McHenry County Blog

Take a look at the sign below:

State Farm Insurance, based in Illinois, must be contributing to the Indiana Department of Transportation for its name to be on this “Hoosier Helper Patrol Zone” sign.

As we sped past, I wondered why Illinois is following suit.

Why doesn’t the Illinois Department of Transportation allow similar sponsorships?

If you see something on a trip that other states do that Illinois doesn’t drop McHenry County Blog a line and, even better, a line and a photo. The email address is on the left hand side of the screen.

The proposed entrance to the minor league baseball stadium that struck out.

As the McHenry County College Board and a majority of the Crystal Lake City Council learned, most people don’t think their tax dollars should be used to prop up those wanting to build sports stadiums.

Now, Crain’s Chicago Business has popped for a 600-person survey on the subject.

Aimed at the efforts of the owners of Wrigley Field and the United Center to secure government subsidies, the survey, of course, does not mention the efforts of the MCC Board to force taxpayers to be the backup source to pay off millions and millions of dollars of bonds, if the proposed minor leage baseball team went belly up.

But, I imagine there would be similar results if MCC taxpayers or Woodstock taxpayers were asked if they wanted to shell out tax dollars to help pay for a sports stadium.

Quoting from the story:

“A whopping 80 percent — the majorities were overwhelming in Chicago, the suburbs and elsewhere — are opposed, agreeing that teams ‘as companies should pay their full tax no matter what.’”

That dropped to 50% against when the Cubs and United Center proposals were outlined, a bit lower in the suburbs (where, I would note, there would not be a cost for the proposed Chicago tax breaks for the stadium owners).

First the Northwest Herald’s David Fitzgerald finds Carpentersville District 300 violating the Open Meetings Act to switch Jacobs High School graduation ceremony from the school to Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Now this enterprising reporter has discovered that one of District 300’s employees may have “mishandled more than $100,000 of student activity funds at Dundee-Crown High School.”

And this was going on during the referendum to raise the school district’s tax rate by 55-cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The claim was that extracurricular activities, including sports, would have to be drastically cut. The first rebuttal was that extracurricular activities and sports made up less than 1% of District 300’s budget.

Then, the district admitted low-balling State Aid to Education, when Huntley School Board member Larry Snow pointed that out. Then Northwest Herald reporter (now Communications Director for District 300) Allison Smith did a story confirming that. Eventually, the board itself agreed.

And, guess what?

The ignored state aid was more than enough to pay for the student activities used by the tax hike committee as a major argument to vote in favor of the referendum.

Now, even the money paid by the students or obtained to subsidize those programs apparently turns up missing.

School districts in the southeastern part of McHenry County seem to have a problem handling money.

First, payroll money at Huntley School District 158 turned up missing.

Now, student activity money in District 300.

I wonder if it’s because of the water.

Huntley School Board member Larry Snow had this to say on the matter:

”Reconciling checking accounts is fundamental to having internal controls that detect and prevent theft and fraud.

The average taxpayer knows that their high-paid school administrators should be balancing the District’s check books.

“During the referendum, political statements were made that D-300′s C.F.O. is an expert and that they are being judged by those who are not experts. How much good judgment do you need to know that checking accounts need to be balanced?

“In the article ‘School Board Member Mary Warren said poor oversight of student activity funds had been a problem for more than five years.’ It doesn’t take an expert to know that you don’t let poor oversight continue for year after year.

“Liberal school board members praise school administrators as experts, but, then, after the referendum the facts come out that there’s been ‘poor oversight’ and a ‘problem for more than five years.’

“They are ’experts’ when they want to reward their friends with bonuses and salary increases, but allow them to keep their jobs even after admitting there’s been a “problem for more than five years.”

At least District 300 is trying to find the money and, presumably, get it back.

District 158 has at least as much it might recoup from administrators given health benefits without board approval, but don’t hold your breath waiting for its board to follow District 300’s example.

First the Northwest Herald’s David Fitzgerald finds Carpentersville District 300 violating the Open Meetings Act to switch Jacobs High School graduation ceremony from the school to Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Now this enterprising reporter has discovered that one of District 300’s employees may have “mishandled more than $100,000 of student activity funds at Dundee-Crown High School.”

And this was going on during the referendum to raise the school district’s tax rate by 55-cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The claim was that extracurricular activities, including sports, would have to be drastically cut. The first rebuttal was that extracurricular activities and sports made up less than 1% of District 300’s budget.

Then, the district admitted low-balling State Aid to Education, when Huntley School Board member Larry Snow pointed that out. Then Northwest Herald reporter (now Communications Director for District 300) Allison Smith did a story confirming that. Eventually, the board itself agreed.

And, guess what?

The ignored state aid was more than enough to pay for the student activities used by the tax hike committee as a major argument to vote in favor of the referendum.

Now, even the money paid by the students or obtained to subsidize those programs apparently turns up missing.

School districts in the southeastern part of McHenry County seem to have a problem handling money.

First, payroll money at Huntley School District 158 turned up missing.

Now, student activity money in District 300.

