Why are teachers and class size always the first to be mentioned? This boils my blood. I have no problem paying a teacher who deals directly with my child a healthy salary, as long as they are worth their salt. The problem is the money doesn't go there. Can someone tell me why on earth Reibock got a raise? What has she done to deserve it, seriously? The way I see it, her raise simply makes up for her "loss" on the sale of her home. It's all one big circle. Kinda like George Foreman winning the Heavy Weight Championship Belt. If one were to examine the path of the belt he had "won" and what happened after he has gotten it, one would realize it was totally fixed. Get rid of Worthen too.

I think Gus is right. Most people don't know how much $ goes toward administrators and the much needed "capital projects" like sheds and air. Get rid of this waste and there is plenty of money.

Thanks Ohma! You have a certain way of getting me going, on a Sunday too.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ohma:
Brace yourself, bitterboy. Did you happen to see the article in the school paper that gets tossed on the drive-way? Front page article "District 41 Could be in the Red by Next Year." That, no doubt, would have many of the "stakeholders" seeing red!

I see red every time I see the consultants name mentioned in the article. They were the ones prancing up and down the western suburbs telling school districts how to take advantage of taxpayers with the phase in.
This town has been on the losing end of many worthless consultants.
Time for them to go.

for any new readers...julie worthen (d.41) and peg mannion (d 87) are the "public information" (read: propaganada managers)for our local schoool districts. neither job (i believe) existed 5 or 6 years ago. i belive worthen's job was created after the lovely phase in of 2001. mannion's job was created a few years ago when they tried to cut the guts out of the district 87 high school cirriculum and extracirrucular schedule. each are paid somewhere around 80K. (you can look it up!) julie worthen worked for the glen ellyn news before her new postition.
and they talk about being in the red and class size? let's all join gus hiding in the bushes!!!!

You guys are just too hard on these people. Who else is going to manipulate information for the District? I mean, it costs money to put that much makeup on the face of the District. Lots of blemishes. Lots of dry skin. It's a real process.

I get emails regarding District 41 updates all the time telling me how great the district is. Funny, I don't remember the email about health classes at Hadley trotting out "faith based" organizations to teach abstinence. Because you parents can't do it. Under the guise of a program called "Keep Your Pants Up", a man named Wendell comes into the school with a stable of people who tell their "stories". This year's storyteller was a woman who didn't keep her pants up and gave her child up for adoption.

Let's see - adoption as a bad thing. Spin that. Maybe next year we can have "purity dances".

Don't get me started on the Purity Dances!

But, I would say that schools need to engage in a really good, long look in the mirror about how they spend money. Certainly much of the problem can be attributed to ever-increasing mandates from both the feds and the state (testing, reporting, special ed, etc...). Is this really how they want money spent? Many of these problems are systemic and not only present in one district...and the problems don't come from a single source.

I agree, Candidate, that the "consultant" thing is WAY out of control in D41. I am certain that they could find many capable people internally who could lead much of the work that is being done. And even if they couldn't find someone internally, I am truly confident that someone in the community would be able to lead the work. The community is filled with professionals from all walks of life and since they have so many parent committees, it seems they could solve a lot of things this way.

For the record, my kids have all received - and one is still receiving - what I consider a very good education in D41. They are also good and conscientious students with parental support.

BUT - if you have been reading the PR for any period of time, it does seem that D41 has never met a consultant it didn't want to hire. It is to the point where I actually try to avoid the stories about what consultant has come up with what bright idea that requires their being hired. The consultant-speak littered through the D41 communications is often irritating. Much of the findings are common sense and much of it is extraneous to the education of my kids. I agree with Amy that it is hard to believe that some of this work could not be handled by the myriad administrative professionals already on the payroll.

quote:

Originally posted by GEmom2:
I agree with Amy that it is hard to believe that some of this work could not be handled by the myriad administrative professionals already on the payroll.

