An analysis of the fees showed that a few activities were collecting fees in excess of their operating costs, but many other activities, sports most notably, collected fees at or under their operating costs. Also, transportation costs are not factored into the operating costs. Add these costs in, and the activity fees overall come about $3000 short of activity costs overall.

Dr. Krause further noted that, for the next school year, the State has warned that $12K or more from the transportation funds received by District 3.

This started a conversation as to what it means for an activity to be "self-funded". Does it include transportation costs? Is "close" good enough? What was promised to the community?

Vice-President Doris Sadik said that it won't look good to the community if the Board does not make sure each activity is completely self-funded. She said that taxpayers will look at it as their tax dollars paying for the activities.

Board Member Steve Knar said the the District is doing the community a favor by keeping the activity fees from increasing any more. He said that he doesn't want to spend more money than the District has, and he understands the need for fiscal discipline, but he just can't support raising fees at this time.

Middle School Principal Dr. Tim Mahaffy noted that the number of students drives the cost-per-student for each activity, and said that the next three years will bring smallest classess entering the Middle School in some time.

Board Member Tom Mollet wondered how close the activities could come to paying for themselves and still be able to call themselves self-funded.

A decision on what to do about the fees is expected to be made at the March 20 Board Meeting.

ARS Concession Stand Update

2006-01-31T11:24:00.000-06:00

The damage to the concession stand at Algonquin Road School's baseball fields is expected to be completed in April, just before the start of the 2006 Little League season. At the January 24th Board Meeting, it was announced that contract negotiations between District 3 and Heartland Home Craft will be wrapped up soon, which will allow Heartland to begin the work.

While the final cost of the repairs is still to be determined, Supt. Jackie Krause said that the total will be $20K or less, and that the funds will come from the restitution paid by the families of the minors who allegedly started the fire last summer. After the reconstruction is done, District 3 and the Fox River Grove Rec. Council will share the cost of installing security cameras and lighting.

The Board unanimously approved the pending contract with Heartland Home Craft. Heartland Home Craft was expected to sign the contract soon after the Board gave its approval. Fox River Grove Rec. Council will manage the project and will report to the Board if reconstruction costs approach $20K.

Mike Bajorek of the Rec. Council also reported on the installation of a new storage shed at the baseball fields, to replace the one destroyed by last summer's fire. The new shed will be 14' x 14', bigger than the former shed, and will feature movement-sensored lighting inside. The Rec. Council will pay the entire cost of the new shed, which will be placed on the same site where the old shed stood. The Board approved this plan unanimously, pending an inspection of the site by Rick Miller.

Donations are being accepted for Equipment and Building Replacement at the Fox River Grove Harris Bank: 847-829-1920
Please refer to the FRG Rec Council Concession Fund.

Registration Fees, Lunch Prices to Increase

2006-01-24T08:09:00.000-06:00

Registration Fees for District 3 schools will increase at least $5, and Hot Lunch prices will increase $0.05 for the 2006-2007 school year. In making the request at the January 23rd Board Meeting, Supt. Jackie Krause said that there has been no increase in registration fees for the last two school years. She also said that former Supt. John Hill suggested that Dr. Krause raise registration fees for the current school year, but Dr. Krause said she didn't feel the time was right to request an increase. However, she said that costs are increasing approximately 5% a year, and registration fees need to reflect this.

Dr. Krause added that she may seek another $5 increase in registration fees if tax anticipation warrants are needed. As for the $0.05 increase in school lunch prices, she said that the increase will closely cover the increase in costs, but that she was being conservative in her request because of families with more than one student in District 3. Dr. Krause estimates that the increase in fees will bring in approximately $3K.

The Board approval of the increase came after the Board denied a request by the ARS Kindergarten teachers, Debbie Randle-Hayes, Lora LeGrand, and Beth Diller, to increase Kindergarted registration fees by $29 in order to cover the cost of a prepackaged school supplies kit for each student. This kit is currently available to parents at registration for $29; the request was made to add the purchase of the kits to the Kindergarten registration. The teachers said this would provide needed consistency of school supplies across all Kindergarten students. Inconsistencies, said the teachers, used extra class time and caused stress to students when teachers teach the students about each supply, and students were unable to match the supply to their neighbor's. The teachers also said that some brands don't perform as well as others. The kits, currently available from the PTO and distributed by SchoolKidz, has all needed supplies in recommended sizes, and from recommended brands.

The Kindergarten teachers said that the $29 cost of the SchoolKidz kit was competitively priced with individual school supplies sold by area stores like Walgreens and Wal-Mart, especially when costs of fuel and time were factored in. They noted that stores may not carry all of the school supplies needed, causing parents to make multiple trips, or settle for brands that do not perform well or are not appropriate for Kindergarteners. The Kindergarten teachers emphasized that supplies should be developmentally appropriate and consistent. One example they noted was that permanent markers are sometimes substituted for washable markers.

Dr. Krause commented that the school district used to buy the Kindergarten school supplies for the students, but this was ended by former Supt. John Hill because of the cost.

In rejecting the addition of the cost of supplies to Kindergarten registration, Board members cited concerns of passing the increased registration fee to parents who already qualify for reduced lunch prices, or parents with multiple students going into Kindergarten. They also said that some parents prefer to try to shop for better prices on school supplies in retail stores. The kits are already available to parents, so some people are already choosing to shop on their own.

Board Member Steve Knar, supporting the $29 fee increase, said that the kits may be only a few dollars more than buying supplies from a retail store, and that difference is the cost of convenience. Board Member Gerry Blohm, in opposing the increase, said that he has to represent the whole community, and some people prefer to try to get school supplies cheaper by themselves. He wondered if there was a way for the PTO and Kindergarten teachers to show parents at registration that buying the SchoolKidz kits is cost-effective, and that parents really don't save money buying supplies on their own.

Voting in favor of adding $29 to Kindergarten registration to cover the cost of school supplies was Pat Hughes and Steve Knar. Voting against was Gerry Blohm, Bob Nunamaker, Doris Sadik, and Paula Zasadil. Tom Mollet was not present.

Tonight's Board Meeting

2006-01-23T08:54:00.000-06:00

The agenda is up for tonight's Board Meeting, at 7:00 PM in the Middle School Library. From the agenda, it looks to be a relatively short meeting, at least until Executive Session. In Executive Session, the Board looks to be discussing whether or not to open minutes to meetings that have been closed, or leave them closed due to their "Confidential Nature". I'm hoping they will find a way to communicate to the public the nature of the minutes without breaching privacy concerns of individuals. Maybe there will be some redacted minutes released, or a summary of the minutes, or a time limit set on how long closed minutes can stay closed without further action. I suppose we'll see what they do after tonight's Executive Session.

There is also some time scheduled to talk about the Concession Stand at ARS. At the last meeting, Mike Bajorek and Vince Rosenthal made a presentation about the reconstruction efforts being done through the Fox River Grove Recreation Council. It was also announced that the families of the minors who allegedly started the fire last summer have made restitution for the cost of the damage.

Mr. Bajorek and Mr. Rosenthal, as part of their presentation, have discussed the possibility of adding security lighting and cameras to the area. The Board has been somewhat in favor of this, but both the Board and the Rec. Council have had some discussion as to who should pay for the lighting and cameras. Specifically, both organizations want to pay for them. Maybe tonight will bring some conclusion to the reconstruction plans and settle who gets to pay for the added security.

The agenda for tonight's meeting is here:

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

I hope to see you there. If you can't attend, watch this space for updates on what happened.

Good article on School Board politics

2006-01-06T11:41:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to an excellent article by Marsha Sutton, which appeared in the San Diego (CA) Ranch Coast Newspaper Group. Although the column concerns a school board in Del Mar, CA, I think the issues of open, constructive debate and transparency are common to many districts, including District 3. See if you agree.

http://www.sdranchcoastnews.com/sdrcn%20pages/m31.html

Daily Herald Editorial on School Consolidation Changes

2005-12-28T12:03:00.000-06:00

This was posted to the Discussion Groups (so if you've read it there, you're reading it twice), but I wanted to post a link to it for you Blog readers, too.

Note: You may need to register for this article at the Daily Herald. Registration is free.

http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=135882

Set the stage for school consolidations

Posted Sunday, December 25, 2005

If there’s one thing Illinois has in excess — besides political corruption — it is school districts.
The state has 875 districts in all, including a bewildering and inefficient array of elementary and high school districts. That stands in sharp contrast to most states, where school districts usually encompass kindergarten through high school. Amazingly, 200 Illinois districts consist of only a single school.

If the Blagojevich administration has its way, though, the General Assembly will pass laws this spring that will make it easier for school districts to merge.

One change would permit some elementary districts to merge with the community high school district even if voters in one elementary district reject the idea. Another would allow elementary districts to consolidate even if they are not adjacent — the idea being that combining districts close to each other still would yield administrative efficiencies.

Yet another change would allow a high school district to merge with an adjacent unit district even if the elementary schools feeding into that high school did not first agree to become part of a unit district. Granted, the merger of a high school and unit district would pose challenges in creating fair pay scales and coordinating curriculum.

Nonetheless, these changes all represent good and overdue ideas that legislators would do well to embrace.

To read the rest of the editorial, click the link above.

Dec. 19th Meeting is Tonight

2005-12-19T17:51:00.000-06:00

It continues to be hectic 'round here, and I still have some items to report from the November meeting. The December Board meeting is tonight at 7:00 PM. After tonight's meeting, I will post stories on the items I have not yet covered from the November meeting as well as stories from tonight's meeting. In some cases, it may be that I cover what happened at each meeting within the same story. I'll try not to make it too confusing, and thank you for your patience with me in getting the November items posted.

Nov. 28 Board Meeting -- Public Comment

2005-12-18T18:51:00.000-06:00

Wow. It's been a month since I've been able to post. I know it's been busy -- work is relentless, and always asking for more; of course, it's the holiday season; and both kids have been in basketball. I was involved with a production of "A Christmas Carol" that was performed at the town's Tree Lighting Ceremony, which was, by all accounts, a great success. I traveled to Dallas and Washington DC for work.

Of course, all of this activity meant little time for me to post about the November Board Meeting.

So, hoping that late is still better than never, here's what I saw at the November 28 Board Meeting:

Tim Kassel, Vince Rosenthal, and Mike Bajorek spoke during the Public Comment portion of the meeting.

Keeping Score

Before Mr. Kassel spoke, Dr. Tim Mahaffy addressed the Board and the audience and said that previous to the meeting, Mr. Kassel had met with school administration and discussed the further analysis he'd done on test scores. Dr. Mahaffy said that one of the things discussed was that the analysis indicated that, as students move up and a Bell Curve were imposed on the test scores, that students tended to move away from the center of the curve. Dr. Mahaffy said that this finding fell along the lines of probability, that lower-end scores stay the same or get worse, and higher-end scores stay the same or get better. He continued, saying that the study has yielded valuable data, but that data collected in the future will be separate from the data used in this study because the data are no longer collected through Reading Groups.

Mr. Kassel said that he felt this subject has gotten to a point of some closure. He added that it took a long time to get to this point. He stated that the analysis confirmed some of his suspicions, that the high end of the Bell Curve had more students than the low end, but that the curve hides that the lower-end students don't really move up.

Tim Kassel's analysis documents can be found here:

http://www.partnershipforschools.org/GE_Differential_Analysis.pdf
http://www.partnershipforschools.org/Longitudinal_NPR_Analysis.pdf
http://www.partnershipforschools.org/Longitudinal_20GE.pdf

Dr. Mahaffy noted that, over time, bi-modal distribution is not apparent. If there's a concern that students are being left behind, he continued, there's a great place to look.

Board Member Bob Nunamaker wondered what was going to change now that District 3 has this data. We think an individual student is progressing, but is he? Mr. Nunamaker wondered. He continued, asking if we knew who these students were.

Supt. Jackie Krause said that the District knows who the students are, but Mr. Kassel doesn't. She said that in the analysis, they looked at composite scores for Reading, but teachers look at the students' needs. She added that they always want to look at students who are struggling on an individual basis.

Dr. Mahaffy added that every time the District reports on ITBS data, it is good news. He said that when they asked Mr. Kassel to look at the data, what they found was that the upper tail of the curve was more significant.

Mr. Nunamaker said that if the District has students reading below grade level, the teachers would know who they are. Dr. Krause agreed, saying that it is not a surprise to the teachers, since they work with the students every day and know what each student's issues are.

Dr. Mahaffy said that the analysis done by Mr. Kassel says that the District shouldn't be satisfied with growth initially seen in test score results. Dr. Mahaffy said that is valuable information.

Vice-President Doris Sadik wondered if the Diagnostic Reading Center influenced this data. Dr. Krause said that the District will see the results of the DRC with this year's test scores, when the first students who completed the entire DRC Program take the tests this year.

Dr. Krause said that the analysis of the Reading test score data turned out to be a good collaboration, and that all have learned from it. Mr. Kassel agreed.

Rebuilding Phase

Mike Bajorek, representing the Fox River Grove Rec. Council, addressed the Board next about the repair and reconstruction of the damage from this summer's fire at the Algonquin Road School baseball fields. He said he contacted several builders from the Cary-Grove Chamber of Commerce about the damaged concession stand. From all of the builders contacted, Mr. Bajorek said that GK Design/Build Services of Cary sent in an estimate, for $19,717.50. He said that the company did not need to develop plans to provide the estimate, but that they would like the approval to make plans for the reconstruction.

Dr. Krause noted that, in addition to the donations made from the community to the Rec. Council to rebuild the concession stand, that the families of the minors who allegedly set the fire have agreed to pay restitution. Mr. Bajorek said that the estimate covered the rebuilding of the concession stand and lighting for the stand, the school buses, and all four corners of the school, but does not include cameras (though it does include the electrical capacity to add cameras). In order for the reconstruction to begin, Serv-Pro estimates $500 to $1K to clean and disinfect the bricks. Wood would also have to be removed from the site. Mr. Bajorek remarked that most companies contacted about the reconstruction would not offer estimates for the work.

Board Member Steve Knar asked if the money would come from donations or from the families of the minors alleged to have started the fire. Mr. Bajorek said that the Rec. Council might be able to get donations of materials from Home Depot, Lowe's, or similar area stores, which would lower the cost of the reconstruction. He asked that the Board approve one or two contractors to do the project, so that the work can be better coordinated, and so that the Rec. Council won't be bound to having to report on progress to the Board at each meeting.

Mr. Bajorek said that he requested quotes from four companies, and that only one company actually submitted a quote. He noted that this was the company that is also doing the work for Cary-Grove High School's concession stand.

Board President Paula Zasadil said that her understanding is that an estimate of $23K in repairs and reconstruction was for the concession stand, less the cost of repairs to the fence.

Board Member Tom Mollet asked if the sturdy ladder and steep stairs to a possible upper level of the rebuilt concession stand would cause a problem, since they would not follow ADA guidelines. Dr. Krause said no, it would not cause a problem, because the upper level area is not for people, but for storage. Dr. Mahaffy said that another example of this is the ladder to the school roof, which also does not comply with ADA.

Board Member Pat Hughes asked if the company will come back to the Board with a more formal proposal. Mr. Bajorek said yes, the company intends to come back with a plan. Mr. Hughes wondered if the Board needed to have Building and Zoning Dept. Head Curt Ulrich look at the plan. Mr. Bajorek said that Curt does not have a blueprint for the concession stand, and that the work would not be as extensive as the Cary-Grove project, where a second story, elevator, and ramp are being added to the concession stand. Mr. Hughes said that Curt knows codes. Mr. Bajorek said that the Rec. Council can include Curt in the project, that they do not have a problem with that.

Board Member Steve Knar said that the lighting and the cameras should be done by District 3. Dr. Krause said that she agrees with this in principle, but that it was not in this year's budget. Vince Rosenthal, also representing the Rec. Council, said that the Rec. Council has been receiving donations from the community for the reconstruction, and that the Rec. Council would like to use these donations for the cameras and the lighting.

Dr. Krause said that it looks like the District has another cooperative, and that the Rec. Council and the District can partner to make the grounds more secure.

Mr. Mollet said that there is some extra cost to improve the building, and that the District could give money to that and to adding cameras. Mr. Knar said that he is OK with spending the money, because there is a need. Mr. Mollet said that he's OK with spending money, but not with spending money the District doesn't have. He said that the concession stand is of more use to the community than to the school.

President Zasadil noted that the discussion was over a pool of about $30K, and that it was important to note that the Rec. Council is not asking the District for any more money. Mr. Bajorek said that the Rec. Council doesn't care whether the Rec. Council or the District pays for the cameras. Mr. Knar said that he was comfortable spending the money, because the cameras benefit the whole school.

Board Member Gerry Blohm spelled out the priorities for the reconstruction as he saw them: 1) restore the building. 2) add cameras. 3) add a level to the concession stand.

President Zasadil said that the Board would like to get an estimate including cameras and building permits.

Mr. Blohm suggested fixing the building first, then do other improvements with any money left over. Mr. Bajorek said that the next step is to get a plan for the project.

Mr. Rosenthal added for clarification that, by adding a level to the concession stand, what the Rec. Council is proposing is that the pitch of the roof be changed by a foot and a half in order to provide more storage.

Dr. Krause asked if it would make sense to do a Plan A and a Plan B, one with the raised roof, and one without it. Mr. Hughes said that if we don't raise the roof now, we never will. He suggested raising the roof, then adding the lighting and the cameras.

Mr. Bajorek said that the Rec. Council gets donations from the community every time an article about the fire appears in a newspaper. So far, they have raised around $9K. Mr. Rosenthal said that the Rec. Council wants to cover the cost of the cameras, because there is a benefit. He reiterated that the Rec. Council is not asking the District for any more funding for this project.

