McHenry County Blog

The Northwest Herald published a long letter of resignation from former Cary School District 26 School Board President David Ruelle.

He just resigned as the school district’s finances are tanking.

One item in the letter was Ruelle pointing out;

“For the third year in a row, the District exceeded its expenditure budget.”

He omitted how this is prohibited under the Illinois School Code. Must not have any meaningful consequential in the law.

So why would a board member, who became board president, allow such overspending with apparently inadequate accountability for Superintendent Brian Coleman?

Is it because his wife is a teacher in Cary District 26?

I’ve never gotten this “serve on the school board with a wife on your payroll” approach to public service.

It’s not exactly a phenomenon. Huntley School District 158’s past President Mike Skala has a wife who is a Huntley High School teacher. She was even co-president of the teachers’ union.

It always stuck me as a conflict of interest or at least an appearance of a conflict of interest.

Apparently Skala agreed, because, last time around, he didn’t participate in the union negotiations.

But, back to District 26.

You can find the salary/compensation info for the ex-school board president’s wife Elizabeth Rulle on the Champion web site.

There you can see;

Ruelle, Elizabeth A – $92,821

That is more than Thom Gippert , Principal of Maplewood School, is reported to make in the same database.

Gippert, Thomas R – $89,084

Ruelle voted to not close Maplewood school.

Mrs. Ruelle’s compensation also compares favorably with Principal Chad Nass at Briargate School in the same database.

Nass, Chad W – $88,864

The above is 2008 data.

District 26 has the highest average teachers’ salaries in McHenry County for all elementary or unit school districts, according to a chart published by the Northwest Herald.

That’s probably because of a school board caved a couple of years ago when the teachers went on strike.

Ruelle didn’t formally vote for his wife’s current teachers contract. He abstained.  He apparently did negotiate the contract’s compensation for the 2006-8 contract, plus terms and conditions.  The 2008-11 contract had the same terms and conditions as 2006-8, just different salary schedules.  He abstained on that vote, too.

It’s hard to believe this is perfectly legal in Illinois with all of our ethics and conflict of interest laws.

Wait a minute.

No, it isn’t.

The Illinois Education Association (the teachers’ union for most teachers outside of Chicago) is one of the most influential special interest groups in Illinois.

One of the provisions that Ruelle did not get removed from his wife’s teachers’ contract is this:

2. A post-retirement lump sum payment of $20,000 to be paid after the certified staff member’s last day of creditable service and after the last paycheck for regular earnings (after July 1st of retirement year) as a non-elective employer paid contribution into a post-retirement tax sheltered 403(b) annuity.

You can find it using this link. Go to electronic page 27.

Does any school district around, besides Cary, have this cash retirement wealth transfer?

Ruelle’s letter of resignation complaining about being fiscally responsible reminds me of a scene from the movie Casablanca. Maybe this dialogue will remind you of it:

Captain Renault:   “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on, in here!”Croupier walks over and gives Renault a lot of money.

Croupier:  “Your winnings, sir.

Captain Renault:   “Oh, thank you very much.”

It’s fair to say that Ruelle wanted his board to vote for another tax increase referendum.

When you have lump sum $20,000 give aways in a teachers’ contract, in view of the current economy, it’s easy to explain why residents would vote “No” to using their money to ratify such a policy.

= = = = =
For those who need more of an explanation about the dialogue from “Casablanca,” I offer this from MSNBC:

Remember when Captain Renault, looking for an excuse to close down Rick’s, declares himself “shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here,” just before the croupier hands him his winnings?

Ever since, people have used that double-adjective to describe the false innocence of public officials: those who know the score, benefit from the score, and then loudly condemn the score.

The Cary District 26 School Board drama started with the authorization of a $17 million Working Cash Fund referendum.

I am no fan of Working Cash Funds.

They are mechanisms whereby school districts borrow money for current operations and, after having drained the fund, can borrow the money again with asking for additional permission.
They are basically credit cards that never get paid off.