I wonder if it’s because of the water.

Huntley School Board member Larry Snow had this to say on the matter:

”Reconciling checking accounts is fundamental to having internal controls that detect and prevent theft and fraud.

The average taxpayer knows that their high-paid school administrators should be balancing the District’s check books.

“During the referendum, political statements were made that D-300′s C.F.O. is an expert and that they are being judged by those who are not experts. How much good judgment do you need to know that checking accounts need to be balanced?

“In the article ‘School Board Member Mary Warren said poor oversight of student activity funds had been a problem for more than five years.’ It doesn’t take an expert to know that you don’t let poor oversight continue for year after year.

“Liberal school board members praise school administrators as experts, but, then, after the referendum the facts come out that there’s been ‘poor oversight’ and a ‘problem for more than five years.’

“They are ’experts’ when they want to reward their friends with bonuses and salary increases, but allow them to keep their jobs even after admitting there’s been a “problem for more than five years.”

At least District 300 is trying to find the money and, presumably, get it back.

District 158 has at least as much it might recoup from administrators given health benefits without board approval, but don’t hold your breath waiting for its board to follow District 300’s example.

As reported Monday, the Belvidere School Board has figured out a way to save sports and extracurricular activities after pledging to kill them, if their spring referendum failed.

As reporter Jeff Kolkey put it,

If this were a game of chicken, Belvidere School Board members blinked first Monday night, possibly trading the long-term financial health of the school system for the good of the community.

How did they justify their 5-1 vote sitting before 650 (!!) residents?

They will spend down their surplus and counting on more, but not a lot more, State Aid to Education.

Here’s how the Rockford Register-Star reporter summed up what will happen:

Without an increase in local property taxes or significant increases in general state aid, the district will be borrowing money to meet payroll in about four years. With no tax increase and only conservative increases in state aid, the district’s $14.5 million education fund balance will turn into a more than $5 million accumulated deficit by 2012.

But just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, they’ll be back in February, the lowest turnout election in the two-year cycle.

Board member Dick Van Evera charged the audience thusly:

“This group has a responsibility and obligation to make sure the next referendum is a success — an overwhelming success.ra told the crowd. I charge all of you with this responsibility.”

Elections are about differential turnout and the tax hike folks apparently think they are better organized than their opponents.

And, they’re probably right.

As reported Monday, the Belvidere School Board has figured out a way to save sports and extracurricular activities after pledging to kill them, if their spring referendum failed.

As reporter Jeff Kolkey put it,

If this were a game of chicken, Belvidere School Board members blinked first Monday night, possibly trading the long-term financial health of the school system for the good of the community.

How did they justify their 5-1 vote sitting before 650 (!!) residents?

They will spend down their surplus and counting on more, but not a lot more, State Aid to Education.

Here’s how the Rockford Register-Star reporter summed up what will happen:

Without an increase in local property taxes or significant increases in general state aid, the district will be borrowing money to meet payroll in about four years. With no tax increase and only conservative increases in state aid, the district’s $14.5 million education fund balance will turn into a more than $5 million accumulated deficit by 2012.

But just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, they’ll be back in February, the lowest turnout election in the two-year cycle.

Board member Dick Van Evera charged the audience thusly:

“This group has a responsibility and obligation to make sure the next referendum is a success — an overwhelming success.ra told the crowd. I charge all of you with this responsibility.”

Elections are about differential turnout and the tax hike folks apparently think they are better organized than their opponents.

And, they’re probably right.

It is no surprised when school boards threaten to kill sports and extracurricular activities if their voters don’t pass tax rate hikes.

If it less common for school officials to be proven to have enough money to avoid doing that before the election.

That happened at the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Rotary Club meeting a little over a year ago when Huntley School Board Member Larry Snow pointed out and District 300 Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates admitted that she had underestimated State Aid to Education. The same admission was made at a later school board meeting.

The amount?

More than enough to save sports and extracurricular activities.

The Northwest Herald even ran a chart on it front page before the referendum.

Nevertheless, the District 300 tax hike committee—Advance 300–and the district continued the ruse that sports and extra curricular activities would disappear, if the referendum did not pass.

The same strategy was used in Boone County’s biggest school district, Belvidere.

Saturday, Kevin Haas wrote a story for the Rockford Register-Star about how Belvidere School Superintendent Don Scholmann had—ready for this—found enough money to keep sports and extracurricular activities intact for the next two years.

Want to guess where he is finding the money?

Go on. Guess.

Sounding a lot like President Richard M. Nixon when he ran for president the second time, Superintendent Schlomann has a secret plan.

He’ll announce it Monday at the school board meeting.

But, it’s going to postpone the end of sports and extracurricular activities for two years.

And, surprise, surprise, it will depend on how much state aid to education shows up after this legislative session.

Or, maybe it will be a combination of that and drawing down the reserves that Rockford reporter Jeff Jolkey has found.

Catch this sentence:

Without a tax increase and without a budget cut, the district could run its new high school until 2012.