Oct. 24th Board Meeting -- School Counts

2005-11-19T14:28:00.000-06:00

Here are the class sizes reported at the Oct. 24th School Board meeting:

Algonquin Road School
Kindergarten
Students: 59
Classes: 3
Avg. Students per Class: 19.66

1st Grade
Students: 57
Classes: 3
Avg. Students per Class: 19

2nd Grade
Students: 66
Classes: 3
Avg. Students per Class: 22

3rd Grade
Students: 67
Classes: 3
Avg. Students per Class: 22.33

4th Grade
Students: 58
Classes: 2
Avg. Students per Class: 29

ECE
Students: 17 (7 of these students reside in District 3)

Fox River Grove Middle School
5th Grade
Students: 66

6th Grade
Students: 56

7th Grade
Students: 68

8th Grade
Students: 70

Oct. 24th Board Meeting -- Cargo Beep Beep

2005-11-19T14:19:00.000-06:00

The Board unanimously approved the purchase of a used cargo van for up to $7K. The money comes from the Transportation Fund. Rick Miller has been using his personal vehicle, with mileage expenses of approximately $100 per month.

Before the vote, Board Member Bob Nunamaker wondered if the district could get one vehicle to be used for cargo and food transportation between the Middle School and Algonquin Road School. Supt. Jackie Krause said that this would not be workable, since food truck is used approximately 3 hours in the middle of the school day, and would be unavailable for cargo during this time. When Nunamaker asked if the district considered not serving hot lunches at Algonquin Road School, Board President Paula Zasadil told him he'd have a mutiny on his hands.

Oct. 24th Board Meeting -- From the Ashes

2005-11-19T13:54:00.000-06:00

This week's Countryside has an article on the rebuilding of the concession stand and storage shed burned last August.

The reconstruction was discussed at the Oct. 24th Board Meeting. District 3 is involved in the reconstruction because the concession stand and shed are on Algonquin Road School grounds. The district owns the concession stand, but because the shed was not a permanent structure, it was not owned by the district.

Dr. Krause said that the repair costs to the concession stand and the fence that were damaged in the fire were estimated at $23K. If District 3 pays for the repairs, which are covered by their insurance, the deductible paid by the district would be $1K. Dr. Krause noted that the Fox River Grove Recreation Council was interested in doing the repairs (as indicated by the Countryside article), and that the families of the 14-year-olds responsible for setting the fire may be liable for the cost. She also said that increased lighting to the area may mean added cost to the district, but would increase security to the grounds.

Board Member Steve Knar said that repair estimates obtained from the Rec Council were in the range of $40K, and that the families of those responsible for the fire may not be able to shoulder all of the cost. He added that once the repairs are done, the district should consider leasing the concession stand to the Rec Council. Dr. Krause said that she would have to see if the district would be allowed to do this.

Oct. 24th Board Meeting -- Graduation Day

2005-11-19T13:49:00.000-06:00

The Board approved moving 8th Grade graduation to June 1, 2005. Graduation was originally scheduled for May 31, but the Cary-Grove High School auditorium, where the 8th Grade graduation ceremony takes place, was previously booked for that day.

Oct. 24th Board Meeting -- Reading Group Study Update

2005-11-19T11:55:00.000-06:00

Supt. Jackie Krause presented an update to the ongoing Reading Group study. (Those of you who are members of the Partnership for Schools e-mail group may have already seen the excellent analysis done by Tim Kassel, who lead the charge for the Reading Group study to take place. If you have not seen Tim's analysis, you can download a copy of it here.)

Dr. Krause said that a change would be made to Algonquin Road School report cards in the wake of the study. Underneath the Comments section for each quarter, the student's End of Quarter Reading Level will be indicated, showing both grade level and basal level. For example, a check mark underneath "1-2" would indicate the student is reading at 1st Grade, 2nd basal level. An explanation letter for parents, by ARS Principal Karen Machroli, would be sent home with the first report card using this assessment. (It was hoped that this change would be implemented with the first report cards of the year, but my daughter's first report card this year was in the existing format without this change.)

Asst. Supt. Tim Mahaffy said that the added reading level assessment will be all electronic, so that the district will be able to store the quarter-by-quarter results. This will help in further data analysis, said Dr. Mahaffy. Board Member Gerry Blohm noted that parents will be able to see their student's progress throughout the school year.

Vice-President Doris Sadik wondered if this would offer parents a guarantee of the level at which their child is reading. Dr. Mahaffy said that this is what the district was trying to get away from. He said that assessing, storing, and tracking basal level information is a good check for teachers used to giving just a grade level. He said the district wants teachers to feel they have the flexibility to move students to other reading groups when needed. He said the information on the report card tells the parent at which basal level their student is reading, not the student's reading level. Along with the explanation letter, parents will receive a rubric explaining the requirements for each reading group. This will help parents understand how their student is reading, and on what skills to concentrate when reading at home.

Principal Machroli said that she met with the reading teachers at ARS and asked them to write requirements for each grade level in order to develop the rubrics. Rubrics were then broken down by quarter or semester, depending on the grade level of the student.

Machroli noted that, starting this school year, all students in the 3rd Grade class started at a 3rd Grade reading level. None of these students started in a 2-2 (2nd Grade, 2nd Basal) instructional group.

Board Member Bob Nunamaker said this looks like a program to better inform parents. He wondered if there were any ancillary benefits to teaching using this program. Machroli responded that when teachers were assessing students using only grade level, that there was some level of interpretation that may have happened. She said the rubric will give teachers guidelines in grading.

Dr. Mahaffy said that the district wants to look at the continuum of reading instruction and placement for instruction; the administration doesn't want to frustrate the students.

Dr. Krause said that the rubric give guidelines to parents wondering what to do to help their student get to the next reading level. She said that the student's teacher and parent can partner to help the student. The rubrics would be sent home with the first new-format report card. They would also be available on the District 3 website.

Board Member Gerry Blohm wondered if the rubrics could be printed on the back of the report cards, since it is blank. Board President Paula Zasadil said that the rubrics may be more information than could fit on the back of the report card. She suggested printing the URL for the rubrics on the District 3 website on the report card instead.

From the audience, Tim Kassel said that there would be a presumption on the part of the parent that their student's reading level would be re-evaluated each quarter. He wondered if this was part of the plan. Machroli responded that the reading lab tests fluency weekly. Dr. Mahaffy said that there is an ongoing assessment of students, not just a quarterly assessment outside of initial placement.

Oct. 24th Board Meeting -- Dollars, Taxes

2005-11-19T11:12:00.000-06:00

Supt. Jackie Krause brought up an appeal by the owner of 300 Opatrny to have that addresses property taxes reduced. The owner had appealed to the county assessor, and the original appeal was denied. The owner of the property is appealing the denial. The reason the owner says he is appealing is that the building, which is an apartment building, has units that are not being rented.

Supt. Krause said the owner's appeal was opposed by the Memorial Library and the village. The village is intervening in the appeal. Supt. Krause sought a motion from the Board to join the intervention by the village.

If the appeal were granted, Dr. Krause said, District 3 would lose $10K in tax revenue this year, and would continue to lose $10K per year in subsequent years. She noted that, if the district were to join the village in intervening, the paperwork to file would cost the district approximately $150, and court costs could go as high as $5K. These fees would come from the Education Fund, not the Tort Fund, because the district is not incurring liabilities with this action.

Board Member Steve Knar asked if joining the village was a "strength in numbers" move, if the district would send in a lawyer alongside the village's lawyer. Dr. Krause said that it would be District 3 protecting its own interests. She noted that Village Administrator Art Osten said that the district gets most of its money from property taxes. By comparison, the village gets revenue from sales taxes in addition to property taxes.

Board Member Bob Nunamaker said that this is a tough situation. Board Member Gerry Blohm opined that it doesn't seem like the district is in the business of enforcing assessments. He added that someone else (the village) is already on this. Dr. Krause countered, saying that if the district doesn't have a voice in this, they are relying on others, possibly with less vested interest, to come forward. Board Member Tom Mollet echoed this, saying that if the district stands by on this, which ones does the district fight?

Nunamaker asked what the assessor's feelings are on this. Dr. Krause noted that the assessor originally appraised the property, but that the owner was basing his appeal on an outside appraisal that he sought individually. Knar noted that a property owner can get an outside appraisal that will say whatever the owner wants.

Nunamaker wondered if the board could "dodge this bullet" and vote on this at the next meeting. Dr. Krause said no, there was a 30-day limit to make the decision. It would have to be voted on at this meeting.

Blohm wondered what the district's basis to derive value from joining this case would be. He said that assessments are someone else's ball game. Dr. Krause said that the district would be supporting the County Assessor. Knar noted that joining the case would be to protect the district's interests.

Nunamaker seemed to be leaning toward not joining the case, but inferred that he might decide differently if the costs to the district were incidental. Knar also seemed to be leaning toward not joining the case, but said he'd feel differently if the village weren't involved. Dr. Krause said that the village invited the district to join the case because the district has the most to lose. Mollet said that it would be the County Assessor's lawyer, not the village's or the district's, who would deal with the case. Dr. Krause said that she consulted the district's lawyer, who advised that the district join the case, because it shouldn't seem as though this kind of action doesn't matter to the district.

From the audience, Cindy Pilz wondered if the district would need to use it's own lawyer, or could a lawyer from the village volunteer to help. Dr. Krause said that the district's lawyer understands how the law relates to school districts. Asst. Superintendent Tim Mahaffy noted that if a lawyer from the village wanted to volunteer, perhaps he or she would consider coaching volleyball. During a tense discussion, this line got a big laugh.

At the end of the discussion, the motion to join the case did not pass. With one Board Member, Pat Hughes, absent, the vote was a tie, 3-3. Voting in favor of joining the case was Vice-President Doris Sadik, President Paula Zasadil, and Mollet. Voting against joining the case was Nunamaker, Blohm, and Knar.

Oct. 24th Board Meeting -- Wha Happen?

2005-11-19T10:59:00.000-06:00

OK, a little update on why there has been little in the way of updates. As I posted previously, I started a new job near the end of July. My previous job had become such that the work flow increased dramatically at the end of each month. This is the same time that School Board meetings took place, which meant that I had a ton of work to do at the same time I was trying to write updates to this blog. The new job meant no month-end crunch, so my postings could be more timely, right?

Well, we all know about best laid plans. Though my co-workers at my new job insist that we are in the "slow season", all of us, including me, are working like dogs (and that doesn't mean we're on all-fours). It's been relentless. I usually try to post while at lunch or on weekends. Lunch has been non-existant, and weekends have been spent catching up on everything that needs to be done at home. So there ya go.

Enough excuses. It's Saturday, it's chilly out, but the sun is shining, the birds are flying south (and may be singing, but who can tell), and I'm blogging.

Mr. and Mrs. Fox River Grove, and all ships on the river; let's go to press. If you were at the Oct. 24th Board Meeting, here's what you already know. For everyone else, read on......

2005 Illinois School Standardized Test Results

2005-11-10T13:41:00.000-06:00

If you've not yet seen it, the 2005 standardized test results for Illinois schools are available on the Chicago Tribune website. You can go here, then select Fox River Grove schools by name or by selecting McHenry County, then browsing to "Fox River Grove Cons S D 3".

Oct. 24th Board Meeting -- On Background

2005-10-26T12:26:00.000-05:00

In an update on an item from previous Board Meetings, Supt. Jackie Krause reported that she had talked with a representative from the Fox River Grove Rec Council about District 3 partnering with the Rec Council to perform background checks on people who volunteer for coaching positions. She said that the Rec Council was reluctant to provide these background checks, because they could be seen as a vendor to the district and may be liable if something were to happen.

Krause continued by saying that the District would be able to get background checks through the Illinois State Police for $10 - $16. These are the same kind of background checks done by the Rec Council. One difference is that the background checks done through the State Police may show any infractions, whereas the background checks done for the Rec Council shows only infractions involving children.

Board Member Steve Knar asked how often the district should perform a background check on a volunteer. Board Secretary Lois Bowman said the district performs a background check on employees once, when they are hired.

After some discussion, the Board gravitated to the idea of doing background checks on volunteers every three years, with the idea that most volunteer coaches would likely not be volunteers for more than three consecutive years, so there would be little re-checking done.

This led Board Member Tom Mollet to ask why the district doesn't do a background check on employees every three years as well. Dr. Tim Mahaffy added that these checks are done through the State Police, and the district is notified if an employee's status changes.

Supt. Krause noted that she knows of no other school district in McHenry County that does background checks on volunteer coaches. When Board President Paula Zasadil asked what the liabilities are to the district, Krause said that the district's attorney told her that there would be next to no liability, especially with background checks being done. The attorney's advice was that doing background checks was a good idea.

Knar asked if doing checks every 3 years was necessary, or if the district would be doing more than it needed to in order to protect itself. Mollet added that the district will be doing a lot of these background checks, and if they have to throw in a few more, it wouldn't be a big deal. Board Member Gerry Blohm added that if a volunteer was arrested for a crime outside of the District 3 jurisdiction, the district may not be notified, as they would be with an employee. For that reason, he thought a check every three years would be good, just to be on the safe side.

If a volunteer coached for one year, took a year off, then came back to volunteer in the third year, he would not be rechecked. Also, volunteers working under direct staff supervision would not need to submit to a background check.

The motion to approve background checks for volunteers, retroactive to the beginning of the current school year, was approved unanimously.

Northwest Herald Article on 4th Grade Teacher's Aide

2005-10-26T12:21:00.000-05:00

Today's Northwest Herald has a story on Rebecca deVeer, the newly-hired Teacher's Aide for the crowded 4th Grade classes. Supt. Jackie Krause introduced Ms. deVeer at the Oct. 24th Board Meeting. You can read the story here.

Study Results

2005-10-04T11:51:00.000-05:00

If you're a member of the e-mail group, then you've probably already seen these, but if you're a reader of the Blog pages, then this is for you. It's an update from Tim Kassel on the Test Scores Study:
*************************
Hi folks,

I just posted the two analyses I did for the administration. They are under the Files link on newsgroup site.

My hope is to build a more complete picture by obtaining more grade equivalency data to generate more distribution plots like the ones at the tail end of the longitudinal study - but on a grade equivalency scale rather than NPR. That way we'll be able to see if the "stairstep" we saw in the 02-03 3rd grade class was a one-of-a-kind issue or if it's a recurring thing.

Tim
*************************
In addition to the Files section of the e-mail group, I've also posted these on the web for your information. You can find the two analyses here:

http://www.partnershipforschools.org/GE_Differential_Analysis.pdf

http://www.partnershipforschools.org/Longitudinal_NPR_Analysis.pdf

As always, thank you Tim, for all of your excellent work on this!!

Steve

Sept. 26 Board Meeting -- Volunteer Coaching Update

2005-09-30T11:48:00.000-05:00

Volunteer Coaches came forward for the girls' 6th and 7th Grade Basketball, but volunteers are still needed for positions for Winter and Spring activities. Coaches, specifically Head Coaches, are needed for the following activities:

Winter
6th/7th Grade Boys Basketball
8th Grade Boys Basketball
8th Grade Girls Volleyball
6th/7th Grade Boys Volleyball
8th Grade Boys Volleyball

Spring
Track
Softball
Middle School Play
Scholar Bowl

If you are able to volunteer, or would like more information, please contact Tim Mahaffy at (847) 462-2324 or by e-mail at mahaffyt@dist3.org. Again, this is a good way to contribute to the schools without further expanding your tax bills. They just need your time.

Daily Herald Article on 4th Grade Teacher's Aide

2005-09-27T12:29:00.000-05:00

If you haven't read it yet, you can click here to read Patrick Garmoe's article in today's Daily Herald on the Board's decision to hire a teacher's aide to help the large 4th Grade classes.

Sept. 26 Board Meeting -- Positively 4th Grade (or, Size Does Matter)

2005-09-27T11:32:00.000-05:00

First speaker during the Public Comment portion of the meeting was Jim Tuman, who sought to reduce or waive the minimum hours requirement for use of the gym facilities. Since this topic was on the Meeting Agenda, I will write about it in another post. Stay tuned...

OK, "stay tuned" is a little anachronistic..... Click "Refresh".....

Next to speak was resident Larry Stengren. He stated that this was the first Board Meeting he had ever attended, that he was not the kind of person to complain, but that he was concerned about the class sizes in the 4th Grade classes. He said that, while he supported similar class sizes when this class was in 3rd Grade, and thought that the bigger 3rd Grade classes were successful, he felt that the larger class sizes were not working as well this year. He said that he has heard this same sentiment from both current 4th Grade students and their parents.

Mr. Stengren said that his daughter, currently in the 4th Grade, has been a student at Algonquin Road School since Kindergarten. In her studies, Mr. Stengren has found that his daughter will learn concepts taught at school with time and attention, but 4th Grade students this year are not able to get that time or attention. As a result, he said, he thinks student grades are suffering. He said that, while he does spend time with his daughter at home on her studies, that extra attention is needed in the classroom.

He said that he asked his daughter if a teacher has come during class to offer additional help, and his daughter said no, the teachers haven't. When he asked her why, he said his daughter, a 4th grader, responded, "There are too many kids in class."

Mr. Stengren said that he'd had an opportunity to observe a 4th Grade class. He also talked to Superintendent Jackie Krause and members of the School Board prior to the meeting. He stressed that he thinks the 4th Grade teachers are great, but that they seemed overwhelmed. He also said that he didn't come to the meeting seeking an immediate answer, but he wanted to underscore that whatever solution is adopted by the Board would be in the best interest of the students first.

During his conversation with Dr. Krause, talking about the possibility of hiring a third 4th Grade teacher and dividing the two classes into three, Mr. Stengren said that Dr. Krause asked if he thought that the students would be upset if classes were divided during the school year. Mr. Stengren said that he asked several 4th Grade students, and they responded no, they wouldn't be upset. He said that it was probably too early in the year for students to form a deep bond with their teachers, so if classes were going to be divided, it should be done soon.

Mr. Stengren mentioned that when these students were in 3rd Grade, in similarly sized classes, ARS had a student teacher to help. He said that helped both the students and the teachers a lot, and that the students noticed the extra attention.

Resident Cynthia Mitchell asked why the District employs three administrators for two schools. Board President Paula Zasadil said that this was a different topic, but that the Board has been over and over this, and they decided that three administrators were necessary.

As an example, Supt. Krause related a story from last school year. While she was Principal for ARS, she said there was one day when she had to be off campus for a time. While she was away from the school, a student was hurt on the playground. She said the first thing the parent asked was why the Principal wasn't at school when the child was hurt. Dr. Krause said that one administrator can't be spread between two schools.