Voting for the measure were

• Board President Craig Loew
• Stephen Bush
• Julie Jette
• Dave Ruelle

Those opposed were

• Chris Jenner
• Randy Lawrence
• Julie Lehman

Four of the school board members were up for re-election Tuesday, three who voted for putting the referendum on the ballot and Chris Jenner, who opposed it.

The electorate seem to give women bonus votes around here.

You may remember that my research shows that a woman gets about a five percentage point advantage in elections. I speculate that it may be there have been many, many fewer crooked women politicians around here than men.

In any event referendum supporter Julie Jette won re-election, getting more votes than anyone else for the four-year term. Jette was appointed in 2008.

Second was referendum opponent Chris Jenner.

Newcomer Christopher Spoerl captured the third of four seats.

He’s currently president of the D-26 Education Foundation. His wife is PTO president and was on the FACT committee in 2003-4. That was the committee that worked with PMA Financial to try to soften up the community for a big tax hike referendum.

Incumbent and referendum proponent Dave Ruelle got the final four-year term.

Coming in out of the money, so to speak, even though school board members are not paid, was Board President Craig Loew, one of the referendum’s supporters.

Jenner, Ruelle and Loew, running for re-election, were first elected in 2005. They, along with Lawrence ran a coordinated campaign that year.

The results on the McHenry County Clerk’s web site last night were

• Julie Jette – 1,512
• Chris Jenner – 1,494
• Christopher Spoerl – 1,477
• Dave Ruelle – 1,407
• Craig Loew – 1,288

Spoerl was first on the ballot, giving him something of ballot placement advantage.

Vicki Lynn Pesch was unopposed for the two-year term. She got 1,871 votes. She was part of the committee urging a “Yes” vote on the Working Cash Fund referendum.

1,754 voted against the bond issue, while 922 supported it.

66% – “No;” 34% “Yes.”

A school board president has not lost a re-election bid since Huntley Mike Skala’s narrow defeat two years ago.
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The photo is of Chris Jenner fighting the Village of Cary’s TIF tax hike across from the Cary train station.

“Ax your tax” seems to have been the sentiment of most tax hike referendum voters in McHenry County this election.

Voters in this recession were not kind to tax district officials’ requests for referendums to raise taxes on April 7th.

The Nunda Township Open Space referendum went down to defeat. See

While incomplete results of the $178 million bond referendum placed on the ballot by Elgin Community College was ahead last night when I wrote this story

the missing precincts in Cook County must have been pretty negative. Elgin’s Courier-News is reporting a victory margin of just 29 votes. You have to see what the Elgin paper did for the referendum’s passage on Sunday. Click on the link.

This is an excellent example of how limiting campaign contributions of non-newspaper owners will have a negative effect.

How could a private individual get as much impact opposing a referendum as the Elgin Courier did in its front page support of it.

McHenry County voters in the ECC district, coterminous with District 300, voted against it 1,162 to 798.

Cary Grade School District’s $17 million Working Cash Fund bond issue went down the tubes by a vote of 1,754 to 922. Almost two-thirds voted “No.”

The Marengo-Union Grade School District 165 tax rate hike tanked 62% to 38%.

The only referendum which the McHenry County Clerk’s web site shows passing is that of the Spring Grove Fire Protection District. It has a 10 vote lead. The tally, without including absentee and early votes, is 769-759.

You have to hand it to the Cary Grade School Board.

It’s majority is holding a tax hike referendum in the middle of the biggest recession since the early 1980’s. Here are the details posted by the elementary school district.

And, here is minority school board member Chris Jenner’s position against the referendum:

Chris Jenner’s Personal Position
on the April 7
Bond Referendum Question

I voted against putting the referendum on the ballot. Excellent schools have sound facilities and current technology – I support that.

With our district already $26 million in debt, and considering the current economic climate, I don’t support asking taxpayers to further increase the D-26 debt load with no clearly defined spending plan.

