Daily Archives: November 14, 2008

Peoria Public Schools

Math, Science and Technology Academy Update

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I received this communication today from our neighborhood association about the planned Math, Science and Technology Academy. The note at the beginning is from Second District Council Member Barbara Van Auken:

Attached is an update on the Math Science and Technology Academy project. Mike Dugard, Rod Lorenz, Michael Keck and I (along with a number of other academic, business, medical, research and civic representatives) serve on the Advisory Committee to District 150 for this wonderful venture.

Best regards,
Barbara

— Attachment follows–

Coming to Peoria: a Math, Science and Technology (MSTA) Academy

Providing educational choice and meeting forecasted workforce demands, Peoria Public Schools leads the development of a Math, Science and Technology Academy, with a hopeful opening in 2010. Projected voids of skilled workers in health care, engineering, manufacturing and construction, all requiring beyond 12th grade skills in math, science and technology, has directed the MSTA focus. The Board of Education has designated a site located in the heart of technology development, Renaissance Park, and has earmarked funding for renovations to the facility.

Working together as a team, representatives from health care, higher education, parents, manufacturing and technology companies, city government, neighborhood associations, educators, and city leaders, have come together to research and gather input from the community. The team is committed to opening a world class Math, Science and Technology Academy to serve as a model educational program as well as contribute to the economic growth of our community. Members from the Advisory Team have visited schools as far away as California and as close as Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis, with more visits planned soon.

What might the MSTA look like?

  • Students throughout the city in grades 4th – 12th grade interested in math, science and technology could apply with 450 students being selected using a lottery process
  • Cutting edge best practices in teaching and learning with the infusion of technology and project based learning will drive the development of the model
  • The cultural environment will foster collaborative learning to encourage student inquiry, problem solving, accountability, and the development of ethical leaders
  • The environment will energize students and teachers to rise to higher levels of achievement
  • Student learning would go beyond the classroom and extend to world-class mentorship and internship experiences with scientists, scholars, entrepreneurs at laboratories, universities, hospitals, and companies throughout the Peoria area
  • Longer school day , school year and opportunities for Saturday instruction will allow for differentiated instruction to build skill development both for remediation and acceleration
  • The school could serve as a professional development center for other schools to bring outstanding practices in math, science and technology

Why look at the MSTA being a Charter School?

  • Components of charter schools directly align with components identified by the Advisory Committee for the components of the MSTA
  • Charter Schools bring choice to parents, provide autonomy and flexibility at the school level to support innovation, support partnerships with parents and the community, and operate on a multi-tiered accountability system
  • The ultimate goal of charter schools is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of high academic achievement for all students

Stay tuned for more information on the development of this incredible opportunity for our students … for our community!

Xcoins has diligently offered their help with your investments in our children’s future. The site they describe as “located in the heart of technology development, Renaissance Park,” is the Adult Education Center on the corner of Moss and Garfield avenues (fka Washington School):

City of Peoria

Some details on Peoria’s budget-balancing effort

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From the City of Peoria:

On Monday, November 10, the City Council was presented with an updated budget proposal that reduced a potential budget deficit from $2,183,163 to $117,771. We have attached the entire packet of information given to the Council that night, which includes a transmittal memo, line item breakdown of reductions and additions, narrative and various other tables. At Council’s direction, staff continues to work to close this gap without cutting services to citizens or raising taxes. A final balanced budget will be presented to Council on Tuesday, November 25, 2008.

In addition to sending you this information electronically, we have also updated www.peoriabudget.com.

2008 Campaign

Times-Observer weighs in on con-con post

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The Times-Observer did a nice editorial piece in response to my post-election Constitutional Convention reaction.

Before getting into the meat of it, let me explain my most-criticized comment, which was: “Well, I don’t want to hear any complaints about state government from anyone who voted against the Con Con. You had your chance to improve things, and you blew it.” Some have taken this to mean that I want to somehow limit their free speech to complain about state government. Not so. Complain away. I just said I don’t want to hear it, which is another way of saying you’ll get no sympathy from me.

Now, as for the arguments against the Constitutional Convention (“con-con,” for short), here’s the thing I don’t understand. What harm would it have done?

According to the Times-Observer, “we cannot trust anything coming out of Springfield”; they then go on to compare a con-con to the electricity deregulation debacle. The Peoria chapter of the League of Women Voters’ spokesperson said, “Special interests, current political dysfunction in Springfield and party politics may gain control of the delegate election/selection process, as well as deliberations. Results may be unrepresentative of voters’ concerns.”

These statements indicate to me that these people evidently do not know how a con-con works. Delegates to the convention cannot be legislators. There would be a separate election of delegates. Furthermore, the proposed constitution that would come out of the con-con would have to be approved by the voters. That’s why it’s not anything like the electricity deregulation debacle.

Those who worry that “results may be unrepresentative of voters’ concerns” are showing a lack of faith in voters, who are ultimately they themselves. They’re saying that democracy is too scary, and there are too many potential pitfalls. Better to stick with what we’ve got. I, for one, am glad that our founding fathers didn’t have such fear when they decided to write the U. S. Constitution instead of sticking with the Articles of Confederation.

But, you might object, the voters are the ones who gave us Michael Madigan and Emil Jones — how can we trust such voters? I would direct you to a political map of Illinois and see how the district boundaries are drawn. It’s a textbook case of gerrymandering. The legislators carve up the state in such a way that they are literally choosing their voters, instead of the voters choosing their legislators. But with a statewide referendum, gerrymandering loses its power. It’s a straight popular vote.