Dr. Krause went on to say that she met with the 4th Grade teachers about the issue of class size. She said that the teachers expressed a need for additional help with the classes, and asked Dr. Krause and the Board to address the issue. She continued by saying that this class has one more student than it did as a 3rd Grade class last year.

Mr. Stengren continued his comments, saying that his impression of seeing the teachers at the end of the school year last year, they seemed like they were ready for the school year to end. He went on to say that the 4th Grade teachers seem like that now, only weeks into the school year. He said that class sizes seemed to increase discipline issues in class, which further wears on the teachers. Mr. Stengren reiterated that he is completely behind the schools, and when he needed to move to a bigger house, he moved within Fox River Grove to stay in District 3.

Board Member Doris Sadik asked Mr. Stengren what he thought the difference was between last school year and this one. Mr. Stengren said that he is speculating, but that the 3rd Grade teachers had a great attitude toward the challenge of teaching the larger classes. He cited his experience at this year's ARS Open House, when his daughter's teacher spend 10 minutes of a 30 minute presentation talking about class size. This shouldn't be the focus, he said. He said that maybe the 4th Grade teachers had more reservations about the class size coming into the school year. He related a story of dropping off his daughter at school. His daughter asked him to walk her to the classroom. He said he found that a bit odd, as 4th Graders usually don't want to be seen with their parents. He said when he took his daughter to her classroom, he was surprised at what he saw; children were rollerblading outside the classroom door, and one girl was sitting on the ground, crying, because she'd been knocked down.

Cynthia Mitchell said that her child is one who loves to learn, but that her grades are suffering because of the class size, and she's losing enthusiasm for school. "It's just sad, " she said.

Board President Zasadil said that the Board has been aware of this issue, and that they have been waiting and observing the 4th Grade class while Ms. Machroli has settled into her role as Principal at ARS. She said that now the Board has some direction to take into the Executive Session of the meeting.

Following Executive Session, the Board unanimously approved the creation of a position for a part-time teacher's aide. This position would assist the 4th Grade classes for 3.5 hours a day, and would be paid at the prevailing rate. Supt. Krause said that this approach was consistent with what the teachers requested when they met with her.

August 22 Board Meeting - ISAT and Looked at Class Scores and Sizes

2005-09-24T11:42:00.000-05:00

District 3 Supt., Dr. Jackie Krause, reviewed the longitudinal ISAT test score results received. She noted that the district had only received initial results for the classes as compared to the State of Illinois; no individual scores were made available, nor were results ranked by County. Dr. Krause said that she is looking for the newspaper stories with the County rankings, as the press seems to get these results before the school districts do.

Here are the longitudinal results that were covered at the meeting:

Reading

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2005
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	66%	78%	84%
Dist 3 Gain		+ 12%	+ 6%
State Meets or Exceeds	62%	59%	54%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 4%	+ 19%	+ 30%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2006
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	81%	73%
Dist 3 Gain		- 7%
State Meets or Exceeds	62%	60%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 19%	+ 13%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2007
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	68%	74%
Dist 3 Gain		+ 6%
State Meets or Exceeds	63%	61%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 5%	+ 13%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2008
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	84%	72%
Dist 3 Gain		- 12%
State Meets or Exceeds	62%	60%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 22%	+ 11%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2009
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	78%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds	65%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 13%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2010
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	88%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds	67%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 21%

Math

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2005
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	81%	81%	74%
Dist 3 Gain		0%	- 7%
State Meets or Exceeds	69%	68%	54%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 12%	+ 13%	+ 20%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2006
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	86%	74%
Dist 3 Gain		- 12%
State Meets or Exceeds	74%	68%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 12%	+ 6%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2007
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	87%	78%
Dist 3 Gain		- 9%
State Meets or Exceeds	74%	72%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 13%	+ 6%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2008
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	98%	84%
Dist 3 Gain		- 14%
State Meets or Exceeds	76%	73%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 22%	+ 11%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2009
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	97%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds	79%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 18%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	3rd Grade Results	5th Grade Results	8th Grade Results
2010
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	95%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds	79%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 16%

Science

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2001
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds		86%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds		72%
Dist 3 Compared to State		+ 14%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2002
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds		85%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds		72%
Dist 3 Compared to State		+ 13%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2003
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds		87%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds		73%
Dist 3 Compared to State		+ 14%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2004
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	85%	86%
Dist 3 Gain		+ 1%
State Meets or Exceeds	67%	74%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 21%	+ 12%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2005
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	85%	90%
Dist 3 Gain		+ 5%
State Meets or Exceeds	64%	74%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 21%	+ 16%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2006
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	88%	86%
Dist 3 Gain		- 2%
State Meets or Exceeds	74%	75%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 21%	+ 11%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2007
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	81%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds	67%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 21%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2008
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	98%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds	68%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 30%

Year of 8th Grade Graduation	4th Grade Results	7th Grade Results
2009
Dist 3 Meets or Exceeds	93%
Dist 3 Gain
State Meets or Exceeds	71%
Dist 3 Compared to State	+ 22%

For the Math test scores, Dr. Krause noted that the new Extended Response scores were not counted, due to a security breach with the test. Some of the questions got out to some school districts before the test was administered.

Board Member Bob Nunamaker asked if we knew which students fell short. Asst. Superintendent, Dr. Tim Mahaffy, said that this information was more important to teachers than the longitudinal data. Dr. Krause added that the district is eagerly awaiting the individual results.

Dr. Krause also talked about District 3 school enrollment. She said that if the current 4th Grade class goes above 30, she would like to talk to the Board about some additional teacher's aid support. She said she wants to assess the situation, because she wants to hold down costs. Board Member Steve Knar noted that the current class sizes in the 4th Grade are the result of budget cuts that were made in the wake of the passage of the last referendum. Board Member Pat Hughes said that if the referendum hadn't passed, every class would be the size of the current 4th Grade class.

Dr. Krause assured the Board Members and the people in attendance that she is looking hard at the situation. "I know some of you have children in the 4th Grade," she said.

Agenda for the Sept 26 Meeting is Posted

2005-09-24T11:18:00.000-05:00

The agenda for Monday night's meeting is posted on the District 3 website. You can find it here. (Copies are also available at the meeting.)

Monday night's meeting will feature the Public Hearing for the FY '06 budget. If you would like to comment on budget issues, this is a good opportunity for you.

If you have a question or comment, but are unable to make it to the meeting, you can now e-mail the Board directly at this page. As always, I will also bring whatever comments or questions come in to me from the residents of Fox River Grove. You can use this page to have me bring your question or comment.

So, if you can make it to the meeting, please come. If you cannot, but have a question or comment, you can send it here or here.

August 22 Board Meeting - Tentative Budget

2005-09-13T11:50:00.000-05:00

Supt. Jackie Krause presented the tentative budget for Fiscal Year 2006 and announced that a Public Hearing for the budget will take place at the next regular Board Meeting, Sept. 26, 7:00 PM, in the Middle School Library.

Dr. Krause started by saying she'd gone over the projected FY '05 budget that former Supt. John Hill prepared, and found that the projections in that budget came very close to the actuals, and that District 3 wound up with $15K more in fund balances than was projected. She added that she projects an additional $94 in fund balances. She added that the surplus from FY '05 over the previous fiscal year was 3.49%, and that she projects the surplus in FY '06 to be 3.09%.

She went on to say that monies from property tax payments don't happen if people don't pay their taxes. She noted that the district was now getting tax payments from 2004. Board Member Bob Nunamaker suggested that tax payments were made to school districts, and that taxes were collected in arrears, but that notion was challenged by Dr. Krause.

After saying that finances give him a headache, Board Member Gerry Blohm asked to clarify that if we add the percentages from FY '05 and FY '06 together, we are ahead over 6%. Dr. Krause said yes, over two years. Blohm added, "If the stars line up, we are on track."

"On track for what?" responded Nunamaker. Dr. Mahaffy answered 3% per year.

Dr. Krause said that tax money comes into the district 9 times a year, in varying amounts. She said that the district has a good idea of how much money will come in each installment, but they don't know for certain how much until the money actually comes in.

Nunamaker suggested that the district should work to keep increases in expenditures even with increases in revenues. Dr. Krause said she shares that philosophy, and that she tries to be as frugal as possible, but that some things are out of the district's control. Nunamaker countered that some things are in the district's control. Other Board members challenged Nunamaker to name some things that the district can control. Nunamaker noted that the preliminary budget projects $20 K less from sales of student lunches. Dr. Krause responded that this was because the district has fewer students. Nunamaker went on to say that it was a fiscal discipline issue, to which Dr. Krause responded by saying that she shares his philosophy.

Nunamaker commented that Dr. Krause mentioned 3 funds from which the district could loan itself money. He wondered if the district should go ahead and borrow that money, in case the district needs to issue Tax Anticipation Warrants later in the year. Dr. Krause suggested that the Board might not want to do that. For example, the district might be in a bad position if it borrowed from the Transportation Fund, and a bus breaks down. She further noted that funds cannot be loaned to the Education Fund; they can only be loaned amongst the three funds.

Nunamaker expressed some frustration at the idea that the district has money in the bank, but cannot use it for its own good. Board Member Pat Hughes said that he shares Nunamaker's concern, but that if the district gets to a 15% surplus in 5 years, he won't worry about line items.

Dr. Krause closed the discussion by saying that former Supt. John Hill used to say that the budget is transparent. She said she doesn't know how much more transparent the district can be with the budget.

August 22 Board Meeting - Board e-mail Update

2005-09-09T12:37:00.000-05:00

Updated: I checked the link again on Monday, Sept. 12, and the Board of Education (BOE) e-mail link was active.

The Board heard a draft of the "disclaimer" that will appear near the School Board e-mail address when it is posted on the District 3 website. The purpose of the disclaimer is to help direct e-mail to the school staff when it is appropriate. For instance, an e-mail referring to a teacher or a classroom situation would be forwarded to the teacher or another appropriate staff member. Board President Paula Zasadil and Supt. Jackie Krause will review the incoming e-mail and either forward it to a staff member or bring it to the next Board meeting. In either case, each e-mail will be addressed by the district in some way.

The Board approved the disclaimer language unanimously by a consent vote. The e-mail address was to become active on Sept. 1. As of this writing, there is a link on the left-hand menu titled "District BOE Email", but the page it links to is not active.

August 22 Board Meeting - Volunteer Coaching Update

2005-09-08T12:11:00.000-05:00

Dr. Jackie Krause reported at the Aug. 22nd meeting that four more coaches had volunteered. She then asked the Board for authority to appoint volunteer coaches. This authority, she said, would give the volunteers more time to get started, since the Board meets once a month. She would notify the Board of new volunteers at the meeting directly following the volunteers' appointments. The Board approved this request unanimously.

Board Member Pat Hughes asked if background checks were needed for volunteer coaches. The administration said that they currently do not do background checks for non-staff members who volunteer. Cost was cited as a reason for this. Dr. Mahaffy said that he believes the FRG Police Dept. charges $50 for background checks.

Board President Paula Zasadil said that it might be worth a call to the police to see if that is the case. Some Board members thought that background checks may be available to the district at small or no charge, but had not yet verified this with the police department. Hughes said that if the checks were cost prohibitive, that was one thing, but if they were free.....

Board Member Tom Mollet said that money may not be the best basis for deciding to do background checks. "If something happens, and we didn't do a background check for fifty dollars....." he tailed off.

Zasadil noted that many of the volunteers have also volunteered with the Rec Council, and the Rec Council does perform a background check on volunteers.

Dr. Mahaffy said that the district can look into coordinating background checks with the Rec Council.

Agenda for the August 22nd Board Meeting is up

2005-08-19T15:53:00.000-05:00

The agenda for Monday night's Board meeting has been posted on the District 3 website. You can get a copy of it here. Among the items listed:

Presentation from County Treasurer Bill LeFew
District Reading Group Study
Initial 2005 ISAT Results
Class Enrollment Numbers
Approve FY06 Tentative Budget and Set Public Hearing Date
Approve Updated Job Descriptions for Superintendent, Algonquin Road School Principal, and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Middle School Principal

Should be an interesting meeting. Hope to see you there.

Volunteer Coaches Needed -- Soon!!

2005-08-18T15:40:00.000-05:00

This was posted to the e-mail group by Dr. Mahaffy, and I'm posting it to the blog as well to help get the word out:

"We are dangerously close (August 24th) to canceling the boys soccer and girls 6/7 basketball season due to not having a coach. We need to keep our kids active and it helps create a sense of school spirit when our students are engaged in conference activities. We also need volunteers to keep the scorebook and run the clock at basketball and volleyball games this year. This could be done by a reliable high school student also that would like to give a little back to our school."

This is something that the people of Fox River Grove can do for the schools to make a direct, positive impact on the students and the community. It doesn't require any additional tax funds. All it requires is your time. You can help the students keep their activities, and you can help you and your neighbors keep their taxes from going up by donating some time to coach, assist, run a scoreboard, or help out in a number of different ways. I urge you to consider helping with at least one activity, if you can at all. Please contact Dr. Mahaffy at mahaffyt@dist3.org or (847) 462-2324 to volunteer or to get more information.

County Treasurer William LeFew to Appear at August 22nd Board Meeting

2005-08-18T15:33:00.000-05:00

County Treasurer William LeFew is scheduled to make a short presentation at the August 22nd School Board meeting. His announcement says he will cover the following:

The functions of the Treasurer's office as they relate to local governments - what we can do to help you.
The process of real estate taxes and 6 ways you can lower your real estate taxes.
Methods of tax payments.
What more can we do to help you and your constituents?
Answer questions.

Now, I have no idea whether or not the Board will allow questions or input from the audience for this, but it should be an interesting presentation. If you are concerned about taxes or school funding in the community, I would urge you to attend the meeting on Monday, August 22nd at 7:00 PM in the Middle School Library.

July 25th Board Meeting -- Reading Room Study Results (Preliminary, Part 3)

2005-08-18T11:46:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the discussion....

Board Member Steve Knar asked Dr. Mahaffy who decides to move students from level to level. Dr. Mahaffy said that the student's Reading teacher makes that decision.

He went on. "Do we hit it right all the time? Probably not. But we do a good job with the data we have [including data from the Diagnostic Reading Center]. We don't have the Iowa test scores in yet [when these decisions are made]."

Board Vice-President Doris Sadik said that she was surprised to see that 50% of students get to grade-level reading. She said she thought it would have been higher. She said she was shocked that half of the students stay at the lower level.

She went on to say that if you ask the teacher how a student is doing as they progress through grades, they'll say the student is leveling off. "What does this mean," she wondered. She asked if there was anything that the district can do for the students reading below grade in the 4th and 5th Grades, or do we say "that's just the child"? She wondered how we get these students to Honors-level English classes when they are in High School.

Dr. Mahaffy responded that not all students progress the same. "Is that the philosophy?" Sadik challenged. Dr. Mahaffy said no, it's not the philosophy, it's the child.

Sadik wondered if it was a lofty thought to think that the district will get all students reading at grade level. Dr. Mahaffy replied that it was still the goal. He went on to say that the district doesn't' stop teaching reading in later grades, but they stress Reading to Learn, instead of Learning to Read. He said that under the Federal No Child Left Behind law, all students will have to read at grade level. He said that may not be achievable unless the Federal Government lowers the bar. He stressed that District 3 will not lower the bar.

Dr. Krause added that, in order to progress, every day the student must be presented with text at his or her level. She looked at conclusions that can be drawn from this. What do parents know of the qualifications a student needs for each Reading level? She said that the district can do a better job of standardizing and informing parents of the expectations of each Reading level.

With students in full-day Kindergarten, Sadik wondered, did we get students more reading time when they were struggling? Absolutely, said Dr. Krause.

Dr. Mahaffy said the question is, by the 4th Grade, are all students in the same book? The answer is yes.

Board Member Nunamaker, thinking of the goal of everyone reading at grade level, said this is a great time to be a Board Member, because this is a job for an administrator.

Sadik continued on the topic of students at the lower reading levels, saying that she doesn't want these students to lose opportunities. Dr. Mahaffy agreed, saying that you don't want to say that 15% of students at the lower level is OK.

Board Member Mollett said that opportunity is what the district is offering, but that some students don't take it.

Sadik said that it would be great to have 2 classes of Honors Algebra, for example.

Dr. Krause added that where the students in the lower levels are today is not the same place as they were years ago. The curriculum has been notched up over the years. Dr. Mahaffy noted that the below-level group in District 3 is reading at the National norm. He said that we have higher expectations in this district.

Knar summarized that Dr. Mahaffy was pleased with the higher-level curriculum and with the students who move out of the lower Reading levels, but that he was surprised that 50% of students didn't make it out of the lower group. Dr. Mahaffy responded that he didn't know what to expect.

"What do you make of it?" asked Knar.

Dr. Krause said that it showed that students do make it out of the lower levels. She said that the community may think that once a child is tracked, they are locked it, and that was not the case.

Knar said that the 50% out result shows the the district is doing something right. Dr. Mahaffy said that it could be seen as the glass being half-full or half-empty. He said that we should be on the side of getting all of the students out of the lower levels.

Sadik still wanted to look at the students that remain in the lower levels. "What's our plan of action?", she wondered. Zasadil said that some things, like home life, are out of our control. Dr. Krause responded "Yes, but our philosophy is to teach the students we have."

Nunamaker stated that the data analysis was great. "I applaud you for doing it."

Dr. Mahaffy said that they looked at the data and worked to identify what to do with the students who were struggling. He said that when they see three kids struggling, they get concerned with those three kids.

Zasadil said that in the August 22nd Board Meeting, they will discuss the analysis that Tim Kassel has been helping with. Dr. Mahaffy said that they will continue working with Kassel to see what further analysis will yield.

July 25th Board Meeting -- Reading Room Study Results (Preliminary, Part 2)

2005-08-18T11:21:00.000-05:00

Continuing....