Too bad opponents of the Belvidere tax rate hike didn’t ask Larry Snow to take a look at the books and offer his analysis.

The truth about whether there would be enough money for extracurricular activities and sports might have been knowable before the referendum.

The story says the district only estimated $150 more per student but what’s being discussed is more than that.

District 300 estimated less than that for referendum propaganda purposes–$100.

And here’s the Belvidere superintendent’s explanation to reporter Kevin Haas:

If the Board of Education would have knowledge of what the state aid was going to be, they may not have run a referendum. But at the same time we still don’t know what that state aid is going to be. And we won’t know until July.

Excuse me, if I smell something I wouldn’t keep in the house.

The Rockford paper endorsed the referendum.

This was part of the editorial:

If it fails, sports and extracurriculars will go, at least for a year. Simple.

And here’s part of what one person wrote after reading that, low and behold, sports and extracurriculars might not die:

… the school system lies….I can tell you, Belvidere will never get another vote out of me, ever….

And, here’s another comment from an “No” voter:

Now their bluff has been called, and they have been shown up. So now Belvidere most likely will get to keep sports, and the new high school will be staffed, WITHOUT a tax increase.

They simply sat down, decided that they didn’t want to take pay cuts, and used the kids as pawns. Now the kids should be upset with the BOE for using them in their little game, instead of the voters that voted NO.

= = = = =
The homemade square yellow sign saying “BUCS BOOSTER” in a half circle on the top and “SUPPORT ATHLETICS” in a half circle on the bottom with “VOTE YES” in the middle was in front of a home with a “NO CHEMTOOL” sign in Garden Prairie.

The other pictures of signs were taken last fall before the November referendum. I didn’t see any of them this time around, but I’ll bet some were re-cycled.

Click on the text of the referendum question and see if you can understand it.

It is no surprised when school boards threaten to kill sports and extracurricular activities if their voters don’t pass tax rate hikes.

If it less common for school officials to be proven to have enough money to avoid doing that before the election.

That happened at the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Rotary Club meeting a little over a year ago when Huntley School Board Member Larry Snow pointed out and District 300 Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates admitted that she had underestimated State Aid to Education. The same admission was made at a later school board meeting.

The amount?

More than enough to save sports and extracurricular activities.

The Northwest Herald even ran a chart on it front page before the referendum.

Nevertheless, the District 300 tax hike committee—Advance 300–and the district continued the ruse that sports and extra curricular activities would disappear, if the referendum did not pass.

The same strategy was used in Boone County’s biggest school district, Belvidere.

Saturday, Kevin Haas wrote a story for the Rockford Register-Star about how Belvidere School Superintendent Don Scholmann had—ready for this—found enough money to keep sports and extracurricular activities intact for the next two years.

Want to guess where he is finding the money?

Go on. Guess.

Sounding a lot like President Richard M. Nixon when he ran for president the second time, Superintendent Schlomann has a secret plan.

He’ll announce it Monday at the school board meeting.

But, it’s going to postpone the end of sports and extracurricular activities for two years.

And, surprise, surprise, it will depend on how much state aid to education shows up after this legislative session.

Or, maybe it will be a combination of that and drawing down the reserves that Rockford reporter Jeff Jolkey has found.

Catch this sentence:

Without a tax increase and without a budget cut, the district could run its new high school until 2012.

Too bad opponents of the Belvidere tax rate hike didn’t ask Larry Snow to take a look at the books and offer his analysis.

The truth about whether there would be enough money for extracurricular activities and sports might have been knowable before the referendum.

The story says the district only estimated $150 more per student but what’s being discussed is more than that.

District 300 estimated less than that for referendum propaganda purposes–$100.

And here’s the Belvidere superintendent’s explanation to reporter Kevin Haas:

If the Board of Education would have knowledge of what the state aid was going to be, they may not have run a referendum. But at the same time we still don’t know what that state aid is going to be. And we won’t know until July.

Excuse me, if I smell something I wouldn’t keep in the house.

The Rockford paper endorsed the referendum.

This was part of the editorial:

If it fails, sports and extracurriculars will go, at least for a year. Simple.

And here’s part of what one person wrote after reading that, low and behold, sports and extracurriculars might not die:

… the school system lies….I can tell you, Belvidere will never get another vote out of me, ever….

And, here’s another comment from an “No” voter:

Now their bluff has been called, and they have been shown up. So now Belvidere most likely will get to keep sports, and the new high school will be staffed, WITHOUT a tax increase.

They simply sat down, decided that they didn’t want to take pay cuts, and used the kids as pawns. Now the kids should be upset with the BOE for using them in their little game, instead of the voters that voted NO.

= = = = =
The homemade square yellow sign saying “BUCS BOOSTER” in a half circle on the top and “SUPPORT ATHLETICS” in a half circle on the bottom with “VOTE YES” in the middle was in front of a home with a “NO CHEMTOOL” sign in Garden Prairie.

The other pictures of signs were taken last fall before the November referendum. I didn’t see any of them this time around, but I’ll bet some were re-cycled.

Click on the text of the referendum question and see if you can understand it.