Four people have filed to run for school board in Huntley School District 156.
Three are incumbents:
Running for the seat that Mike Skala vacated when he took office on the McHenry County Board is Michael J. Fleck. I met Fleck when he was serving on the Huntley Area Library Board. He is not currently on that board.
Inside the Crystal Lake Library.
The Northwest Herald has a fascinating article about the possibility of the Crystal Lake Library District using a Crystal Lake Grade School District elementary school.
Wednesday night the Board held a meeting in which the following was on the agenda:
AGENDA ITEMS REQUIRING DISCUSSION AND/OR BOARD APPROVAL
5.1 Discussion on D47 Facility Use – Dr. Mendoza
Naturally, I am seeking more information.
But, let’s assume the Northwest Herald story is accurate and the Elementary School District is thinking about re-visiting the possibility of closing a grade school.
When I wrote my article about the possibility, I suggested either Husmann or South Schools could be converted to housing for seniors. Both have advantages. Husmann because it is within walking distance of Downtown and across from the library building and South because it one story with a basement.
See
for more details.
South Grade School
And enrollment continues to fall:
So down about a thousand since the recession started.
Now comes forth a new option.
Having the Crystal Lake Public Library use one of the grade schools.
Husmann Grade School is right across the street from the Library. It underwent at least extensive exterior renovation this past summer.
There are several problems with such a possibility.
Crystal Lake taxpayers might get stuck with paying for a grade school twice.
The library is a City library. That means those living outside of Crystal Lake cannot use it without paying what they would have paid in property taxes had their homes been inside the City limits.
However, the school district boundaries are much larger. Lakewood, part of Prairie Grove, part of Lake in the Hills and lots of unincorporated subdivisions surrounding Crystal Lake helped Crystal Lake residents pay for the schools.
The other consideration is that when Prairie Grove is developed, there will presumably still be the need to a new grade school building.
Perhaps the School Board would consider renting an elementary school to the Library Board, just in case the economy takes off again, providing the need for another grade school.
It would seem to me that we would not want to follow Huntley’s example in which the taxpayers were forced to pay for schools twice.
The Huntley School District sold its high school and either a nearby grade or middle school to the park district.
Now, the park district boundaries are closer to the school district boundaries in Huntley than are Crystal Lake’s limits to those of District 47, but most Huntley area taxpayers ended up paying for the schools twice.
That, of course, is an argument for consolidation of governments…unless one thinks paying for public buildings more than once is a good idea.
Multiple sources have told McHenry County Blog that the McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s Office is making contact with the three newly-elected members of the County Board to advise them of the conflict of interest that would exist if they did not resign their current posts.
The three and their current positions follow:
Mike Skala
Of the three, Walkup has resigned as of midnight Thursday, November 15th.
Schofield has announced her intention to resign.
Skala has said that he does not intend to resign until February.
In the article linked above, you can read 1993 opinion from Attorney General Roland Burris that concludes serving on a school board and a county board at the same time is “incompatible, and one person may not serve simultaneously in both offices.”
Delaying his resignation from the School Board until February would allow the remaining members of the Board to appoint his replacement for the next two years.
Resignation prior to being sworn into the County Board would allow people to run to fill the remaining two years of this term.
Pete Gonigam at First Electric Newspaper has details of Skala’s resignation plans.
A press release from the Huntley School Board:
ALGONQUIN, IL – The District 158 Board of Education (Board) has received notice that the Huntley Education Association (HEA) has declared impasse.
The Board believes that both sides want to reach a compromise that is beneficial for the staff, students, and taxpayers of District 158.
Over the summer, both sides worked diligently to finalize a new contract. Almost all of the language issues were resolved in a mutually agreeable manner.
The remaining issues are primarily compensation.
The Board reached a tentative agreement with the HEA bargaining team on September 5, 2012.
This agreement was not ratified by the membership.
At a subsequent bargaining session, the Board modified this agreement in an effort to meet the needs the bargaining team expressed.
Both sides agreed to make every effort to get this proposal ratified by their respective members.
This proposal also ultimately failed to be ratified by the HEA membership.
The Board team looks forward to meeting with the HEA on the evening of November 13, and continuing work towards agreement and ratification of a contract.
Mike Skala
I missed the Northwest Herald article about newly-elected McHenry County Board member Mike Skala deciding to stay on the Huntley District 158 School Board until after a suit with contractors is settled.
Not quite as unified as McHenry County was against the 1974 RTA referendum, but 9-1 certainly shows a consensus.
The NWH notes that McHenry County citizens voted 9-1 against people holding more than one office at the same time.
There is also a political impact to Skala’s not resigning until February.
The current school board would not have to worry about someone running for the vacancy.
Its members could just appoint someone with whom they felt comfortable.
You can see the results here.
The five-page opinion that Summers found can be seen below. Click to enlarge any page.
This is where the words quoted in the article appear.
Michael Walkup
Carolyn Schofield
Two Crystal Lake and one Huntley politician will be giving up their seats on the city council, park and school boards in the near future.
Carolyn Schofield, who is in her second term on the Crystal Lake City Council, and Mike Walkup, who is also in his second term, will tender their resignations prior to being sworn in for the McHenry County Board during the first week in December.
Mike Skala
The three governmental bodies have the choice of filling the vacancies just prior to elections which will be held next April or not doing so.
Those deciding to appoint someone will be giving such people a leg up on non-incumbents running next spring.
Teachers carrying picket signs on Haligus Road during the last strike in the Huntley School District.
Various news sources are reporting the Huntley Education Association has passed a strike vote.
Huntley makes the third McHenry County school district where teachers felt the need to take the most extreme measure allowed by law.
The other two:
In 2008, the Huntley Education Association hit the streets with picket signs.