Dr. Mahaffy began presenting, looking at the question of how much gain did students in the lower group make. While in 1st Grade, 9 of 17 students were moved out of the lower Reading group. In the 2nd Grade, 3 of 10 were moved out. In the 3rd Grade, 7 of 10 were moved out. He then looked at students in the 4th and 5th Grades, when they were in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grades. (This went a little fast for me, too, and I didn't have the slides that were being shown, so I will recommend looking at the meeting minutes when they are posted for some clarification on this group.) Overall in the study, 28 of 57 students were moved out of the lower Reading group.

It is important to note that the students in the lower Reading group are not constant -- students are moved both into and out of the lower group, so when there is a number of students in the lower group through the years, these are not necessarily the same students.

Dr. Mahaffy highlighted this point by looking at the 5th Graders, and noting that while they were in 1st Grade, one student was in the lower group, then in the 2nd Grade, 7 students were in the lower group. He said that he would hope that by 4th and 5th Grade, all of the students would have moved up from the lower group, but that hasn't happened.

Board President Zasadil noted that these students did not have the benefit of the Diagnostic Reading Center.

Dr. Mahaffy said that ITBS scores are a valuable indicator toward assessing students' progress, but it's not the only indicator. Others include fluency checks, Diagnostic Reading Center scores, and homework that can be assessed by teachers. He went on to say that students reading below grade level are averaging 1 year of growth, and the other students (at or above grade level) are averaging 1.1 years of growth.

He added that he and Dr. Krause will continue to work with Tim Kassel to determine if the preliminary results are statistically significant.

It was at this point that the discussion started to really take off. I'll continue that on the next post.....

July 25th Board Meeting -- Reading Room Study Results (Preliminary, Part 1)

2005-08-17T12:23:00.000-05:00

In the Superintendent's Report section of the meeting, Dr. Krause presented some preliminary results from the study of test scores within the reading group sections. Scores were looked at both in aggregate, and within groups. Also looked at was movement from one reading group to another relative to test scores.

The conversation was very fast, and there were slides shown at the presentation that were not in my visitor packet, so I won't pretend that this is in any way a complete journal of the discussion and data that took place. For more on this, I will advise you to read the minutes from the meeting, which should be published on the District 3 website on or around Tuesday, Aug. 23. What I will do is try to capture some of the discussion that took place. And what a discussion it was!

The Board has gotten some criticism over the years for speaking and acting in lockstep, and some of this criticism is well-deserved. Though I have seen some active discussions in my time attending Board meetings, these are few and far-between, and there are many times when Board Members will echo each other before casting their unanimous votes.

This was *not* one of those discussions. It was frenetic at times; there were differences of opinion, challenges, ideas, reflection; it was open, and above all, the whole discussion came off as an honest assessment of where we are as a school district and what still needs to be done; what has worked and what hasn't. Assumptions and points-of-view were challenged, but the discussion was always positive and focused where it needed to be; on the students. It was, by far, the best discussion I have yet seen at a Board Meeting.

I will try to capture some of the points made in the discussion as they went by. Look at the minutes to see what was said faster than I can write.

Dr. Krause explained that when Kindergarteners enter the 2nd semester, their reading level is assessed one-on-one. They then go into the Diagnostic Reading Center in small groups. A year later, they are tested again one-on-one. The same tests are used to measure progress. She explained that these tests are not administered in groups, like other tests like the Iowa tests are.

In the data she presented, she said that 12 students tested below average.

Board Member Doris Sadik asked if any of the students do any of this kind of testing before entering the Diagnostic Reading Center. Dr. Krause replied no.

Board Member Steve Knar asked if underachieving students' parents are notified of their child's status via report cards. Dr. Krause responded that report cards give an assessment of what needs to be done.

Teacher Beth Diller, who has been working in the Diagnostic Reading Center, said that they follow a scripted program with small groups. She said that small groups can give the teachers a better idea of progress made and who needs additional help.

Board Member Doris Sadik asked if parents are notified about what happens in the Diagnostic Reading Center. At the annual Open House, is it addressed by the Kindergarten teachers? Dr. Krause said that the center may be addressed by First Grade teachers at the Open House, but there is no script for them to follow as to how to present it. Sadik followed up, saying that she felt if more parents knew about the center and all it does, they might support it and work with it more.

Dr. Krause went on to say that, with all-day Kindergarten and the Diagnostic Reading Center, students are immersed in Reading. She added that some students aren't reading yet, but they are getting the skills.

Board Member Bob Nunamaker wondered if the district was really bad with Reading before all-day Kindergarten and the Diagnostic Reading Center. Dr. Krause responded that the district wasn't really measuring it. Now that these programs are in place, the expectations have ramped up. District 3 needs to look at results over time, and look at longitudinal results. Should the district be concerned about one student at the lowest level? Yes.

Dr. Krause continued, saying that the results show all students, including students in special education. The expectation is that students should be reading in Kindergarten. This is not like when Kindergarten students were in class 2.5 hours a day.

The Board looked at results that followed a class through elementary grades. Board Member Tom Mollet asked if there were 13 students in the study that were a concern while in the 1st Grade. Dr. Krause responded that we don't know if the 13 students in the lower level of 1st Grade Reading are the same as those with lower scores in Kindergarten.

Dr. Krause added that she looked at the Reading score data with Dr. Mahaffy, and that they met one afternoon with Tim Kassel to address his concerns, and see if they were looking at the data in every way they could. She said they studied how one class does from year to year. They didn't focus on just 2nd Grade or just 3rd Grade. They also added criteria to the data, so that they were looking at students who had been in Algonquin Road School since Kindergarten, and that special education students were excluded from the study.

There's still more to this story, and I'm going to continue it on another post......

July 25th Meeting -- Still Need Volunteer Coaches

2005-08-16T19:15:00.000-05:00

Dr. Mahaffy reported on the progress of finding volunteer coaches for this year's sports and activities. Last year, the district had enough volunteers for all activities except for Scholastic Bowl. This year, Dr. Mahaffy said that the distict was behind last year's pace for finding coaches. One of the reasons he cited was that a large class from last year has graduated to the high school.

So far, coaches have volunteered for this year's 8th Grade Girls' Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross-Country, 6th/7th Grade Girls' Volleyball, and Girls' Soccer. Asst. coaches have come forward for Boys' Soccer, Track, and Girls' Soccer.

If you can volunteer as a coach or asst. coach, or in some other way for Middle School activities, or would like more information, please contact Dr. Mahaffy at mahaffyt@dist3.org.

July 25 Board Meeting -- Q&A

2005-08-16T19:09:00.000-05:00

I’ve spent too much time working on this one, mostly because Patrick Garmoe did such an excellent job of writing about this in the July 27 edition of the Daily Herald.

At the Q&A portion of the July meeting, I used my five minutes to ask once again for the Board to consider making available some means of contact; e-mail addresses, phone numbers, something, that residents can use to contact the members of the Board outside of monthly Board meetings. When I brought this up to the Board at a previous meeting, I was told that the Board members have no individual authority outside of the Board, so it wouldn’t do any good for residents to contact members of the Board individually.

I brought with me printed copies of web pages of various elected officials: Rep. Donald Manzullo, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Barack Obama, State Sen. Pamela Althoff, and State Rep. Mark Beaubien. Each official was elected to a body to represent the people. I made the point that none of these officials have any more individual authority with the entities to which they were elected than do the members of our School Board. Yet, on each website, residents can find full contact information to communicate with them. Addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses; they are all there.

Of course, it is possible that the relationship these elected officials have with the government bodies to which they were elected that school board members don’t have with the body to which they were elected. Sure, they are all elected by the people to serve in a legislative body to represent the people. But maybe there is some reason that was not apparent to me why School Board members should not publish contact information for the benefit of those they represent. So, did some random searches of School Boards, and found several school district websites, from across the country and from right here in the Chicagoland area, that publish not only names of School Board members, but addresses, phone numbers, voice mailbox numbers, and e-mail addresses for each member of the board. Some of the websites had pictures of the Board members, and one even had a short biography of each Board member. I gave printouts of these websites to the District 3 Board as well.

Board President Paula Zasadil started the discussion by saying that the Board may have sounded aloof with its previous answer. She said that Board Members often hear from residents when they shop or do other business around town. She added that all of the Board Members’ phone numbers are listed in the PTO phone books issued each year. She also reiterated that the Board would prefer that parents of students work through issues first with teachers, then the school administrators before coming to the School Board.

I responded that, yes, that was all true, but that residents shouldn’t feel as though they have to dig up the home phone number of a Board Member in order to voice a concern or ask a question. I also noted that residents without children in either school do not receive a PTO phone book. If a resident had a concern about the district, about taxes or spending, for example, and had to work on Monday nights, they would be effectively shut out of the representative process under current conditions.

District 3 Board Member Steve Knar suggested that the District open and publish an e-mail address that would be common to all of the Board Members. E-mail sent to this address would be printed, read, and discussed at Board Meetings.

Board Member Bob Nunamaker said he didn’t feel that the Board should be starting a dialogue. He said that he has sympathy for people unable to make it to Board Meetings, but if the Board got into phone numbers and dialogues, where would the Board be? He did agree with Steve Knar’s idea of having an e-mail address that would be shared by the Board.

Board Member Tom Mollet asked if such an e-mail address might be redundant, since the school administration has e-mail addresses that are published on the District 3 website. But the administration is not the same as the School Board – School Board members are elected by the voters, while school administration is hired by the School Board.

Board President Zasadil suggested that a common e-mail address might be able to be used for all questions for the district, not just for the Board.

Board Member Nunamaker said that he liked the idea of e-mails that would be presented unfiltered at Board Meetings.

The school superintendent, Dr. Jackie Krause, said that the administration has worked hard to get people to see the progression of concerns and come to Board Meetings. Dr. Tim Mahaffy suggested that the website should include text near the common e-mail address stating that parents should first direct questions and comments to teachers or administrators, as would be appropriate by the situation.

Board Member Mollet said he was afraid that Board Members might interpret questions or comments differently when they are presented by e-mail, ,and may incur long discussions without knowing exactly what the e-mailer meant. Board Member Knar didn’t see this as a concern, noting that having this kind of additional communication avenue might involve retirees in the school district.

Board Member Nunamaker said that he didn’t think that the Board will get many e-mails. I think he may well be right, but volume isn’t really the point. The reason the Board should have contact information published is so that residents know that the Board is there to represent them, that they are open to being contacted when residents need to. Board Members shouldn’t have to be worried about confrontations at the grocery store or cleaners, and residents shouldn’t have to feel that this is the only way to be heard.

Dr. Mahaffy said that he will be looking into setting up a common e-mail address for the Board to use and publishing the address on the District 3 website.

ARS Class Lists on Monday, Aug 15th

2005-08-13T17:04:00.000-05:00

If you're a parent of a student at Algonquin Road School, be sure to check the school's website on August 15 to see which teacher will be host your child this year.

Website:
http://www.dist3.org/ars/ars.html

June 27th Board Meeting -- Got a Minute? Got Several?

2005-07-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

Last year, to deal with budget cuts while trying to preserve as many student activities as possible, District 3 found an inventive way to keep the programs running. In every instance where state law would allow, the district asked volunteers from the community to coach, direct, and otherwise help out in various sports and extracurricular activities. With much-appreciated cooperation from the teachers and members of our community, the Volunteer Coaching initiative proved to be a great success, and many activities that would otherwise have been cancelled went on, for the benefit of the students, the community, and, yes, the volunteers.

The district is currently in need of volunteers again this year. The positions needed currently are:

6th/7th Grade Girls' Basketball
6th/7th Grade Boys' Soccer
Cheerleading
6th/7th Grade Boys' Basketball
8th Grade Boys' Basketball
6th/7th Grade Boys' Volleyball
8th Grade Boys' Volleyball
Track
Softball
Middle School Play
Scholastic Bowl

This is really a great initiative, and a chance for the community to support our schools without someone asking you for more tax dollars. All you need to give is your time. If you are able to help out with one or more of the activities, please contact Dr. Mahaffy by phone at (847) 462-2324 or by e-mail at mahaffyt@dist3.org.

June 27th Board Meeting -- Changes in Latitudes

2005-07-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

Resignations were made, hiring was approved, and, in the end, the changes mostly amounted to a turning back of the clock.

First the resignation. Rob Holton will be leaving the Middle School to accept a position as Asst. Principal in Huntley. To fill the position, Shirley Slater will move from Kindergarten back to the Middle School, and Beth Diller will once again teach Kindergarten.

Congratulations to all!

June 27th Meeting -- Get on the Bus(es) -- Comin' Due

2005-07-19T14:45:00.000-05:00

Supt. Krause noted at the June Board Meeting that the buses that were leased (from the Feb. meeting) arrive on July 6th, and the bill needs to be paid on delivery.

Board member Steve Knar asked if the bus lease contract was competitively bid. Dr. Krause answered that the district contracted with the leasing company for a low price. Board member Pat Hughes remarked that the district did a study two years ago, and found that leasing the buses was a cheaper option that buying them. Dr. Krause added that we take a year's depreciation on the buses.

The Board approved the payment of the lease bill on delivery by a unanimous vote (Gerry Blohm absent).

June 27th Board Meeting -- What Amend to Say About the Budget

2005-07-18T20:40:00.000-05:00

The amended Budget for FY 2005 was discussed, and while there were no comments made from the public on the budget, there was some discussion from the members of the board. Board Member Bob Nunamaker asked if the district should have a budget meeting where we can see comparisons with budgets from previous years. In response, Board President Paula Zasadil suggested looking at certain line items for the past three years.

The amended budget was passed unanimously by the board (Gerry Blohm was absent).

The board also unanimously approved repayment of the Tax Anticipation Warrant with an interfund loan, which will also be paid back. An interfund loan is one where the district essentially lends itself money by borrowing from one fund to pay another, then repaying the borrowed fund at a later date. These loans have the advantage of being interest-free.

The budget is a document many pages thick, and it provides a lot of detail. It is available for download from the District 3 website. Also provided was the Treasurer’s Report as of 5/31/2005. This is a one-page document of assets, liabilities, and fund balance. As indicated on this report, the total assets for all funds amount to $1,338162.03, and total liabilities amount to $1,339,674.78, yielding a net loss of ($1,512.75). These amounts take into account an interfund loan of $35,000.00 from the IMRF/SS Fund to the Working Cash Fund.

June 27th Meeting -- Public Comment

2005-07-18T20:26:00.000-05:00

I used my five minutes during the Public Comment portion of the meeting to ask about the study of test scores that Tim Kassel has been trying to get done. Between the May and June meeting, a story appeared in the Daily Herald saying that the district had decided to go ahead with the study. I asked who made the decision to go ahead with the study, and when then decision was made.

I asked this in the wake of my question at last month’s meeting about how residents can contact the members of the board, and where one would find this information. I was told that the only way for residents to contact board members with questions or concerns is to come to the board meeting and address the board during Public Comment, where each resident who wishes to speak will be given five minutes. The reason, I was told, was because the board did not discuss district business outside of board meetings.

So the timing of the Daily Herald article, published two weeks after the May board meeting caught my eye.

If the board decided to go ahead with the study outside of the board meeting, if district business was discussed outside of an open board meeting, then why is it we, as residents, can’t contact members with questions or concerns outside of board meetings?

Dr. Jackie Krause, who is now Superintendent, tried to answer the question by saying it was a joint decision between the board and the administration. But then, I wondered, how could the board be involved in a joint decision outside of a board meeting if they did not discuss district business outside of board meetings? However, if the board is able to make joint decisions outside of board meetings, then why does a resident, who the board is supposed to represent, have to wait until a board meeting to have his or her voice heard?

Dr. Krause tried again, saying the administration made the decision after consulting with the board. Again, by the board’s own rules, wouldn’t that consultation have to take place at a board meeting?

Board member Tom Mollet referenced a line in the minutes from the May board meeting, which read that the board made the decision to go ahead with the study. I, too, noticed that line before the meeting, but I didn’t remember any such decision being made during the meeting. I reviewed my notes from that meeting, and recalled that the discussion of the study was halted by President Paula Zasadil, citing the five-minute time limit, before such a decision was reached. I made note of this to Tom.

Dr. Mahaffy said that the decision was made by the administration.

When my five minutes were up, Tim Kassel spoke to the board. He wanted to know, now that the announcement had been made to go forward with the study of the test scores, how the study will be conducted. He went on to say that his research indicates that the test score data, without any identifying information tying a score to a student, could be released by the district. With that in mind, he submitted two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the board for the release of the test scores, without any information that would identify a student’s individual scores.

He then asked the audience, many of whom attended the board meeting in response to an invitation by Tim, to raise their hands if they support the study being done. Eight members of the audience, nearly all of the people in the audience, raised their hands in support of the study. Tim also invited the members of the School Board to raise their hands in support, but none did. By law, the district had to respond to the request in seven days. (The board did respond within the seven day limit to request another seven days, so as to have the appropriate personnel examine the records and make a determination as to whether or not they are exempt from disclosure; this is also allowed by the FOIA law.)

After Tim submitted his requests to the Board, Dr. Krause said that she spoke with the attorney for the Board, and he stated that test scores would not fall under the information available from a FOIA request, because they are part of a student’s record. He noted a case where the Chicago Tribune sought access to a school district’s test scores, and was denied.

Dr. Krause said she then asked the district attorney what his response would be if the question were “May we release the test scores”, instead of “We must release the test scores”. She said that the District 3 attorney cited FERPA and ISSRA as privacy concerns, and said that, if one student’s test scores could be determined from the data released, it would be a violation of these laws. He added that, since District 3 is a small school district, the risk of a student being identified from the test score data would be greater than if the request were made in a larger school district.

Dr. Krause then cited some examples where she said a student’s identity could be ascertained:

If one student from a class were held back the next school year.
If one student were added to a class during the school year.
If one student’s parents blocked the release of his or her test scores for participation in the study in a subsequent year

Dr. Krause commented that she didn’t want to make enemies of the community on her first night as Superintendent.

Dr. Mahaffy said that anytime the district takes on projects, they look to the community to participate. He said that he doesn’t want to feel like he’s doing this study specifically for Mr. Kassel, but he’d like to feel as though he can call Mr. Kassel with questions as the study takes place.

Tim Kassel responded that the district can call him.