We must find more efficient and creative financing means than simply enriching the same old folks that cash in every time school bonds are issued.

Significant sums of money are involved in the issuance of school bonds, and the process goes with little scrutiny in most cases. Should the voters approve the referendum, I will work to ensure the bonds are sold as cost-efficiently and as transparently as possible.

I’d like to see the district seek approval for major capital projects individually, and explore whether vendors might work directly with us on financing. The district should also investigate the possibility of obtaining waivers from costly government regulations such as the Prevailing Wage Act.

More and more local candidates have decided that the internet is a good place to campaign.

Running for re-election in Cary is taxpayer advocate Chris Jenner. Here’s where you find his web site.

Here’s some of what the school board member who probably was the first in Illinois to proposal anti-pay-to-play legislation for a local tax district:

I am seeking re-election to the Cary D-26 school board. I’m very proud of what the D-26 board has accomplished over the past four years.

I’ve gained a good understanding of how the system works and what the main problems are. I’d like to continue working on the improvements that need to be made to maintain D-26’s superior delivery of educational services and bring us to a stable financial model.

I started following education closely in the late 1990s after reading several articles questioning America’s intellectual superiority. Education is a fourth need for survival, right behind food, clothing, and shelter. My involvement in education is driven by wanting our children to become a literate and educated electorate, and to be highly functional and successful in a global economic society.

When reviewing school performance, one can’t help but compare educational results with the level of spending. The primary purpose of schools is to educate children — not to be free health care centers, jobs programs, or government fund raising operations.

Excellent education requires outstanding staff and programs, and engaged parents. It also demands that every dollar is spent as efficiently as possible, and has education of the students as the top priority.

For your children, your budget, and our community, I’m humbly asking to earn your vote on April 7.

I back up the importance I hold of educating children by my words, votes, and initiatives. Details follow, statements and votes can be verified in online meeting minutes. Call or email me to set up a neighborhood meeting if you would like to share your concerns about Cary’s K-8 schools, and to get to know me and my philosophies — and/or to help the campaign.

Phone 847-421-7655
Email cjenner01@yahoo.com

What Chris Jenner would Strive to Accomplish in his Second Term

• Continue to support a zero-based budget process to balance the district’s budget
• Expand, formalize, and closely monitor the bidding process to improve spending efficiency
• Continue to support and monitor implementation of Learning Expectations to keep D-26 academically strong
• Develop a plan to significantly reduce the district’s long-term debt
• Initiate a plan that will make D-26 a leader in renewable energy in schools
• Continue to identify and publicize government mandates and programs that force spending with little to no benefit to D-26 students
• Resolve funding issues with money saved from reduction of waste, fraud, and corruption, rather than higher taxes

Chris Jenner’s Support of Children’s Academic Experience and Achievement

Chris Jenner led

• D-26-specific Learning Expectations that exceed Illinois State Standards
• Establishment of the Board of Education Curriculum Committee and goals

Chris Jenner supported

• Superintendent’s recommendation for class size guidelines
• Recommended reduction in 3rd/4th grade class size guidelines
• Plan for Brian Coleman to prepare for and become District 26 Superintendent, and his subsequent professional development
• Adoption of Glencoe science curriculum recommended by teachers and administration
• Approval of Educational Support Personnel handbook and associated compensation and merit pay provisions

As a public school system “outsider” I’ve taken the step of visiting every D-26 facility (including the Transportation Center) at least once annually while school is in session to stay in touch with what goes on in our schools.

I also support the Cary 26 Education Foundation by participating in Foundation events, setting up the Motorola Foundation to match donations to the Cary 26 Ed Foundation, and leading Board of Education sponsorship (with our own personal funds!) of a hole in the Foundation golf outings.