The reliance on outside consultants seems to have actually made the case for the district to hire more administrators. A quick look through the archives jogged my memory that the only administrative position mentioned in the 2001 referendum material was for a volunteer coordinator and if my memory serves me correctly, that position was part-time. Yet, shortly after the ref passed, a quality assurance person was added at around $70,000 per year. (That position is now known as: director of continuous improvement.) And in 2002, among the many other administrative positions it added, the district hired a community relations director, making the argument that the district was bringing "in house" a position that was previously done by an outside firm. I am wondering what we have gained by doing so. Afterall, according to the Board Highlights from the summer of 2001, the district actually won a communications award. From the Highlights of June-July-August, 2001:

"The district's Fund our Future referendum committee received the Golden Achievement Award from the National School Public Relations Association for its excellence in communication before and during the referendum campaign."

quote:

Originally posted by ohma:
...according to the Board Highlights from the summer of 2001, the district actually won a communications award. From the Highlights of June-July-August, 2001:

"The district's Fund our Future referendum committee received the Golden Achievement Award from the National School Public Relations Association for its excellence in communication before and during the referendum campaign."

Well, why wouldn't they win an award? Do you realize how much makeup it took to make that tax hog pretty?

What was the name of the last consulting form that D41 hired to "independently" prepare a survey? It's name slips my mind. But I was telling a coworker about their website which has pics of "vote yes" pins all over it and which touts their referendum success ratios. Ring a bell anyone? He refused to believe me and I couldn't find it.

This is it. Thanks Ohma! This is totally unbelievable. Refresh my memory, D41 hired this firm, right? Was this for the phone survey?

Listen folks, I GUARANTEE you there is a TON of $$$$ to be saved without affecting teachers salaries, class sizes,etc, etc. Since 2001, the stewardship of this district has been a joke. Only when it hits the pocket books of the vast majority of this district, like this latest tax bill, has it gotten MOST peoples attention. It seems like everyone I have run into is in the process of protesting their tax bill. Again, thanks Mr. Lynch for your courageous insights.

Unfortunately, it will take years and a ton of effort to get this situation under control.

I just received a very nice e-mail from the Daily Herald. I make it a habit to never post the contents of one's private e-mails. That being said, all of you who post on here should be proud as your voices are being heard. People are reading.

Below, please find a link to a the full Daily Herald School Finance 101 Article that was published over the last couple of months.

School Finance 101

I still intend on breaking it down into something more palatable but my real job has gotten in the way of this. I hope to do so soon but I make no promises. Hopefully Melbourne is reading and takes the baton and runs with it....as he/she would likely do a much better at it than me.

ok, tell me how they can hire an educational consultant who doesn't even use proper English on their website:

"School leaders who hope to move their district's forward...."

honestly: "district's!!!!!" they can't even get their possessive right!!! i'm laughing so hard i cna't speel.

quote:

Originally posted by howdy60137:
ok, tell me how they can hire an educational consultant who doesn't even use proper English on their website:

"School leaders who hope to move their district's forward...."

honestly: "district's!!!!!" they can't even get their possessive right!!! i'm laughing so hard i cna't speel.

perhaps the Director of Continuous Improvement (and ex-motorolan) can work w/ the Community Relations Director on fixing this problem. . .

btw, i know most posters know this but the comm. relations dir. is an ex-GE News employee. that publication was not known as a pillar of quality.

i think that is all of us parents' job description: "director of continuous improvement..." (did i get that apostrophe right?!)

I know Unicom Arc is old news, but this just kills me. Even if we were to look beyond its lack of indepedence, a few of its referendum consulting services include "Public Relations, Communications" and "Public Engagement". What was Worthen hired for again? Talk about being bent over. This community has been bent over and told how much they like it. RK, with all due respect, explain to me how D41 is fine. Me? I've had it.

quote:

Originally posted by bitterboy:
RK, with all due respect, explain to me how D41 is fine. Me? I've had it.

In the immortal words of Foghorn Leghorn, "It's a joke, son".

Another tax increase and old B-Boy will be muttering the immortal words of former astronaut Steve Austin A.K.A The Six Million Dolllar Man, "I can't hold her, she's breaking up!"

NSFW image removed

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ted E.,