Dr. Mahaffy continued, saying if the district can have improvement by studying this data, then he wants to do it. He said that he talked with the Reading Specialist and said that, in light of what may be found from this study, some changes may need to be made to the Reading program. He said that he sees Mr. Kassel as a concerned parent, and wants to respond to him.

Mr. Kassel responded by saying that he also spoke with the District 3 attorney and researched the Tribune case. He found that the Chicago Tribune lost its court case because it asked for personal information of the students, not just test scores. He said that he’d be happy to help the district with the study, but he’s a little skeptical of what he sees as stonewalling from the district on releasing the test scores. He did not rescind his FOIA requests.

Board member Pat Hughes said at the meeting that he clarified with Mr. Kassel that both he and Dr. Krause spoke with the same attorney in gathering their information.

Dr. Krause added that the District 3 attorney advised that test scores were exempt from FOIA requests, but that there was some middle ground in this issue.

Board member Steve Knar noted that several people came into the meeting after it started, and were unable to sign in to address the board. He asked if any of the these people would like to address the board. (Kudos to Steve Knar!)

It was asked if there was some kind of forum for people to ask questions about the study. Dr. Mahaffy said that questions could be e-mailed to him at mahaffyt@dist3.org. (I would also suggest to any readers of this item, that you can also discuss the study amongst other residents in the Partnership for Schools e-mail group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dist3_PartnershipForSchools/).

Mary Lu Seidel commented that she also has a child who is a slow reader who is going into the 7^th grade and is still struggling in reading. She said that she prays that this study is done swiftly, and that action will be taken soon.

She also said that she would like the district to fully disclose how students are tracked and assessed during their academic careers in District 3. She also thanked Board Member Knar for extending the Public Comment portion of the meeting, as she was delayed by two trains coming to the meeting and would have been left out of the meeting otherwise. She asked that the school board consider opening the meetings further in the future.

Hey, Where the Heck is Steve?

2005-07-18T20:14:00.000-05:00

My sincere apologies for being so late in posting the items from the last meeting. One of the unfortunate things about the timing of the board meetings, for me, is that they fall near the end of the month. It's unfortunate, because my job is in Finance, and it traditionally gets very, very busy at the end of the quarter; for the past several months, that busyness has increased, so that the end of the month is now almost as busy as the end of the quarter. Add in a few kids activities, and time gets eaten away pretty quickly. The second quarter ended with June, and this quarter, we were busier than most. But that may soon be changing....

One of the things that kept me busier than normal these past few weeks, in addition to the unrelenting work tasks, is my move to a new job at a new company. I'll be getting the lay of the land over there, but, while there will still be a financial aspect to the job, I won't be on a monthly/quarterly cycle anymore. Hopefully, this will mean that I will be able to write and post items faster, so you can read them sooner.

So, without further adieu, let's start the items.....

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Agenda for the June 27 Meeting is Posted

2005-06-24T18:32:00.000-05:00

The agenda for Monday night's meeting (at 7:00 PM) is posted at the District 3 website. You can download it here.

Items of note:

Public hearing for amended 2004-2005 budget

Resignation of FRGMS Math/Computer teacher

Transfer of a Kindergarten teacher from ARS to FRGMS Math/Computer teacher

Hiring of a new Kindergarten teacher at ARS

And where is the item for the study of the ISAT test scores? I'm looking..... can't seem to find it...... nor any mention of any Letters to the Editor copied to the board.....

May 23 Board Meeting -- From Tim Kassel

2005-05-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

Tim Kassel attended the May 23rd Board Meeting and, during the Public Comment section, used his five minutes to ask the Board to look further into the statistics of the test scores in the district. He wrote of his experience and posted it to the e-mail group. I'm posting it to the news blog, for the benefit of those not subscribed to the e-mail group. (Since the blog is set up to automatically send out an e-mail to the e-mail group, some of you may have already read Tim's comments. If you have, then feel free to read them again. They are that good.)

Here are Tim's comments:

Since I sent the email to the board members after last month's
meeting, I had another idea. The administration likes to use ITBS
scores to gage their performance, so I emailed Dr. Krause and asked
if I could get the raw test score data for the last several years.
My intent was to analyze the distribution of scores to characterize
the performance of the lower scoring students. Understanding the
confidentiality implications, I requested the data with the students
names removed. She replied saying the had to consult with their
lawyer.

Sometime later I got a reply to the email I sent after last months
board meeting from Paula Zasidil. She she it would be illegal for
the school to provide me with the data, referencing the Freedom of
Information Act. The reference to the FIA prompted me to ask for
clarification... would it be illegal for the school to provide it,
or are they not legally bound to provide upon my request. The
subsequent reply was the the school's legal council said they could
provide it but it could subject the school to the possibility of
some litigation from parents for privacy violations, even with the
names removed.

Do you smell something funny here? I do. Sounds like any threat,
no matter how remote, is all they've asked their lawyer to provide
so they don't have to expose a possible defect in their system. I
mean, describe for me a scenario where this threat could become a
reality... I can't think of one.

Additionally, Paula stated that the board was going have the school
begin to track the progress of our struggling readers this fall but
we should not expect any results for at least a year. I challenge
her on this - there's plenty of existing data that could be used for
this - it doesn't have to take years. Her next response said they'd
persue a study of ITBS scored with focus on their primary reading
groups, and it would take a several months to complete. It appears
clear that not a lot of thought was going into this.

So I prepared a short presentation for Monday's meeting to do two
things: 1) educate the board on the benefits of detailed statistical
analysis so they could get some really meaningful results out of
this study, and 2) to challenge this bogus legal threat the
administration was hiding behind.

Well the long and short of it is - the board had no intention of
hearing me out. Before I started, Paula formally reinstated a 5
minute limit guest comments. (This is actually allowed in Robert's
Rules of Parlimentary Procedure, but it's intended to limit the
speaking time of one person at a time, not the entire discussion.
Once anyone on the board spoke in response, I could have taken
another 5 min. Wish I would have been up on that going in - I would
called for a point of order on them.) I questioned the scenario in
which a legal threat could be realized and what the likelihood would
be. I proposed risk mitigation options such as confidentiality
agreements. Hill raised his voice at on point declaring that this
was not my job and that I'm not qualified to review education
systems. I explained that I'm volunteering to provide a valueable
service. They countered by saying they're fully capable of the
job. I challenged by asking who on the school staff is capable of
testing distributions for normality or testing two sample sets for a
statistically significant difference. Do they have the tools and
skills to do so? A moment of silence from the admin... then Paula
said, "if they don't have it, they'll get it." (sounds like a
unilateral decision to purchase software and training, eh?) I asked
why the details of the study that's been committed to were not
discussed in any board meeting. They want to defer to
the "expertise of the the trained professionals" on the school
staff. I said it's like calling a contractor, asking him to build a
deck on your house, and just let you know when it's finished - no
details of size, color or cost.

This only went on for a very short time before they timed me out.
It's all so very hypocritical after they had just sworn in Tom
Mollet with an oath including a promise to always be willing to
listen to the members of the community. I'm sickened by it. You
know, they don't have to agree with me, but they've taken an oath to
listen and have disgraced this community by violating it.

To continue from my previous post... as I said, they timed me out. Bob N. cited their full agenda as the reason for moving on. Now I had only taken 5 minutes, but through the course of the meeting they spent at least 15 minutes waxing on about what a great job Hill's done over the last 3 years (since this was his last meeting) and he replied each time in kind - verbosely. The ongoing mutual back patting was nauseating. I don't know what kept me from jumping out of my chair and barking like a rabid dog. The respect I showed them by not doing so is obviously not reciprocal.

An aside on Hill's departure - I wonder who's going to run the board meetings now - should be the president's job but Hill kept telling her when a motion had to be raised in this last meeting. I have a feeling that the decision to disregard my requests for topics being added to the agenda was his - he probably told Paula he'd handle it - as evidenced by when he raised his voice, saying, "It's not your job!" But he's got no issue with the teachers sending home spelling books to be graded by parents... whose job is that, John? It's my tax dollars paying for the schools that my kids and my neighbors kids go to. Don't tell me it's not my job. My tax dollars paid your salary. You're out of line. And you were out of order.

Sense a little bitterness in my tone? You sense correctly. I tried to handle this situation with professionalism up to now, but with this last turn of events, the gloves are off.

Patrick Garmoe - I know you subscribe to this. I left you a voicemail yesterday - would some of the other subscribers chiming in on this be enough to get some press on this situation? I'd like to understand why this hasn't been newsworthy to date. How about printing the letter I sent to the board in response to Monday's meeting... see below.

District 3 Board Members,

It is difficult for me to express how disappointed I am in the board's reception of my attempt to provide some input to last night's meeting. From Doris's comments about this being personal for me, it appears that you still think that I've put my time and effort in this because my son is involved in the lower reading group. The events that occurred with my son brought the issue to my attention. He's already at the end of third grade, however. I don't expect that changes could be affected in time to alter his core skill development through the school. Nor would I be pushing a statistical approach to the diagnosis if I thought he was the only one affected. The best interests of the community have been my primary motive.

My intent was to help the board understand that there may be better ways of looking at the school's and students' performance as a whole. The methods on which I was attempting to educate you are the same methods that many of the world's top performing companies use to understand, diagnose and correct performance issues. These methods have been successfully applied in a vast variety of industries, including service organizations that provide training. Despite my perception of the board's and administration's resistance to engaging in this approach, I have attempted to do this in a non-adversarial manor. This situation has now changed. I found Mr. Hill's assertion that I'm not qualified to assess the education system to be not only arrogant, but extremely offensive. He has no knowledge of my background or qualifications and he's obviously of the opinion that he and the principals have nothing more to learn. And the board appears to have bought into this omnipotence in that you have completely abdicated this issue to them and backed up Mr. Hill when challenged. When I questioned the administration if anyone on their staff has the capability and tools to do this type of analysis, Paula responded for them by saying something to the effect of "If they don't have it, they'll get it." Do you have any idea what the cost of the tools and training for this would be, Paula? Or was that just an empty commitment in an obvious attempt to shut me down?

You, as a board, have not discussed the details of what is going to be explored in the study. There was no proposal from the administration for what the study is to cover in detail in any public board meeting. There was no motion or vote to approve any of this, yet you tell me that it's been a discussed and decided and the administration is going to have results in a few months. You folks motion and vote on every minute proceeding of the meeting, yet you did all this without a vote? It's all BS from the board in a attempt to placate me, and stonewalling from the administration because they don't want to take a chance on exposing any possible defects in the system. You've left the fox in charge of the hen house, and will likely end up with a report that consists of more average score data that masks the true picture... an easy way out for all involved, because you don't have the time or desire to turn over a few stones or challenge the administration. Fifteen minutes of mutual patting on the back between John Hill, the board and the principals makes for a much more pleasant meeting, doesn't it, and then you can all go home a sleep well at night.

The truly ironic part is that Tom took his oath last night, the same one you all took - it should have been a reminder to all of you to listen without prejudice to members of the board as well as members of the community. Yet when Steve Pickering asked about the proper channels for the community to contact the board, you limit it to a 5 minute window, once a month... because, I suspect, you really don't want to hear from the community. You don't want to be challenged. If you don't like what you're hearing, you can shut it down... and last night, you proved it to be true. It's a distasteful display of hypocrisy and a disgrace to our community.

Tom - it was your first night on the job and you walked into the middle of this debate - your silence is understandable. Pat and Gerry - you were not in attendance and I would not presume to hold you responsible for the actions of the others so I do not direct these comments directly at you, but you're cc'd since you're members of the board.

Sincerely,
Tim Kassel

May 23rd Meeting -- Public Comment (or Speak When Spoken To)

2005-05-27T10:13:00.000-05:00

I’ve been writing this one for several days, now. It's long, and I'm sure it's clunky, but it does express my reaction to the Public Comment portion of the May 23 Board meeting.

A little background: one of the reasons, maybe the biggest reason, this website and group were started was that I had received several comments from people in the community, that told me, in one way or another, that many residents felt excluded and out-of-touch with what was happening in the school district. It wasn’t that they didn’t care; they were more than willing to discuss their opinions on various issues. It was that information was often difficult to come by, with individuals having to scour minutes of past board meetings, which is difficult to do, and appear at board meetings in person to address the members of the board and have someone listen to your concerns. If you don’t have access to the meeting minutes, if you are not able to attend board meetings, even due to work or family obligations, then you are not able to participate in the process. Even if you are able to attend meetings, you find that many issues are raised, discussed by the board, and voted upon without any time for the residents to voice opinion or concern. Those who do attend and speak at the meeting, in the Public Comment portion of the meeting, at the very beginning of the meeting, are often made to feel as though the issues and concerns they raise are theirs alone, that their issue couldn’t possibly be of benefit to anyone else in the school district. In short, I was hearing from people who felt disconnected from the district and from the board members elected to serve them.

This website, and it’s e-mail group, was started to help better facilitate communication within the district. The more people have access to information, the more people discuss their concerns and the concerns of their neighbors, the better we can participate in the decisions the school board needs to make, the better we can understand those with whom we disagree, the more we will feel invested in the school district, and the more we will participate. When we discuss these concerns with our neighbors, when we accept that we all have the same basic goals of making our district strong and secure, when we listen to other points-of-view in that context, we find new and creative solutions. It’s a better conversation when all who want an avenue for expression have one. So, one of the things we instituted was the idea that we would ask a question or raise a comment for anyone who wants us to. Then, we would post the response from the board.

I write this entire prologue, because I think it is important to the question I asked at the May 23 meeting and the response I got from the board. Normally, I try to write the question, and post the response with as little opinion from me as possible. I want the reader to make up his or her own mind, so I try to leave my commentary to whatever discussion comes forth in the e-mail group.

This time, I can’t. My feelings are too strong. If you disagree with any of what I write, fine; great! Please, share your thoughts! But this time, I’m adding my commentary here as well. A lot of it. Fair warning....

The question that came in was how to find the board members’ e-mail addresses. It’s such a great question, I wish I’d thought of it myself. But I wanted to be fair; some people don’t like e-mail, or don’t use it at all. So I left the question more open-ended: How would board members prefer to be contacted, and where would constituents find that contact information?

Maybe the answer shouldn’t have been unexpected; but it shocked me, nonetheless.

Board President Paula Zasadil said that she would like people to work through teachers and administrators, then appear at a Board Meeting to address the Board in the Public Comment portion of the meeting.

That’s it.

We, as constituents, as the people who elected the board members to be our representatives to the school district, are not to contact board members individually or collectively to ask questions or voice opinions on anything to do with the school district, unless we are all at a board meeting, and the board has given us our allotted time.

By the way, that allotted time? Five minutes.

Do not call, do not write, do not e-mail members of the board outside of a board meeting; that’s the way the board members want to hear from you.

“For what purpose?” wondered Board Member Bob Nunamaker. He said that board members don’t have any individual authority; so contacting board members outside the meeting wouldn’t be very successful, in his opinion.

Now, if someone were expecting a decision or action RightNowThisMinute, then Bob has a point. If, as I suspect is more often the case, someone wanted to have a board member listen to their concerns, if someone in the district were unable to attend the monthly board meetings, then Bob is wrong; Board members don’t need any individual authority to listen to people. In fact, as elected representatives, they have a responsibility to listen to the people they represent.

If you wanted to have an issue added to the meeting agenda, forget it; it’s nearly impossible. According to this response, if you wanted your elected representatives to add an issue to the Board Meeting Agenda, you would have to attend the meeting and make your request at the meeting. Of course, the agenda is set before the meeting, so your item won’t be added to the current agenda. From the responses I’ve seen in the past year of attending board meetings, it’s not likely your issue will be added to next month’s agenda, either.

The response the Board gave to Tim Kassel when he made just such a request at the May 23 meeting (see his posts in the e-mail group – I’ll post it on the news blog as well), is sadly, typical. When he appeared at last month’s meeting, his requests to further investigate whether or not some children are being left behind academically, despite the good test scores within District 3, was met largely with test score statistics and defensiveness by the administration that we have great teachers, a point that was made repeatedly, even though all agreed with it, and it was decidedly off-topic. When Mr. Kassel came before the Board at this month’s meeting to further discuss different ways to analyze the test score data, and requested that a study of the data be added to a meeting agenda, he was told that the issue was really just his issue, not one that concerns the whole district, and besides, the board has been discussing this in the last several meetings. Really? When? I have been attending these meetings for a year now, and I don’t recall any such discussion at a Board Meeting.

When Mr. Kassel made individual requests to get more data from the test scores, he was first told that such a request would violate the Freedom of Information Act, then he was informed that releasing such data would expose the district to possible lawsuits for violating privacy, even when the data contain no identifying information.

At that point, I wondered how the test score data are currently aggregated. Given the response above, how is anyone able to analyze the data at all?

When I interviewed for the open board seat this year, Supt. John Hill talked to me about this website. He told me that, if I was appointed, the website would have to come down. I thought that, if I were appointed to the seat, my contributions to this website would most likely change, and I’d hoped that others would be able to add content from the public point-of-view, since my perspective would be changed. But, John said that my contributions not be possible, since I express my opinion from time-to-time (though, I suspect, not as often as he thinks), and that an opinion I expressed would be the Board’s opinion, and that can’t be without the entire Board expressing the same opinion. So, I wouldn’t be able to express an opinion about issues in the district.

I cannot think of another government body that conducts itself in this manner. Have you ever written to a Congressman or Senator, at either the State or Federal level? Do they have a phone number you can call, an e-mail or physical address to which you can write? Were the phone numbers and addresses published, so that you could find them? Did you get a response, or did you get a request to attend a meeting of the Legislature?

I have written to my Congressman, Rep. Donald Manzullo, and to my Senators, Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. (I haven’t had the occasion to write to Sen. Barack Obama yet, but I’m sure I will at some point.) In each case, my elected representatives responded to my letter, phone call, or e-mail, addressed my issues, and, in some cases, took action on my behalf, all without my having to attend a meeting in Washington, D.C. How is it that these representatives can publish contact information, listen to my concerns, and respond; yet District 3 Board representatives cannot? The answer escapes me.