Chris Jenner on Fiscal Responsibility and Good Government

Chris Jenner led and authored

• Voluntary Transparency (Policy 2:250)
• No Pay for Play (Policy 4:60)
• Accountability in Vendor Selection (Policy 4:60)
• Resolution asking legislators to oppose the proposed tax swap (April 21, 2008, sec. 9.2)
• Resolution calling for legislation to exempt schools from the Prevailing Wage Act (August 18, 2008, sec 9.2)

Chris Jenner supported

• Directing adoption of a zero-based budgeting process
• Sale of the Administration Center Building
• Policy limiting board member expense reimbursement (Policy 2:125)

Chris Jenner opposed and voted against

• Display or adoption of any budget in which planned spending exceeded revenues
• Complying with government mandates that spend money with no academic benefit or are unfunded
• Any motion that would lead to a net tax increase on Cary residents

You have to hand it to the Cary Grade School Board.

It’s majority is holding a tax hike referendum in the middle of the biggest recession since the early 1980’s. Here are the details posted by the elementary school district.

And, here is minority school board member Chris Jenner’s position against the referendum:

Chris Jenner’s Personal Position on the April 7 Bond Referendum Question

I voted against putting the referendum on the ballot. Excellent schools have sound facilities and current technology – I support that.

With our district already $26 million in debt, and considering the current economic climate, I don’t support asking taxpayers to further increase the D-26 debt load with no clearly defined spending plan.

We must find more efficient and creative financing means than simply enriching the same old folks that cash in every time school bonds are issued.

Significant sums of money are involved in the issuance of school bonds, and the process goes with little scrutiny in most cases. Should the voters approve the referendum, I will work to ensure the bonds are sold as cost-efficiently and as transparently as possible.

I’d like to see the district seek approval for major capital projects individually, and explore whether vendors might work directly with us on financing. The district should also investigate the possibility of obtaining waivers from costly government regulations such as the Prevailing Wage Act.

Six people are running for the Cary School Board, five for the three 4-year vacancies and one of the 2-year.

Guaranteed to win a seat is 2-year candidate Vicki Pesch, who is not now a board member.

For the 4-year terms the candidates will be in the following order:

• Chris Spoerl (challenger)
• Chris Jenner (incumbent, elected 2005)
• Craig Loew (incumbent, elected 2005)
• Dave Ruelle (incumbent, elected 2005)
• Julie Jette (incumbent, appointed 2008)

= = = = =
The only school board member for which I have a photo is Chris Jenner. I took this one while he was fighting the Route 14 Tax Increment Financing district at village hall. TIF districts are a way for cities and villages to take money from increased real estate assessments that otherwise would go to lessen tax bills for all other taxpayers.l

Six people are running for the Cary School Board, five for the three 4-year vacancies and one of the 2-year.

Guaranteed to win a seat is 2-year candidate Vicki Pesch, who is not now a board member.

For the 4-year terms the candidates will be in the following order:

• Chris Spoerl (challenger)
• Chris Jenner (incumbent, elected 2005)
• Craig Loew (incumbent, elected 2005)
• Dave Ruelle (incumbent, elected 2005)
• Julie Jette (incumbent, appointed 2008)

= = = = =
The only school board member for which I have a photo is Chris Jenner. I took this one while he was fighting the Route 14 Tax Increment Financing district at village hall. TIF districts are a way for cities and villages to take money from increased real estate assessments that otherwise would go to lessen tax bills for all other taxpayers.l

Here’s what the school administrators gave the District 26 school board members before they voted 4-3 to ask for $17 million in Working Cash bonds. Remember this contains no outside analysis. I made my general comments on my dislike of Working Cash arrangements in this article. I welcome and will publish any comments or analysis anyone wishes to make. (The first one took less than an hour to appear at the bottom of this article.)

Voting to put this tax increase on the ballot were board members

• Board President Craig Loew
• Stephen Bush
• Julie Jette
• Dave Ruelle

Opposed were

* Chris Jenner
* Randy Lawrence
* Julie Lehman

District 26’s explanatory material, which was not posted on its web site prior to the board meeting, follows:

To: Board of Education
From: Brian Coleman, Superintendent
Date: January 20, 2009

Re: Recommendation for Issuing Working Cash Bonds

Our goal in District 26 is to provide a safe and caring educational environment for students with high expectations for learning while striving to remain within the limits of available recourses.

