McHenry County Blog

One thing candidates get to do that helps potential constituents decide whether they should be elected to office is to react to actions by the officials of tax districts they seek to help govern.

Here is District 300 School Board candidate Robert Lee’s comments on Carpentersville School District 300’s announcement that 46 non-tenured teachers would be let go, pending the appearance of unforeseen revenue:

ROBERT LEE STATEMENT ON DISTRICT 300 ACTION TO RELEASE TEACHERS FOR BALANCED BUDGET

EAST DUNDEE – Robert Lee released the following statement following the actions of the District 300 Board of Education to release forty-six non-tenured staff:

“Given our current economic conditions, I understand the rationale taken by the Board of Education to release these staff members.

“However, part of me also sees this as an opportunity to realistically evaluate how we conduct our business in District 300.

“This is an example of where processes influence the education students receive.

“It’s amazing to me that one year after over filling staff positions the District is then forced to cut.

“Eleven and one half positions last year were filled by the District when they were not required.

“If hind sight is truly 20-20, then our view of what is needed in the future should now be crystal clear.

“The processes by which we plan our budgeting and finances must be improved so that economic impacts like the one we are now experiencing are smaller and less damaging.

“I’ve said throughout my campaign that the methods by which our District uses to allocate resources and fund education has a direct impact on the education students receive.

“It’s not merely enough to make the statement that financial responsibility is a priority.

“Board members need to demonstrate it by constantly evaluating ways to improve the methods by which education is provided to all students in District 300, and candidates for the Board must demonstrate they have specific ideas to contribute to the betterment of District 300.

“The district made a promise to students that teachers would be available for their education. I would have voted in a similar fashion to the current board members, especially in regards to the fourteen teachers released for performance related issues.

“However, I would not have done so without a plan to avoid such drastic measures in the future.

“My proposals for Financial Impact Statements and improved quality measures would help in that regard.

“It’s my personal belief that if you’re not trying to improve, you’re on the road to failure.

“If this vote by the board is not a wake up call for improvement, I don’t know what is.

“Now is the time to act, and that is exactly what I hope to do if I am a board member for District 300. Our students deserve no less dedication than just that.”

Below is a statement issued by Carpentersville School District 300’s School Board President Joe Stevens and Superintendent Ken Arndt (additional paragraphs have been added in order to make it easier to read on a computer screen):

Monday, March 9, 2009

Dear District 300 parents, community members, and staff members,

It is the responsibility of the District 300 Board of Education to provide a quality education for all children at a cost the community can afford. D300 leaders are committed to working within our means, to ensure we maintain this balance.

Despite the District’s good fiscal management and planning over the past several years, D300, like many school districts across Illinois and the nation, is entering a potentially difficult economic period in 2009-2010.

As you likely read in the February 2009 D300 newsletter, this is mainly due to two reasons, neither of which is in the District’s control: (

1) the economic recession’s impact on the December 2008 consumer price index (CPI), which will severely restrict the revenue that D300 can collect this school year under the tax cap law, and

(2) the potential for insufficient education funding from the state in the 2009-2010 school year due to the massive deficit now faced by Illinois state government.

Because the largest portion of any school district’s budget is personnel, this is always an area of focus when working to maintain a balanced budget.

Sometimes this forces a school board to make difficult decisions.

This evening (Monday, March 9), the D300 Board of Education voted in an open meeting to release 46 non-tenured (less experienced) teachers as of July 1, 2009, for either performance issues or budgetary reasons.

Fourteen of them were released due to performance problems and will not be rehired.

However, the remaining 32 teachers were released strictly for budgetary reasons.

This aspect of the vote was one of the most difficult and painful decisions that this School Board has ever faced.

But the D300 Board is not alone in the challenge of balancing a quality education with conservative fiscal planning during this economic recession. School districts near and far are releasing staff due to the precariousness of the state budget.

These 32 staff members constitute all of the first-year, general education (not bilingual or special education) elementary school teachers in D300.

They did not have performance issues, and they will be provided letters of recommendation.

The Board is releasing them now to meet the state statute on proper notification, allowing them time for their employment transition.

There are no current plans to release any other staff members due to budgetary reasons for the 2009-2010 school year.

The earliest D300 expects to know whether some of the teachers can return to a D300 classroom for 2009-2010 will be this June.

Whether or not some return to D300 will depend on subject-area needs, funding, and student enrollment figures (enrollment growth in the upper grades but a drop or stagnation in lower grades, for example).

Regardless, we expect a district-wide net loss of at least 15 teaching positions this fall.

In the months leading up to D300’s March 2006 referendum, virtually no one could have anticipated the dire economic situation now faced at local, state, and national levels.

These 32 releases are specifically intended to help keep the budget balanced so that D300 does not have to return to voters for years to come.

D300 expects for the most part to still be able to maintain the average elementary class size that was promised in the referendum, partly due to falling elementary enrollment and the steep drop in housing sales.

The D300 Board has chosen to be especially cautious now to protect local taxpayers over the long term.

Truly,

Joseph R. Stevens, President, Board of Education

Kenneth M. Arndt, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools

= = = = =
Dist 300 School District Superintendent Ken Arndt can be seen in the top photo, Board President Joe Stevens below. Both photos were taken at last winter’s Legislative Breakfast.