April 25 Board Meeting -- Capitalizing

2005-05-11T19:09:00.000-05:00

Look! An evening with not-too-much scheduled! Let's see, what haven't I written about from the last Board meeting.....

The Summer Capital Improvement Plan was introduced at the April 25th meeting. Supt. Hill noted that the District will be spending $9000 more on capital improvement than was spent last year, but remarked that $7000 was for installation of the gym ceiling at Algonquin Road School (ARS).

Board member Bob Nunamaker wondered what the life-span of the mobile units outside ARS is. Supt. Hill said that the mobiles will last a number of years. His last school district, he said, had 36-year-old mobiles. He did caution that, when District 3 bought our mobiles, we bought the cheapest mobiles we could, thinking we wouldn't use them very long. He said that might be an issue in the coming years.

About the roof at ARS, Hill said that we've had some leakage above the 1st and 2nd grade rooms, as well as above the art room, and that will have some cost to repair when that improvement is budgeted. He said that the high roof above the school library is also in need of repair.

The breakdown for capital improvements, which was approved unanimously by the Board, is as follows. Items in bold are considered big-ticket items:

Fox River Grove Middle School

1. Painting projects - Don Lewan $500
a) Paint and scrape soffit in room 203
b) Paint rooms 108, 103, 106, 107, MP restrooms, bridge hallway
c) Touch paint locker rooms, gym, and restrooms
d) Paint exterior and interior doors
e) Paint exterior railing as needed
f) Paint kitchen

2. Complete ball ledge in new gym - Rick Miller $100

3. Clean and discard old A.V. equipment in meter room - Linda $0

4. Refinish floors in gym and multipurpose room-specialty floors - Tim Dilsaver $2,852

5. Repair door in meter room and add master key lock - Rick $100

6. Paint boys locker room floor - Rick $150

7. Replace shades in room 203 - Rick, price and order; Linda, install $100

8. Tuck point southeast corner of old wing - Rick arranging contractor $2,200

9. Repair cracks in asphalt - Jerry $100

Total for FRGMS $6,402

Algonquin Road School

1. Install gym ceiling - Rick and Jerry FY05 $7,000

2. Repair cracks and seal all asphalt areas - Jerry $3,000

3. Painting projects - Don $900
a) Paint nurse's room and restroom
b) Paint front office hallway
c) Paint conference room and shelves
d) Paint teacher's lounge
e) Paint restrooms - Kindergarten (2), ECE, Primary resource
f) Paint table frames in cafeteria
g) Touch paint mobiles in repaired areas

4. Replace damaged floor tile in room 104 and 3rd hallway - Rick $50

5. Replace damaged screens and latches - Rick $300

6. Construct overhangs for mobiles and repair skirting - Rick arranging contractor $7,500

7. Replace awnings on mobiles - Rick arranging contractor $800

8. Level wood chips and trim trees and bushes around school - Jorge $0

9. Replace concrete around light pole in front walk - Rick $100

10. Complete replacement of roof drain covers - Rick $500

11. Paint gas pipes on roof - Rick $250

12. Replace sink cabinet in room 205 - Rick $300

13. Repair and paint both custodial closets - Rick $300

14. Replace lighting in Library - Rick $2,500

Total for ARS: $23,500

Grand Total: $29,902

Summer employment

Don Lewan - painting ($12.55/hr; 40 days - $4,016)
Tim Dilsaver - general ($7.00/hr; 40 days - $2,240)
Adam Sadik - general ($7.00/hr; 40 days - $2,240)
Derek Haselhorst - general ($7.00/hr; 40 days - $2,240)
Andrew Zasadil - general ($7.00/hr; 40 days - $2,240)
Jackie Bowman - Secretarial and Teacher Aide ($7.00/hr; 40 days - $2,240)

April 25 Board Meeting -- Getting Technical Again

2005-05-05T19:56:00.000-05:00

Dr. Tim Mahaffy presented a revised Tech Plan at the April 25 Board meeting. The 3-year plan expenditures are still projected to be $222,500.00 ($71,000 in year one, $75,750 in years two and three), but there will be one change: the pilot program using online tools for tracking student performance would take place at the Middle School only. The original plan had the online tools in use by ARS in year three of the tech plan. He also said that he was expecting feedback from the State of Illinois, which must approve the plan, and should have that feedback to present to the Board at the May 23rd Board meeting.

The breakdown of the Tech Plan is as follows:

Year 1
Technology Budget ongoing $39,000
Professional Development $2,000
Equipment life-cycle replacement $30,000
Total Year 1 $71,000

Year 2
Technology Budget ongoing $39,000
Professional Development $2,750
Equipment life-cycle replacement $30,000
Software $4,000
Total Year 2 $75,750

Year 3
Technology Budget ongoing $39,000
Professional Development $2,750
Equipment life-cycle replacement $30,000
Software $4,000
Total Year 2 $75,750

Plan Total $222,500

April 25th Board Meeting -- Q&A (What I saw)

2005-05-05T11:13:00.000-05:00

This post is a follow-up to Tim Kassel's post. Rather than restate the issues brought up (since Tim did such a good job of recounting what happened in his post), I'll try to fill in from my notes and provide some of my own thoughts....

Tim presented the Board with the facts of his son receiving additional tutoring, outside the District 3 school system, for reading. Since his son is in the lower level reading class, receiving B's and C's, but classified by his teachers as "reading below grade level", Tim sought to have testing performed by the district. After two months, he was tested, with the result of testing showing Tim's son as "average". This raised the question, how could he be average, yet read below grade level? Tim sought outside evaluation at Huntington Learning Center, where his son tested at 2.3 grade level for reading, and 1.2 grade level for oral.

Tim commented that if report card grades are vastly different from private testing, there's a problem. So he did some gathering data of his own, and called the families of 3rd grade students in District 3. Out of 57 students, Tim was able to get a response from 45 parents (79%), on whether or not the student was receiving tutoring outside the district. Of the 45 parents contacted, 7 were receiving outside tutoring, and 2 were giving the matter serious consideration. Said Tim, "We are leaving some kids behind. If we look at test scores vs. averages, we are missing the boat." He added, "We need to look at our testing methods and teaching methods."

Tim went on to say that Dr. Jackie Krause told his wife that the school teach the children reading in the 4th grade. He added that he is not complaining, but that he has the best interest of the children at heart. He also noted the Board voting record over the past year, that only 3 "no" votes were cast on all motions made. Tim thought that more of a difference of opinion should be represented by the Board.

Board President Paula Zasadil considered the number of students in outside tutoring, but noted that she wasn't sure whether or not the number constituted a lot of kids.

Dr. Krause rebutted Tim's statements, noting that the teachers of District 3 are outstanding teachers. She added that she knows Tim's son is struggling in reading, and is getting extra help in the classroom.

She also added that she thinks the number of students receiving outside tutoring is a low number, and that it doesn't measure how many students in other towns are tutored. She said that outside tutoring may not be a reflection on the school system, but may only measure the interest of the parents. She noted that District 3 initiated the Diagnostic Reading Center in the 2nd grade.

She rebutted Tim's comment that the district doesn't teach reading after the 3rd grade, stating that she said that they teach reading through the 3rd grade, then they teach reading to learn in the following grades. She noted that the average of 3rd graders reading below grade level tested at a 2.6 grade level.

"But are those kids getting outside help?", asked Tim.

Board Vice-President Doris Sadik noted that the issue of reading education has been addressed by the Board many, many times, saying that is how the Diagnostic Reading Center came about.

In response, Tim Kassel said that his daughter is allowed to journal in reading lab. He said that he knows that reading and writing are related, but that the reading time should be used for what it's for.

Supt. Hill commented that we have good teachers here. Dr. Krause said that a reknowned consultant had come in the past to look at our reading program.

I thought it was odd that, again, the administration was stressing that we have good teachers. Mr. Kassel stated at least once during the discussion that he wasn't challenging the quality of the teachers, but that it's the teaching programs and testing methods that need to be looked at. I felt that the comments that we have good teachers, true as it was, was getting off the point.

Board member Pat Hughes asked Mr. Kassel if he wanted the Board to ask along other grades, to see how many students are receiving outside tutoring. Supt. Hill responded that outside tutoring doesn't mean that the district is not doing its job. Hughes followed by asking about tracking this 3rd grade class.

Dr. Tim Mahaffy said that he had just attended a reading seminar with a reading teacher. He said that the seminar drilled the idea that reading to kids was a good tool for parents to use to promote reading.

Dr. Mahaffy said that he looked at the test scores of students who tested below average in 3rd grade, and met with the 4th grade teachers to discuss what to do for these students. He noted that our reading teachers are always looking for innovative ways to teach.

Vice-President Sadik asked Mr. Kassel if he had spoken with his son's teachers. Mr. Kassel said that he was told that his son would always be rated as reading below grade level, because he's in the lower-level reading class.

Board member Bob Nunamaker stated that "we all agree we have good teachers." (Thank you, Bob!) He said that the Board has looked at its reading program, sometimes at the expense of other programs, such as Social Studies. He asked, how can the district provide more meaningful feedback to parents about their students?

Vice-President Sadik responded to the issue of report card grades, saying that they have talked about that issue in focus groups. Mr. Kassel said that even his son's teachers were surprised at the score of "Average" on the reading test done at District 3. Dr. Krause mentioned that Mr. Kassel's son was tested twice by the district and was found to be deficient in certain areas, but was not at the bottom.

Board member Kay Laube challenged the notion of outside tutoring being sought only in response to below-grade performance, and suggested that some tutoring may be done by competitiveness among parents. "I would get tutoring for a straight-A student if I was competing with a North Shore school," she commented.

Board member Gerry Blohm added to Laube's comments, saying that he can't say why these parents decide to seek outside tutoring. He said that tutoring is a "personal choice", and wondered how this choice reflects on the school.

On the issue of the Board members casting few "no" votes on motions in the past year, Blohm said that the Board has not rested on its laurels. He said the Board is always challenging the schools to do better. "Rest assured, we are constantly looking to improve." He said that he carefully considers every vote he casts, and mentioned that two different people in two weeks have now mentioned to him that the Board members always vote alike. But, he said, that Supt. Hill and the school administration comes to Board meetings with "their homework done." He says that they have anticipated the Board's questions and have looked at every option to the Board's satisfaction, prior to a motion being raised.

As someone who has attended Board meeting pretty steadily over the past year or so, I can say that votes don't always reflect Board members opinions; at least, not in my view. I have seen motions discussed quite vigorously, and pointed questions asked by members, prior to votes being cast. When writing summaries of Board meetings, I have tried to reflect these discussions and opinions when they are expressed. But Mr. Kassel is correct that many, many motions are approved unanimously. Sometimes these votes are with an attitude of, "I don't like it, but I guess we have to do it." The votes, however, are what they are. Like testing of students, they are not the end-all of evaluating the Board, but they are a useful measure to use in evaluation.

April 25th Board Meeting - Q&A

2005-05-05T10:57:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the delay in getting these items posted. April and May are proving to be busy months for me..... Hopefully, as some activities go on hiatus for the summer, I'll be able to get these in on a more timely basis.

Tim Kassel addressed the Board in the Q&A portion of the meeting. Tim, very graciously, wrote of this and posted to the Partnership for Schools e-mail group. If you are not a member of the e-mail group (and you're missing some of the dialogue about District 3 if you're not!), I'm posting Tim's e-mail here. If you are on the e-mail list, you've (hopefully) already read Tim's comments.

Since I was at the meeting, I'll post my observations in a separate item.

From Tim Kassel:

I addressed the board at the last meeting. In a nutshell, my point was that I think there's a significant number of kids being left behind by our school system. I told the story of how my third grade son has been bringing home report cards for the last 2 years, on which he has recieved C's and B's in reading, but always with an annotation that he is reading below grade level. We persued having him tested by Mrs. Yester to see if there was any indication that he made need additional help. It took nearly 2 months before the testing could be done. But when we finally got the results, he had tested very "average". When my wife discussed the results with his two thrid grade teachers, they both expressed surprise at how well he had tested. We took it to the next level over the Christmas break and had him tested at Huntington Learning Center. They assessed his reading ability at the 2.3 grade level(3rd month of the 2nd grade), where he should have been at 3.5. We have since enrolled him in an extensive tutoring program and he is showing improvement. My wife and I met with Dr. Krause and relayed our concern that there may be issues that need to be addressed at a systemic level to avoid having more kids fall behind like this. We were cordially thanked for bringing it to her attention, but we got the impression that nothing further would come of it. Well this turn of events peaked my curiousity and I began to wonder how many students were also seeking outside help just to get caught up. I did some telephone surveying of our 3rd grader's parents and found 7 out of 45 people surveyed had their kids enrolled in some form of outside tutoring. 2 more said they were giving is serious consideration. That 15.5% and 20% of the sample that are either in tutoring or considering it, respectively. I brought these numbers before the board to raise the issue that our school system may be missing something at the lower performance levels. The school segregates readers by ability at the lower grade levels. In these lower groups, the kids can receive passing grades and move from one grade to the next, all the while, the school does nothing to address the fact that they're reading below grade level. We were told in parent teacher conferences that the focus of all of these lower reading groups was to be caught up to the same level as the middle reading group by year end. This apparently is not happening, because most of the same kids end up in the lower group the following year. I pointed to the school's testing and teaching methods as a possible area of improvement to focus on. Of course class size is likely another factor, and I pointed out that we've apparently got the resources to teach Spanish to our 7th and 8th graders while 1st - 3rd graders are falling behind on reading, but I did not want to turn this into another budget discussion. So I asked the board to direct the administration to carry out a study to better understand what's happening among our kids that may not be performing that well and find out how big of a problem is really is.I also raised one more issue... I went through the board meeting minutes from the past year and counted how many motions were raised and what the resulting votes were. 173 motions, 100% of them passed, 98% of them passed uninimously. A total of 3 "no" votes in all. I remarked that I couldn't believe that the board members so rarely had a difference of opinion... or perhaps they haven't been addressing the "tough issues." I asked them to challenge the adninistration and challenge themselves. Dr. Krause was volunteered to lead the reponse discussion. She began by distributing standardized test score results to those in attendance and spoke of how well the school is doing relative to the state and national averages and also presented evidence indicating year-on-year improvement in average test scores. Mr. Hill chimed in numerous times exhalting our teachers as highly skilled educators. Of course, my point had little to do with the grand mean of standardized test scores, nor did I intent to indict the ability of our teachers. But I replied by saying that I did not mean to cast dispersions upon the teaching staff, but they are working within a system that allows them to award B's and C's and continually advance students that are reading below grade level. Gerry Blohm addressed the board voting history by indicating that he was slightly taken aback by the implication that his vote was a rubber stamp. He mentioned that someone else had mentioned almost the same numbers in to him in the last 2 weeks... (I hadn't compiled my numbers until the day before - so it didn't come from me.) But he defended his voting record by complimenting the adminstration for coming to the board meetings with their "homework done." So that by the time a motion gets to voted on, the issues are usually all resolved. Some of the board members made some other comments, indicating (at least, this was my impression) some willingness to examine the grading system and possibly the testing system. Now this report is based on my recollection of what was said - not always the most reliable source - because I was involved in the discussion, not taking notes. A more accurate source (and one without the embedded editoial) may be the meeting minutes as posted on the District 3 website, but they won't be up until after the next board meeting so check that out if you're intrigued by the subject matter. Finally, I gathered my thoughts on the feedback I heard and composed an email to the board members with cc to the administration. I've included it below - note that it specifically requests a couple of items be placed on the agenda for this month. If there's no mention of these when the next agenda is posted, I'll be addressing the board again. Keep an eye out for the agenda - more community support of this issue could help. Read below to see specifically what I've asked for. ____________________________________________ District 3 Board Members, I want to thank you for the thoughtful discussion that took place Monday night in response the issues I brought up. I have a few thoughts I'd like to share with you now that I've had an opportunity to digest the feedback. My impression is the board and the administration appear reluctant to accept the validity of the number of students seeking outside tutoring as an indicator of the effectiveness of our school system's ability to keep students from falling behind. I think some valid points were made as to some of the other possible motivations some parents may have for pursuing tutoring for their children. Personally, I don't really think that's what's going on at our lower grade levels, but I'll accept the argument as valid nonetheless. As an alternative approach, I'd like to propose a study of the school's own report card records. Particularly, how many of our students are being scored as Reading Below Grade Level (RBGL), and what have been their corresponding letter grades? There are several telling metrics that can be pursued with this data: · # of students RBGL in the 1st grading period vs. # of students RBGL in the 4th grading period · # of students RBGL in 1st grade vs. # of students RBGL in 2nd grade of the following year, and so on, up to 4th grade. I'd like to see this data tracked over the last 5 to 7 years for trend analysis · letter grade progression of RBGL students though the school year vs. progression from RBGL to Reading At Grade Level Similar data for math scores would be useful, but there does not appear to be a line item on the report cards for performance at or below grade level in math. However, the math classes are separated by ability in the lower grade levels. Tracking the size of the lower group as the kids progress through the grades could also serve as an indicator. Through my profession I have obtained a Six Sigma Black Belt, meaning that I have been trained in, and have successfully applied, advanced methods of statistical analysis for process improvements. Often times you can make an incorrect conclusion about two sets data of being different from one another by just looking at their averages. You have to look at the spread of the data and how they overlap to determine if there is a statistically significant difference. I have the tools and skills to do this and would like to volunteer my services to analyze this data. As Dr. Krause pointed out, our standardized test scores as compared to state and national averages are good (I agree), and using my tutoring numbers as an example, she asked, "What about the other 80% that aren't experiencing a problem?" Focusing on averages and the majority can make it easy to miss what's happening at the extremes of the population. I would suspect the reading labs and other changes implemented in the last few years that were mentioned by Mr. Hill and Dr. Krause were architected with the general population in mind as well. The study I am proposing is obviously not focused on the kids that are doing well in our current system. The intent is to take a closer look at what's happening with children that may be underperforming, determine how large or small of an issue it really is, and possibly make some focused changes to better protect, what may be a significant number of kids, from falling behind. I am formally requesting that the pursuit of this study be placed on the agenda for the next board meeting. Finally, I would like to clarify an apparent misunderstanding that was relayed by Mr. Hill on Monday night with regard to the seating arrangement in reading circles. My comments to Dr. Krause were not related to reading circles. I expressed concern over the everyday arrangement of the desks in the classroom. The desks are arranged in patterns where the children are grouped together, primarily facing one another. Some children are more easily distracted than others and I know my son is one of them. But I also know, through my experience as a rec-council coach, he's not the only one. Sometimes it's hard to hold the attention of a group of 9-year-olds for 3 minutes – even with a referee's whistle – and that's just a ten-person soccer team. Now, place a more easily distracted child who is reading below grade level in a classroom of 25-30 students, and have him face one of his buddies instead of the front of the class, where the teacher is, and what do you expect the results will be? As I said Monday, my wife, Cynthia, volunteers in the classrooms a lot and has seen this environment first hand, and has commented to me on how often she sees children talking amongst themselves when they should be paying attention to the teacher. Perhaps the board members could take some time to see this for themselves as well. Maybe 80% of our kids can thrive in an environment like this, but I can't help thinking that it's contributes negatively to the progress of the others. What if we could turn 80% to 85% or more just by rearranging the seats? Again, I appreciate your thoughtful consideration on these issues and look forward to hearing this addressed at the next board meeting. Feel free to contact me at home (847-639-0285) or via email with any comments or questions. Regards, Tim Kassel

April 26th Board Meeting -- Ch-ch-ch-changes

2005-04-26T11:22:00.000-05:00

Top of last night's Board Meeting was the adjournment of the existing Board and the seating of the new Board. Bob Nunamaker, Pat Hughes, and President Paula Zasadil continued with the Board, Vice-President Don Rose retired, and Steve Knar joined the new Board. Rose and Kay Laube, who resigned from the Board during the Executive Session of the meeting, were presented with plaques to honor their service to the district.