Due to the collaborative work of parents, teachers, administration, and the Board of Education, a high majority of our students continue to meet and exceed District and State expectations for achievement.

District 26 has always made the learning needs of our students the top priority. Through our focus on power standards and the collection of achievement data, we are now, more than ever, able to focus and fine tune our curriculum and instruction to meet the learning needs of each child.

The District maintains safe and secure facilities for students to learn and interact. We have worked to extend the life of many of our facilities so that funding could be used to provide educational services and materials to students. Some buildings are now in need of major improvements in order to maintain the safe and secure environment needed.

The Board and administration have also worked to bring the needs of our programs into alignment with the resources available. The Board adopted a deficit reduction plan to work toward aligning expenditures with revenue in an effort to close the deficit gap. The District has completed an initial analysis in a zero-based budget process to determine the essential activity and funding necessary to sustain program levels and to determine potential savings in the delivery of these programs.

The District has worked to control its expenditures. The revenue available to District 26 for funding educational programs often falls short of what is needed. Due to several factors, including the tax cap and funding shortages of mandated programs from the state, District 26’s revenue has not kept pace with the expenses required to educate its students.

The revenue recommendation which was presented by the administration at the January 20, 2009 Board of Education Meeting, provides the best solution for both the District and the Community. If approved, the District Administration is committed to this plan and to ensuring its effective execution.

We have developed a plan that would provide the District with ongoing funding to support the District’s educational programs and needed facility improvements while having the least amount of impact to the taxpayer.

(See attached Power Point presentation and recommendation)

• Upgrade classroom & District technology to improve curriculum delivery and student achievement.
• Provide a safe learning environment through facility and grounds capital improvements.
• Restructure District finances to move capital expenditures from the operational funds to the Capital fund and establish a sufficient fund reserve to minimize short term borrowing.

• Align classroom technology capabilities with new curriculums to effectively deliver the curriculums to students.
• Staff professional development to use new technology.
• Update District infrastructure in school buildings and administration office.
• Replace outdated equipment and software.

• Replace roofs at Three Oaks and Deerpath Schools.
• Capital projects/ life safety projects including:

parking lot repair or replacement, sidewalk repair or replacement, exterior maintenance of buildings, and building HVAC system updates and replacements.

• Replacement of older busses.
• Early childhood/Preschool center Summary of Outstanding Bond Issues

• Remove capital expenditures from operational funds.
• Provide District a sufficient level of funds on
hand to eliminate/reduce short term borrowing.
Projected savings, using an estimated annual
cost of $130k, of $420k through 2013.
• Utilize savings to provide services/materials to
students rather than paying interest to banks.

With $17 Million Bond Issue

• Working Cash Bond for $17 Million be placed
on the April 7,2009 ballot

• If approved
– $10 for capital improvements.
– $7 Million to remain in Working Cash Fund.

• All uses of funds require Board of Education
action.

0.05 rate structure increase costs an additional $2.4 million in Interest Costs.

Based on a $300,000 house, the 0.05 increase would cost $123 more than the 0.09 for the life of the issue.

(Remember, these images can be enlarged a lot by clicking on them.)

Ballot Question

Shall the Board of Education of Cary Community Consolidated School District Number 26, McHenry and Lake Counties, Illinois, be authorized to issue $17,000,000 bonds for a working cash fund as provided for by Article 20 of the School Code?

Here’s what the school administrators gave the District 26 school board members before they voted 4-3 to ask for $17 million in Working Cash bonds. Remember this contains no outside analysis. I made my general comments on my dislike of Working Cash arrangements in this article. I welcome and will publish any comments or analysis anyone wishes to make. (The first one took less than an hour to appear at the bottom of this article.)