District 158 teachers have rejected the contract terms offered by the District 158 School Board.
Here’s what’s in a joint Huntley Education Association-School Board press release:
ALGONQUIN, IL – Members of the Huntley Education Association and the Board of Education’s negotiating teams tentatively agreed on a contract on September 5, 2012.
On September 10, 2012, members of the Huntley Education Association met to vote on the tentative agreement. In that meeting, the membership rejected the agreement.
At this time, the Board of Education and the Huntley Education Association are in communication and continue working together in an effort to conclude the negotiation process.
= = = = =
At this point in the negotiations last time around, the School Board made the terms of the contract public.
Perhaps the Board will do that again.
Jim Carlin asking a question at a Huntley Area Tea Party meeting.
He was born on March 13, 1943.
A message from his wife Carol related the following detains:
“With a saddened heart I wanted to let Jim’s friends and acquaintances know that Jim passed away unexpectedly.
“For those interested there will be a wake this Wednesday followed by a funeral on Thursday.
“Exact times of both are yet to be determined but can be obtained by calling the [Defiore Jorgenson] Funeral Home in Huntley on Tuesday.”
After his service on the District 158 School Board he was active in Patriots United and the Huntley Area Tea Party.
Certainly, no one can say that Carlin did not take his citizenship seriously.
As did the Northwest Herald’s Kevin Lyons
State Rep. Tom Morrison questioned panelists.
At last night Illinois Policy Institute forum on teacher pensions, one question from Northwest Herald News Editor Kevin Lyons had to do with House Minority Leader Tom Cross’ having characterized a shift in tax burden from the state taxpayer to the local property taxpayer.
Laying out the problems Policy Institute Spokeswoman Diane Rickert.
She explained that there was a $203 billion problem when promised health insurance was included. That’s $41,000 per household,” she said.
Diane Rickert
She pointed out that disconnecting the setting of pension levels from the payment for pensions was “an anomaly,” that most units of local government set pensions [by setting salaries] and, then, had to come up with the money to pay them.
She pointed specifically to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), to which most government workers who are not teachers, fire or police officers belong. [Police and fire pensions are also financed by real estate taxes.]
Several times during the meeting, Rickert argued that McHenry County taxpayers would continue to be subsidizing North Shore school districts that pay their teachers much more than teachers get paid in McHenry County, if the State taxpayer were forced to continue paying for teacher pensions. The argument seemed to have almost a class envy tinge. She said the Policy Institute favors an immediate shift of incidence.
“Doing it all at once would take 3 1/2 percent of the whole budget,” she estimated. She also gave two examples of a ten-year phase in:
“I’m pretty such some school superintendents get paid more than that,” she added.
Jeff Mason
District 47 Board President Jeff Mason answered in a manner that led me to believe that he thought a transfer of financial responsibility was inevitable. He referred to the
Earlier, Mason had said, “We understand this expense is going to be shifted to the school district at some point. “Thirty years sounds reasonable,” he said with a chuckle. Then, five to seven years would give us a chance to ease the shock value to go forward.”
The Crystal Lake School Board President complained that there were “too many cooks–State and local.”
Mike Sayre
It the financing goes back to local schools, Mason said he thought “that’s where the rules should be set.”
“We need a permanent solution, not a Band-Aid solution.
“Just taking the accountability away from the State will not solve the problem,” Illinois Education Association Spokesman Mike Sayre, a Crystal Lake High School District teacher, added.
The IEA representative made the
argument several times, much to the vocal distaste of the man sitting next to me in the front row.
Don Bond opposed shifting the tax burden from the State to the local taxpayer.
There were two taxpayer questioners under the only two questions will be allowed policy, one from a teacher or retired teacher and one for everybody else at the forum.
Former School Superintendent Don Bond of Huntley grabbed the “teacher” spot.
He complained his tax bill had gone from $4,000 to $8,000 over the last twenty years.
He had a question, but his point was “Springfield made the mess. Don’t send it to the [property taxpayers]!”
“If you want to keep the problem in Springfield, expect that tax bill to climb and climb and climb,” Rickert replied after pointing out that the income tax had already been hiked 67%.
She pointed to the Huntley School Districts $82 million budget.
Over a ten-year period it would cost $735,000, she said. [I assume that is for the ten years, but my notes are unclear.]
Cary Grade School Board member asked if the State would end unfunded mandates if it pushed pension costs onto real estate taxpayers.
The non-teacher question was asked by Cary Grade School Board member Chris Jenner.
He asked if the legislature would going to shift new costs to school districts, would they take away
“The Illinois Education Association has no position,” Sayer answered.
“The onus should be on the politicians in Springfield to remove the onerous requirements,” the Illinois Policy Institute Spokeswoman said.
Mason argued that teachers should be provided with the opportunity to make decisions about their retirement.
The IEA’s Sayer entered the fray again explaining, “When I think of Cary District 26, I know a lot of teachers who have been forced to to teach music and physical education and that’s not what they trained for.
“All things we do for the Illinois Education Association is for the students first.”
The McHenry County College meeting was well-attended, as you can see from the photo below of the dispersing crowd.
The crowd after the one-hour meeting was over.
With two State Representatives in attendance, people took the opportunity to bend their ears.
Crystal Lake’s State Rep. Mike Tryon talked with local residents.
Palatine State Rep. Tom Morrison answered questions after the forum.
Also in attendance were two District 6 candidates for McHenry County Board,Democrat Jay Kadakia and Republican Mary McCann.
Jay Kadakia, former Huntley Village Trustee, gave Republican McHenry County Board opponent Mary McCann of rural Woodstock a piece of his campaign literature after the meeting.
Then I went home to write my first article on this event, which is entitled,
“IEA Spokesman Too Young To Know His Union’s Role in the Pension Crisis.”
You can read it here.
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