After the current Board was adjourned, Supt. Hill presided over the balance of the meeting, which saw the swearing-in of the new Board members and the election of new officers. The new Board unanimously elected Zasadil as President and Doris Sadik as Vice-President of the new Board. Both were nominated without opposition. The Board also approved Bob Blumberg and Lois Bowman to continue as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.

A reception followed the seating of the new Board. Cake, punch, and coffee were served.

The Board issued a Press Release later in the meeting to announce the procedures for filling the vacancy left by Kay Laube. It reads as follows:
****************************************************************************
The Board of Education of Fox River Grove School District 3 announces a vacancy due to the recent resignation of Kay Laube, who was recently elected village president. The vacancy will be filled by School Board appointment until the regular school board election in April 2007. Persons interested in filling this vacancy will be interviewed by the current School Board on Monday, May 16th. Any individuals interested please contact Board Secretary, Lois Bowman, at the District Office at 403 Orchard Street to receive an application to be filled out and returned by Monday, May 9th. After that date, candidates will be notified to arrange an interview time.

If you have questions regarding this process, please call Superintendent John Hill at the District Office (847) 516-5100.
****************************************************************************

The newly appointed Board member will be seated at the May 23rd Board meeting.

Preview of Tonight's Meeting

2005-04-25T07:13:00.000-05:00

Tonight, District 3 will see the seating of Steve Knar as a Board Member, the retirement of Don Rose from the board, the election of School Board officers, and, after Executive Session, the resignation of Kay Laube from the board and the procedures for appointing her successor.

Also, there will be business to discuss.

You can see the agenda for tonight's meeting here. I will be there to follow the action. Questions and comments are encouraged; if you can't make it to the meeting, send them in. If you can make it to the meeting, I'll see you there!

Vote April 5th

2005-04-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

Remember, April 5th is Election Day in Fox River Grove. While there aren't any contested School Board races in District 3, there are races for Village President, Village Trustee, School Board 155 (Cary-Grove High School), and MCC. Be sure to vote Tuesday and make your voice heard!

March 21 Board Meeting - Getting Personnel

2005-04-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

There were some personnel announcements made at the March 21 Board meeting. Beth Diller resigned as part-time Special Education Teacher Aide, but will remain as part-time Reading Lab teacher.

The following tenured teachers were officially re-employed for the 2005-2006 school year:

ARS
Beth Achey, Special Education
Jennie Bebber, 2nd Grade
Mary Ellen Bebber, Art
Pat Beebe, 3rd Grade
Kathleen Cooker, 1st Grade
Rick Knapp, 2nd Grade
Lora LeGrand, Kindergarten
Erin Lopez, Special Education
Sharon McAtee, Physical Education
Paulette Nichols, 1st Grade
Bonny Patterson, 3rd Grade
Debbie Randall-Hayes, Kindergarten
Laura Richards, Library/Computers
Barb Savage, 3rd Grade
Shirley Slater, Kindergarten
Donna Stick, 4th Grade
Marge Tietz, 2nd Grade
Kathy Wagner, 1st Grade
Debra Yester, Title I Reading

FRGMS
Stephanie Barham, 5th Grade
John Danley, 7th/8th Grade Social Studies
Betty Foley, 5th Grade
Jackie Grosse, 7th/8th Grade Science
Rob Holton, 6th Grade Math; 6th/7th/8th Grade Computers
Greg King, 6th/8th Grade Reading/Social Studies
Don Lewan, Physical Education
Larry Merkel, 7th/8th Grade Language/Reading
Mary Beth Miller, 6th/7th Grade Science Health
Cindy Shaw, Special Education
Jane Szybowicz, 5th Grade
Debbie Wagner, 7th/8th Grade Math
Dave Warwak, Art

The following non-tenured teachers were re-employed and granted tenure:

ARS
Karen Shallcross, 4th Grade

FRGMS
Alisa Bruns, 6th/7th Language/Reading

The following non-tenured teachers were re-employed:

ARS
Beth Diller, part-time Reading Lab Teacher
Kim Scherzer, ECE

FRGMS
Rachel Prucnell, Special Education

ARS & FRGMS
Katrina O'Reilly-Greene, Chorus/Music/Drama
Brian Wetherbee, Band/Music

Rachel Bell was dismissed due to reduction in workforce for non-tenured faculty.

The following non-certified employees were re-employed:

ARS
Renee Baniqued, Teacher Aide
Jorge Brockhoeft, Custodian
Ilona Buetsch, Teacher Aide
Kelly Ford, Food Service/Custodian
Kathy Gira, Teacher Aide
Suzanne Grochecki, Lunchroom Supervisor
Carol Kregel, Teacher Aide
Beth Lombardino, Teacher Aide
Sue Roche, Teacher Aide
Terrie Smialek, Secretary
John Tekempe, Food Service
Vickie Walton, Head Custodian
There is one open position for a Lunchroom Supervisor

FRGMS
Linda Barham, Head Custodian
Evelyn Blau, Teacher Aide
Lori Brinkman, Teacher Aide
Gerry Cappellania, Food Service Director/Custodian
Penny Cole, Library Aide
Susan Hoffman, Teacher Aide
Janet Mollet, Food Service
Susan Pettigrew, Teacher Aide
Denise Rose, Secretary
Jana Still, Teacher Aide
Sue Winterton, Custodian
Ellen Zintl, Food Service
There is one open position for a Teacher Aide

District 3
Lois Bowman, Adm. Assistant/Board Secretary
Deb Fruhauff, Bus Driver
Sarah Ireland, Bookkeeper
Chris Jacob, Head Bus Driver
Rick Miller, Maintenance Director
Destiny Sadoski, Nurse
Brian Sawyer, Network Specialist
Marge Stefani, Bus Driver

March 21 Board Meeting - Q&A

2005-04-03T13:08:00.000-05:00

Finally, I have a little time to write about what happened at the March 21 Board meeting. I thank you all for your patience.

The meeting's public comment section had one speaker, Tim Kassel, who spoke about the increased teacher workload, and that this workload increase was due to budget constraints made by the Board. At the same time, Mr. Kassel noted that the Board is continuing with three administrators (one full-time superintendent and two full-time principals), and that the district can't afford and doesn't need three administrators. The Board thanked him without further comment.

Personally, I was very happy that Mr. Kassel came to the meeting and made these comments. I have made similar comments, both in Public Comment and with individual Board members, and I usually got the impression from the Board that they thought that this idea (that District 3 should have strongly considered having two administrators) was mine alone, even though I told them that this was a sentiment that was out in the community. My point then, and is now, that, if the Board did consider having only two administrators, they need to be openly and repeatedly telling the community why the idea wouldn't work; and if they did not consider the idea, they need to be openly and repeatedly telling the community why it was not considered.

I remember, in the days leading up to the referendum vote, a number of people mentioning that one of the budget cuts that would be made was that the district would go from three to two administrators when Supt. Hill left. There was a real disappointment from many in the community when this did not happen. Personally, I heard this from many people in the community, and it was one of the reasons that led to the creation of Partnership for Schools. I am very glad that Mr. Kassel came and shared his comments with the Board, and remind them that the concerns raised are not individual concerns, but concerns throughout the community.

Agenda for Monday, March 21 Meeting is Posted

2005-03-20T17:38:00.000-06:00

The agenda for the next Board Meeting, which is on Monday, March 21 at 7:30 pm, has been posted at the District 3 website. You can view the agenda here.

If you can make it to the meeting, please do. Nothing pleases the Board and the administration more than seeing eager, inquisitive faces at Board meetings. If, however, you can't attend, but have something you'd like to bring to the Board's attention, please send it in, and we'll bring it up (and post the response on the blog and the e-mail group).

Hill! Hill to Michigan! (Update)

2005-03-19T16:58:00.000-06:00

The Saginaw (MI) News has reported that the Bullock Creek Board of Education has hired John Hill as its new Superintendent, by a 6-0 vote. Hill will start his new job on July 1, 2005. You can read the story here. (It's about halfway down the page of very large, very red typeface.)

Feb 28 Meeting - Getting Technical

2005-03-10T19:48:00.000-06:00

Dr. Mahaffy rolled out the draft of the Tech Plan for District 3 at the Feb. 28 Board Meeting. The plan must remain a draft until it is approved by the State of Illinois, after which, a final plan will need to be approved by the District 3 Board. A Tech Plan must be completed every 3 years; this Tech Plan would cover 2005 - 2008.

Dr. Mahaffy outlined two goals for this Tech Plan: continue to increase more effective communication, such as sending e-mail to parents, which has saved District 3 money vs. using postal mail; and to provide parent and community classes on technology.

Noting nearby McHenry County Community College, Bob Nunamaker remarked that advanced community classes on technology might not be what District 3 wants to get into. Dr. Jackie Krause countered that such classes would give the district a chance to show off the computer labs. Nunamaker further commented that these classes may have a diminishing return. Dr. Krause said that these classes would only be offered if there was interest in the community. Nunamaker remarked that there would be more interest if the classes were free, or available at a lower cost. Supt. Hill said that one of the goals for these classes is that they would be cost-nuetral; that the fees collected would cover the costs of offering the classes.

Pat Hughes suggested waiting to see what surveys say when they come back. Don Rose commented that these classes would provide a benefit to people in the community without children in district schools. Kay Laube noted that Algonquin Township and the Memorial Library already offer classes like this, either free or at a nominal cost. Jim McNutt, a member of the Library Board who was in attendance at the meeting, said that Library classes and programs of this nature are offered free of charge.

After the discussion, the Board approved unanimously a $10.00 fee for community classes.

Dr. Mahaffy then went on to further describe the Tech Plan. He said that the Tech Plan would include on-line and CD-ROM textbooks. The last couple of Tech Committee meetings will focus on curriculum. The plan also would include Grade Logic, a web-based grade book program. Grade Logic, along with Home Logic, would allow parents to see a student's progress in real time. Parents would also be able to check a student's attendance and discipline records. These programs are currently used by neighboring Districts 155 and 26. These programs would roll out to Fox River Grove Middle School in year two of the seven-year plan, and to Algonquin Road School in year three. Dr. Mahaffy noted that five or six parents have asked him, without any solicitation, why District 3 does not use these programs.

Don Rose asked if there was any issue with using these programs with parents who don't speak
English, or do not have Internet access. While Dr. Mahaffy noted that hard copies of records will still be maintained, Hill mentioned that parents could call the school and have the teacher check these records, or could use public computers, such as those found at the Memorial Library. Dr. Mahaffy further noted that, since Harvard and McHenry school districts use these programs, we can talk to them about solutions to language-barrier issues if or when the need arises.

Hill mentioned that the current technical budget is $55K, down from an average $88K.

Bob Nunamaker remarked that, under the technical plan, we would be buying computers for $700-$800.

Hill remarked that the original tech plan called for a budget of $80K/year, but Dr. Krause had another $10K cut out of the budget. Dr. Mahaffy also noted that, with a 7-year life cycle for computers, that Brian Sawyer will be able to have five or six computers that can be used for parts. Hill said that, if we maintained a $50K/year technical budget, the computers would have a life-cycle of 12-13 years. Dr. Mahaffy added that, under the proposed tech plan, Brian Sawyer has said that he will be able to maintain servers as well.

Nunamaker asked if there was any way he could cut this budget. Dr. Krause joked that he could charge higher fees for community classes.

Gerry Blohm asked where we would get the additional $30K for the new tech budget. Hill said that we will not be deficit-spending; he said that if we reduce spending by $30K/year, which he thinks is a conservative estimate, then we would have no problem with this tech plan. He also said that we are treating technology differently than other areas.

Nunamaker said that he thought we were close to finding the $30K/year, but cautioned the Board that the money can only be spent once. He said that taxpayers are at their limit, and the state is at its limit, so schools have to become more efficient. "We're between a rock and a hard place", he said.

Pat Hughes said that he thought it would be a challenge to keep to a seven-year life cycle for computers. He remarked that the industry average life cycle for a computer is five years.

After all comments, the Board voted 5-0 to go forward with the tech plan.

Feb 28 Meeting - Getting Some Dates

2005-03-10T19:43:00.000-06:00

Dr. Tim Mahaffy presented the District Calendar for the 2005-2006 school year. In his remarks, Dr. Mahaffy said that this calendar was developed in association with the Cary-Grove High School and surrounding school districts. He said that this may enable District 3 to coordinate certain events, such as some in-service activities, in coordination with neighboring schools.

The Board approved the 2005-2006 calendar by a voice vote, with all attending members voting in favor of the calendar.

Feb 28 Meeting - Get on the Bus(es)

2005-03-10T18:59:00.000-06:00

At the Feb. 28 Board meeting, Supt. Hill brought up leasing three school buses from Midwest Transit Equipment. He said that the district would need three new buses for next school year. During his presentation, Hill commented that leasing would cost the district less than purchasing the buses, and leasing would save on repair costs. He remarked that Midwest Transit Equipment has the facilities to do mobile repair on the buses, and that the repairman lives in Fox River Grove. In answer to Board Member Gerry Blohm's question, Hill stated that the cost of purchasing one bus is approximately $50,000. Hill noted that leasing was more cost-effective to the district than buying, because we have a small district with few buses.

Vice-President Don Rose, who chaired the meeting, noted that if we lose a bus, we lose 25% of our bus fleet. Supt. Hill followed by stating that we currently have one spare bus available to the district.

The Board approved the lease of three buses, at $29,250.00, or $9,750.00 per bus, by a vote of 5-0. As previously noted, Paula Zasadil and Doris Sadik were absent.

Feb 28 Meeting - We Have a Warrant

2005-03-10T18:14:00.000-06:00

Supt. John Hill noted that the Tax Anticipation Warrants discussed in last month's meeting have arrived. They were received on February 15. He said that the District will pay an effective rate of 3.625% to pay off the warrants, which had an interest rate of 2.50%. He remarked that this rate was 1.5% higher than last year's rate for Tax Anticipation Warrants.

Board member Pat Hughes noted that the sooner we pay these warrants off, the better. Board member Bob Nunamaker remarked that if the taxes were paid out to the district in a more timely manner, that these warrants might not be necessary.

In response to a question from resident Jim McNutt, Supt. Hill said that the total cost of these warrants is $36,800.

The Board approved the Treasurer's Report, which contained the information about the Tax Anticipation Warrants, by a vote of 5-0. Paula Zasadil and Doris Sadik were absent.

Feb 28 Board Meeting - Q&A

2005-03-07T12:19:00.000-06:00

OK, I know the meeting was a week ago. And I'm just now getting to posting the items. Well, I wanted to start with the Q&A, because that's usually first in the meeting, and because there was some discussion on the e-mail list just prior to the meeting, I wanted to post this one first, and I just couldn't right away, because I was getting some additional information after the meeting. So, while the additional information doesn't have the benefit of being confirmed or denied by anyone on an official basis, it does answer some questions.

As far as who was asking questions, it was me. Since a few people on the e-mail list were talking about the incident at the Middle School, I asked the Board what happened and what was being done. I had two reasons for wanting to bring these questions to a Board Meeting, since I could as easily have asked the same questions to the administration or the Board members via e-mail: the first reason was that, by asking at a Board meeting, it gave all parties a chance to answer and to hear what others on the Board or Administration said; the second reason was that, by asking at a Board meeting, the question would be placed in the meeting's minutes, and there would be some public record of the response. Since a few people asked about the incident, and no one seemed satisfied with the responses they were being given, this was important to me.

Supt. Hill fielded the question, and as you may suspect, he didn't provide many answers. He said that the issue was resolved and that the parents of the students involved had been involved in the resolution of the incidents themselves. I asked him if he thought this was an isolated incident, and he said it was -- it has only happened once, so it's very isolated. He closed by saying that he cannot divulge any more information due to privacy concerns.

Now, for what wasn't said nor confirmed. It wasn't until much later that I learned that the student who committed the act had been removed from the school and will not be back. I also learned that Dr. Mahaffy wrote several letters to the parents of the Middle School students, in an attempt to explain what happened and what actions were taken, but decided that all of his drafts would jeopardize privacy.