Voting to put this tax increase on the ballot were board members

• Board President Craig Loew
• Stephen Bush
• Julie Jette
• Dave Ruelle

Opposed were

* Chris Jenner
* Randy Lawrence
* Julie Lehman

District 26’s explanatory material, which was not posted on its web site prior to the board meeting, follows:

To: Board of Education
From: Brian Coleman, Superintendent
Date: January 20, 2009

Re: Recommendation for Issuing Working Cash Bonds

Our goal in District 26 is to provide a safe and caring educational environment for students with high expectations for learning while striving to remain within the limits of available recourses.

Due to the collaborative work of parents, teachers, administration, and the Board of Education, a high majority of our students continue to meet and exceed District and State expectations for achievement.

District 26 has always made the learning needs of our students the top priority. Through our focus on power standards and the collection of achievement data, we are now, more than ever, able to focus and fine tune our curriculum and instruction to meet the learning needs of each child.

The District maintains safe and secure facilities for students to learn and interact. We have worked to extend the life of many of our facilities so that funding could be used to provide educational services and materials to students. Some buildings are now in need of major improvements in order to maintain the safe and secure environment needed.

The Board and administration have also worked to bring the needs of our programs into alignment with the resources available. The Board adopted a deficit reduction plan to work toward aligning expenditures with revenue in an effort to close the deficit gap. The District has completed an initial analysis in a zero-based budget process to determine the essential activity and funding necessary to sustain program levels and to determine potential savings in the delivery of these programs.

The District has worked to control its expenditures. The revenue available to District 26 for funding educational programs often falls short of what is needed. Due to several factors, including the tax cap and funding shortages of mandated programs from the state, District 26’s revenue has not kept pace with the expenses required to educate its students.

The revenue recommendation which was presented by the administration at the January 20, 2009 Board of Education Meeting, provides the best solution for both the District and the Community. If approved, the District Administration is committed to this plan and to ensuring its effective execution.

We have developed a plan that would provide the District with ongoing funding to support the District’s educational programs and needed facility improvements while having the least amount of impact to the taxpayer.

(See attached Power Point presentation and recommendation)

• Upgrade classroom & District technology to improve curriculum delivery and student achievement.
• Provide a safe learning environment through facility and grounds capital improvements.
• Restructure District finances to move capital expenditures from the operational funds to the Capital fund and establish a sufficient fund reserve to minimize short term borrowing.

• Align classroom technology capabilities with new curriculums to effectively deliver the curriculums to students.
• Staff professional development to use new technology.
• Update District infrastructure in school buildings and administration office.
• Replace outdated equipment and software.

• Replace roofs at Three Oaks and Deerpath Schools.
• Capital projects/ life safety projects including:

parking lot repair or replacement, sidewalk repair or replacement, exterior maintenance of buildings, and building HVAC system updates and replacements.

• Replacement of older busses.
• Early childhood/Preschool center Summary of Outstanding Bond Issues

• Remove capital expenditures from operational funds.
• Provide District a sufficient level of funds on
hand to eliminate/reduce short term borrowing.
Projected savings, using an estimated annual
cost of $130k, of $420k through 2013.
• Utilize savings to provide services/materials to
students rather than paying interest to banks.

With $17 Million Bond Issue

• Working Cash Bond for $17 Million be placed
on the April 7,2009 ballot

• If approved
– $10 for capital improvements.
– $7 Million to remain in Working Cash Fund.

• All uses of funds require Board of Education
action.

0.05 rate structure increase costs an additional $2.4 million in Interest Costs.

Based on a $300,000 house, the 0.05 increase would cost $123 more than the 0.09 for the life of the issue.

(Remember, these images can be enlarged a lot by clicking on them.)

Ballot Question

Shall the Board of Education of Cary Community Consolidated School District Number 26, McHenry and Lake Counties, Illinois, be authorized to issue $17,000,000 bonds for a working cash fund as provided for by Article 20 of the School Code?