Ironically, gerrymandering is an issue that the League of Women Voters is concerned about. Yet they shot down a process whereby they could tackle the problem head-on. They would rather stick with the status quo — where redistricting reform bills are sent to the “Rules” committee to die — rather than risk a con-con.

And that’s really their whole argument: it’s too risky. Well, life is risky. Voting against the con-con didn’t alleviate Illinoisans of any risk. It just ensured that the current risks would remain, and they have.

The Times-Observer quotes Shakespeare as saying, “The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape,” as if one option is the devil and the other isn’t. The truth is, the devil is in both options, pro and con. Voters simply chose the devil they knew instead of the devil they didn’t know.

Museum Block, Peoria County, State Legislation, State of Illinois, Taxes

Who’s afraid of the big bad economy? Not the museum!

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From the Journal Star:

With little debate, the Illinois Senate today voted 51-4 to send Gov. Rod Blagojevich a proposal to let Peoria County ask voters to OK a special sales tax to help pay for the Peoria riverfront museum.

The legislation, Senate Bill 1290, passed earlier in the House of Representatives. With Blagojevich’s signature, it would become law, and the question could be put to voters in the February or April municipal elections.

Not mentioned in the article is the fact that the bill allows increases in 1/4% increments, and could be used toward any “public facility” (e.g., Belwood Nursing Home), not just the museum. The way it will likely read on the ballot is:

To pay for public facility purposes, shall Peoria County be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales taxes by .25% (.0025) for a period not to exceed (insert number of years)?

This would mean that a consumer would pay an additional 25¢ ($0.25) in sales tax for every $100 of tangible personal property bought at retail. If imposed, the additional tax would cease being collected at the end of (insert number of years), if not terminated earlier by a vote of the county board.”

A quarter of a percent increase doesn’t sound like a whole lot, does it? But consider that, if this referendum were to pass, you would be paying .25% more on things that already are highly taxed — like restaurant food (which would go from 10% to 10.25% in the city). Is that going to make Peoria more or less competitive than East Peoria, right across the river? How many people do you think will come to see the museum in Peoria, then go have lunch in East Peoria?

And what about the economy? Is this the time to be increasing taxes when there’s plenty of unemployed people? What is the city’s solution on how to decrease the unemployment rate?
Consider these other items in the news as of late:

  • “[T]he effects of the economic crisis are being felt beyond Wall Street as charities locally and nationwide report increases in basic needs and decreases in donations to provide those. Some of the people who used to be donors are now asking for donations…. Nearly 90 percent of Catholic Charities nationwide report more families seeking help, with senior citizens, the middle class and the working poor among those hit hardest by the downturn…. The Salvation Army already has seen between 15 percent and 20 percent more need than last year in its first week of assistance applications received for the holidays…. The Friendship House scaled back the number of families this year allowed into their Adopt-A-Family program to ensure they could fulfill the need.”
  • “Fiscal restraint was the guiding principle in crafting next year’s [Peoria] county budget, which represents a 6 percent overall decrease over last year’s budget. In what is being described as a ‘maintenance budget’ with no new taxes or fees and no spending cuts, preliminary figures show spending requests at nearly $122 million while the county expects to bring in about $119 million in revenues. The approximately $3 million deficit – mostly in the capital fund – will be covered by reserve funds that sit at nearly $74 million, said Erik Bush, Peoria County’s chief financial officer….. The county expects to collect $25.5 million from taxpayers, about $1 million more than what was collected in 2007. Although the tax rate will drop 1 cent to 81 cents per $100 assessed valuation, property values are projected to increase 5.4 percent, so homeowners actually will pay more taxes to the county. The owner of a $120,000 home, whose value increases the projected 5.4 percent will pay $341.50 in taxes to the county, or $13.50 more than last year.”
  • “In total, the city’s staff whittled a $2.2 million budget deficit down to $117,771, an amount that some council members praised. ‘We asked an unbelievable task of our staff,’ Mayor Jim Ardis said. ‘Without cutting any positions or having any tax increase.’ …Finance Director Jim Scroggins said the biggest savings comes from the city’s health care costs, reflected in a substantial difference between the 12 percent budgeted increase for 2008 and the actual increase in health-related costs of only 4 percent…. In addition, the city plans to scale back on parking deck repairs ($300,000), repairs to some of its buildings ($200,000), delay repairs to police headquarters ($25,000), and reduce the neighborhood signs program ($68,662).”
  • “Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills has hit a record $4 billion, and Comptroller Dan Hynes said Thursday the situation is ‘potentially catastrophic’ if allowed to continue…. Earlier this week, Blagojevich’s office said state revenues will fall $800 million short of projections because of the recession. The Senate Democrats’ top budget person, Sen. Donne Trotter of Chicago, said borrowing money right now may not be a good idea because of interest costs. He said the state should tap into its ‘rainy day’ fund first. Hynes said money in the rainy day fund was used in July. Trotter’s Republican counterpart, Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont, also didn’t think much of borrowing money. ‘That’s exactly what’s gotten us into this problem,’ Radogno said. ‘Continuing borrowing is not a good idea. They’re going to have to look at making cuts. The wiggle room is gone.'”

It’s time to use all that advertising money to come up with another plan — one that doesn’t involve raising taxes.


Museum Block, before it was turned into a temporary parking lot