While I would personally like the administration and the Board members to be more forthcoming with information on these kinds of incidents, I also appreciate the right of individuals to privacy. As a parent, I wouldn't want any more information than is necessary for me to be assured that my children are safe in the school. "Trust us" isn't always enough for parents to have this assurance. Yet, I also understand the need for privacy. There really isn't a need for parents or students to get into the lives of the students involved in any incident beyond what is necessary to feel that the school is safe and a good learning environment. Maybe, in this case, it isn't possible for the administration or the Board to give all of the information the parents need. I'm still researching and asking questions to see if the privacy concerns cited are statutory, or District policy, or both. But, as much as I express frustration that the Board and administration needs to be more forthcoming with information to the community, I don't see an effort to sweep this incident under the rug. What I keep hearing is that, in this case at least, the school district is trying to find a way to inform the community, and has decided to err on the side of privacy.

I come away with as many questions as answers. What information would I need to be confident my kids are safe, and that an incident won't happen again? What are the boundaries that violate the right to privacy? In many incidents across the country, newspaper stories give details; do these stories violate the right to privacy? I'd like to keep a dialogue going between the community, the administration, and the members of the Board, to try to find a way for all of us to be comfortable and satisfied with the information we give and get.

Hill! Hill to Michigan? (Update)

2005-03-03T11:09:00.000-06:00

Supt. Hill is one of two finalists for the superintendent position in Midland, MI, and will interview with the Bullock Creek Board of Education tonight at 7:00 pm.

http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1109692274261820.xml

He is also a candidate for the superintendent position in Lake City, MI, where, according to the article, " relationships and communication were key topics". The story quotes Hill as saying, "I believe the essence of the role of superintendent is to build an environment where great people can do their best work."

You can read that story here:
http://www.cadillacnews.com/articles/2005/03/03/news/news04.txt

I'll keep you posted as updates come my way....

Steve

A Night Out for Nancy

2005-02-24T12:06:00.000-06:00

The Alumni Club at

The Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake

March 6, 2005

6-10 pm

Nancy Kiefer has been a resident of Fox River Grove for over 14 years. During that time she has served as an active volunteer in many FRG programs, including the PTO, religious education and as president of the FRG special events committee. Since the end of January, Nancy has been hospitalized with a severe form of pneumonia and a blood infection.

It’s time to return to Nancy and the Kiefer family all that they have given to us. A fundraiser is being held at the Alumni Club in Crystal Lake.

Come and join us for a fun time for a great cause.

Snacks, drinks, raffles, billiards.

A $10.00 donation is requested but no amount is too small or too great. Donations will also be accepted at Harris Bank, just ask for “The Nancy Kiefer Help Fund”

All proceeds will go to the Kiefer family to cover expenses they have incurred due to this unfortunate illness.

For further info please contact: b.dudzinski@sbcglobal.net

Hill! Hill to Michigan?

2005-02-24T08:07:00.000-06:00

The Saginaw (MI) News reported yesterday that one of the candidates for superintendant of Bullock Creek's schools is our very own John Hill. Hill will interview with the Bullock Creek Board of Education Saturday morning.

Link to story:
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1109173846237461.xml

So, instead of retiring south, maybe John will head north when he leaves District 3?

Steve

Meet the New Boss

2005-02-06T15:40:00.000-06:00

District 3 hired Karen Machroli as the principal for Algonquin Road School for the 2005-2006 school year. The vote was unanimous, 6-0 (Don Rose absent). Machroli currently serves as principal for Hiawatha Elementary School in Kirkland, IL, in Hiawatha School District 426. She has been at this school since at least the 2001-2002 school year.

You can see an overview of Hiawatha Elementary School, with results of recent test scores, here.

District Donations

2005-02-06T15:00:00.000-06:00

At the January 24th Board Meeting, Supt. Hill noted, during the superintendant's report, a couple of donations made to the district. One anonymous donor gave $5K to the district to pay the activity fee for students who will be on the Middle School track team. Because of this donation, which was made specifically for this purpose, athletes on the track team will not have to pay the $100 fee for participating in track.

Supt. Hill also acknowledged the Fox River Grove Rec. Council for its donation of $2800 to the district to help pay for bleacher improvements that were done this year in the middle school.

Board Member Gerry Blohm remarked that when times are darkest in District 3, the community comes through. Supt. Hill echoed the sentiment, saying that Fox River Grove is the most amazing community he's ever seen, and that the spirit of volunteerism is ingrained in the values of this community.

District 3 -- By The Numbers

2005-02-05T16:58:00.000-06:00

A treasurer Report was presented at the January 24, 2005 Board meeting by Bob Blumberg. Mr. Blumberg noted that the District's current accounts are in Money Market funds at Harris Bank, where they receive an enhanced Money Market rate. Supt. Hill added that all of the District's funds are in interest-bearing accounts.

Then, came the Tax Anticipation Warrants. These are loans made to the District because tax money will not be received before certain bills and payments are due, so the District needs to borrow money in anticipation of taxes that will come. Since the election is in April, and the county clerk's office can't assess property taxes until after the election, so tax payments and tax distributions to District 3 will be pushed back approximately 3 weeks. Supt. Hill expects that the district won't see any local tax dollars until the end of July.

So, the Board approved by a 6-0 vote (Don Rose was absent) a Tax Anticipation Warrant for $1.3M. Supt. Hill said that he was trying to keep the dollars requested as low as possible because of the interest the district will need to pay on the warrant. He also said that hopefully, as the district's fund balances increase, the need for Tax Anticipation Warrants would be reduced or eliminated. He added, "We didn't get into this [financial situation] overnight, and we're not going to get out of it overnight."

Supt. Hill estimated that the District's cost for issuing the warrant be $25K in interest and fees. Board member Bob Nunamaker asked if there was some way of the district getting a better rate on these warrants. Supt. Hill and Mr. Blumberg answered that, because the bonds issued for a Tax Anticipation Warrant are so secure, that they don't think they could get more than 1/10th of a point better in the rate.

Board Meeting Monday, Jan 24

2005-01-23T17:07:00.000-06:00

Note: a previous posting had the wrong date for the meeting. The meeting is Monday, Jan. 24. Honest.

The agenda for Monday's Board Meeting is posted on the District's web site. The first item after executive session is the hiring of the new principal for ARS for the next school year.

We'll be at the meeting, of course, and will be taking your questions or comments with us. If you have something for the Board, just send it in, and we'll post the response after the meeting. As always, if you can attend the meeting, please do.

Thanks again for your continued support!

Steve

Truth in Taxation

2005-01-02T11:29:00.000-06:00

The December 16, 2004 meeting held a Truth in Taxation hearing. This hearing is required whenever the District's tax levy exceeds a 5% increase over the previous year.

Supt. John Hill commented that District 3 funding is based on property tax and equalized assessed valuation (EAV) of the district. He added that District 3 lives and dies by these, because we get so little funding from the State of Illinois, so District 3 funds come more from property taxes than do the funds for some other school districts. He also said that we don't know what the district's EAV will be until April, after property taxes are paid, so the District bases a lot of it's tax levy on estimates.

The estimates used for this tax levy is 10% of EAV. Since the tax levy is made in dollars, not percent, the District can lose tax money if the levy is too little.

Based on a 10% tax levy, District 3 is requesting $4,369,937.00. They anticipate getting $4,071,059.00 in tax dollars once the EAV is known. The rates estimated to be allocated to the different funds are as follows:

Education -- 2.7400
Building -- 0.2045
Transportation -- 0.0981
IMRF -- 0.0471
Working Cash -- 0.0391
Special Education -- 0.0164
Tort Liability -- 0.0774
Social Security -- 0.0959
Bond -- 0.3680

Supt. Hill noted that as the EAV increases, the rates allocated to all funds except Education will go down, so that the money from the tax increase goes to the Education fund. He also said that existing property EAV in Fox River Grove is expected to increase less than it did last year.

There was one development that is important for taxpayers in Fox River Grove, and in fact, in all of Illinois, to be aware of. Hill noted that the Illinois Association of School Boards is working to change the tax cap basis from Consumer Price Index (CPI), where it is currently, to the Employer Price Index (EPI). The bottom line for taxpayers is that this change would allow school districts to increase property taxes without passing a referendum (because the property tax levy would be based on a different index).

Now I may be wrong about this, and please discuss this issue in the blog comments and on the e-mail list, but I think that this is the wrong time for school districts to unilaterally act to raise property taxes. Yes, such a change would free District 3 and many other districts from a very short financial leash, and I have no doubt that some school boards will be salivating at the chance to get extra funding despite the voters' wishes. But, however badly the funds are needed (and I don't doubt that many districts desperately need the funds; District 3 is in remarkably good shape compared with other districts in McHenry County), I think it is unwise to leave behind the long-term benefits of school districts and residents working together to solve funding problems in order to see short-term gains in money flow. District 3 and the residents of Fox River Grove have shown remarkable creativity and dedication to solving the funding problems here. Taxpayers and the School Board working together hasn't been easy, but it has shown great promise, even in this very short time since the referendum vote in April. Funding reform for schools is needed in Illinois; there is no question about that. But, there are better ways for school districts to reach financial solvency than an end run around the taxpayers.

Official Minutes for the November 22, 2004 Meeting

2005-01-02T11:26:00.000-06:00

The official minutes for the November Board meeting were posted at the District 3 website. You can read them here.

Hey, wasn't there a Board meeting a while back?

2005-01-02T11:17:00.000-06:00

I know, I know.... The last Board meeting was on December 16th, and I'm just writing about it now. With end-of-the-quarter work piling up, the holidays, one car accident (Amy is still sore, but basically, everyone's OK, and the cars are repairable), well, things just snowballed these last two weeks (sorry for the winter pun, but when it's just been in the mid 50's for the last of December, I feel like I can sneak one in). Hope your holidays were filled with joy, and welcome to what I hope will be a great New Year!

There were no questions or comments for the Board at this meeting. Remember, if you have questions or comments, and are unable to attend a Board meeting, please e-mail them in or post them as a comment to the blog, and we will bring them to the Board for you and post the response right here.

Daily Herald Article on School Report Cards

2004-12-15T13:44:00.000-06:00

Today's Daily Herald has an article on how school districts and schools have fared with their School Report Cards. While the article doesn't mention District 3, there is a link to a search page, where you can see the District 3 results. Both ARS and FRGMS are listed as passing schools.

The article is here.
The search page is here.

The clicking on each school's More Information link shows information on average attendance, average teacher experience, average teacher salary, average administrator salary, revenue from property taxes, instructional spending per pupil, and operational spending per pupil.

Here is some of the information on ARS: (If two numbers are listed, the first is for the school, and the second is for the district.)

Average Daily Attendance 96.0% 95.8%
Low-income students 3.2% 5.9%
Limited English proficiency 0.0% 0.0%
% Teachers not highly qualified 0% 0%
Average teacher experience 12.2 years
Teachers with advanced degrees 55.6%
Average teacher salary $49,746.00
Average administrator salary $107,901.00
Revenue from property taxes 65.3%
Instructional spending per pupil $4,133.00
Operating spending per pupil $7,201.00
Passing Scores: 90.4% (District: 82.1%)

And for FRGMS:

Average Daily Attendance 95.7% 95.8%
Low-income students 8.5% 5.9%
Limited English proficiency 0.0% 0.0%
% Teachers not highly qualified 0% 0%
Average teacher experience 12.2 years
Teachers with advanced degrees 55.6%
Average teacher salary $49,746.00
Average administrator salary $107,901.00
Revenue from property taxes 65.3%
Instructional spending per pupil $4,133.00
Operating spending per pupil $7,201.00
Passing Scores: 77.9% (District: 82.1%)

The next Board Meeting is Thursday, Dec. 16

2004-12-10T15:18:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder that the next School Board meeting will be on Thursday, December 16. Hopefully, some people who are usually unable to attend the Monday night meetings will be able to attend this one. If you are able to attend, and haven't been able to yet, I recommend coming to watch the Board and administrators in action.

If you are able to attend, and would like to write a summary of what you saw, I encourage you to do so. Either Amy or I will write a summary, but ours is just one point of view. There's a good chance that others will see something I don't at a meeting (or be more likely to get all of the names right!), and the more perspectives, the better. They all go a long way toward helping your fellow neighbors stay informed and involved. Submissions can be sent to me at webmaster@partnershipforschools.org.

Of course, if you find that you cannot attend the meeting, but would like us to bring up a question or comment to the Board, we're happy to help! Post your questions and comments to the e-mail group, or as a comment to an item on the News Blog, or to webmaster@partnershipforschools.org. Answers and responses will be posted to the News Blog and to the e-mail group after the Board Meeting.

Continued thanks for your support of this effort, and your involvement in the District! Your efforts, questions, and comments make working, living, and studying in District 3 the best it can be!

Steve

Lost our coaches... We need help

2004-12-07T08:14:00.000-06:00

In case you hadn't received this, Dr. Mahaffy sent this e-mail yesterday evening. If you can help, please call the District 3 office at (847) 516-5100, or Dr. Mahaffy at the number below. Thanks!

Steve
**********************************
Dear Parents:

We have recently lost our two boys volleyball coaches due to changes in job situations or family situations. One of them may be able to continue to help on a part time basis. If you or someone you know might be able to help us out, please contact Mr. Holton or myself ASAP. The first tryout is Monday, January 3rd. This gives us only 2 weeks prior to break to find 2 coaches. Again, this is on a volunteer basis. Please contact the office if you have any ideas.

Also, if anyone is interested in being the coach for the academic team or coordinating the talent show. We still need these individuals.

We hope that we will be able to fill these volunteer positions so that their activities will not have to be cancelled.

Dr. Tim Mahaffy

Fox River Grove Middle School
401 Orchard Street
Fox River Grove, IL 60021

PH: 847-462-2324
Fax: 847-516-5104

Daily Herald Article on New Teachers Contract

2004-11-24T18:35:00.000-06:00

Patrick Garmoe's article on the new teachers contract is in today's Daily Herald, and is also available on-line here.

Getting a Fix on Assets.... Continued... To Be Continued....

2004-11-24T18:29:00.000-06:00

The Board was to hear a presentation from Sean Rager of Industrial Appraisal Company and a proposal for doing an on-site inspection and compiling a Fixed Asset Listing for District 3. The total proposal was $5,445.00 to complete the Fixed Asset Listing. Action on the project was tabled by the Board until the December 16, 2004 meeting, as Mr. Rager did not attend the meeting, and no presentation was given.

Cursing the Glare

2004-11-24T18:19:00.000-06:00

Fox River Grove resident, and McHenry County Board member, Dan Shea wrote a letter to the Board, asking, on behalf of several residents on the South side of the Middle School building, to consider repositioning the outside lighting on the building's South side. His letter said that the lighting illuminates the homes on that side of the building, causing sleep problems for those living in these homes.

The Board noted in this past Monday's meeting that the architect of the Middle School expansion recommended the current lighting as a way to curb vandalism. Police Chief Polston has also told the District that the lighting helps police observe the school grounds at night.

Board member Bob Nunamaker said that he walked the South side of the school grounds before the meeting, and it seemed to him that the street lights look brighter than the school lighting does. He also suggested that the South side residents have been very good neighbors, and that the district should examine if a shield can be provided to curb the brightness of the school lighting. Supt. John Hill noted that new lenses could be bought to curb the light, but wondered if the new lenses would still adequately light the school grounds. The more area that is lit, Supt. Hill said, the more chance there is that police will be able to see someone who might be tresspassing on school property at night.

The Board and Supt. Hill concluded that the the District would inform Dan Shea that they will invesitgate whether or not new lenses for the school lighting would adequately resolve the issue. If Supt. Hill discovers that new lenses would resolve the issue, and the cost is less than $500.00, then Supt. Hill will purchase the lenses; if the cost is over $500.00, the Board will need to approve the purchase.

Shocking!

2004-11-24T15:40:00.000-06:00

The Board approved purchase of three Lifepak CR defibrillator units and three wall cabinets. Each wall cabinet has an alarm, to curb use of the defibrillator unless it is needed.

Supt. John Hill said in his presentation that a defibrillator unit will be required by the state of Illinois to be in all public buildings with athletic facilities in the next 3 years. Supt. Hill got an estimate for three units and three wall cabinets, one unit and wall cabinet for each school gymnasium. The estimate was obtained from Medtronic, and had a total cost of $6,612.30. An additional rebate of $300 is available for each unit if purchased before 12/15/2004, which lowers the cost to $5,712.30.

Board member Kay Laube inquired as to what the District's liability would be with the defibrillator units. Supt. Hill replied that, since the units will be required by law (in an unfunded mandate), the District's liability will be in not having the units available. He noted that the units offer verbal instruction and guidance to the user, and will not produce electric shock if not used properly, or if the unit detects that the victim's heart does not need electric shock.

Supt. Hill remarked that appropriate school personnel would be trained in the use of the defibrillator units, and that training may be made available to Rec. Council coaches and staff as well. Lauren Rosenthal, who was in attendance at the meeting, noted that state law requires that the most trained person at the scene of defibrillation should use the unit, and may not hand over care of the victim to someone less qualified.

Board member Gerry Blohm asked about the life expectancy of the units. Supt. Hill stated that the units have a 5-year warranty, though he expects the units to last beyond the warranty period, and that the batteries for the units and cabinets have a 2-year life expectancy.

Purchase of the three defibrillator units and wall cabinets was approved by the Board with all members voting "Yes" (Board member Don Rose not present).

Gimme Shelter

2004-11-24T15:31:00.000-06:00

The Board considered a quote on construction and materials for improving the shelter of the school buses. Supt. John Hill approached this topic at the previous meeting, but no action was taken until the Board had a better idea of the costs involved. The improvements to the transportation facilities are needed, Supt. Hill said, because the school buses have been exposed to some degree of vandalism. Supt. Hill got one quote from Fox Valley Fence of South Elgin, IL for $8,507.00 for materials and one quote from Wilford Concrete of Fox River Grove, IL for $4,200.00 for construction.

Board member Bob Nunamaker inquired why we didn't get two quotes for the project. Supt. Hill replied that the estimates for this project are below the level which would require him to get two quotes, but that he can get additional quotes if the Board requests him to. Mr. Nunamaker said that additional quotes help him understand the value of the quotes obtained. Board member Gerry Blohm added that he likes the idea of the project being done by a local, taxpayer-owned business.

The construction project was approved by the Board with all members voting "Yes" (Board member Don Rose not present).