There will be a joint meeting of the Peoria City Council and the District 150 Board of Education tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Gateway Building. The meeting is open to the public and will cover this agenda:
ITEM NO. 1 WELCOME – OPENING COMMENTS by MAYOR JIM ARDIS
ITEM NO. 2 WELCOME – OPENING COMMENTS by DISTRICT #150 SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT DEBBIE WOLFMEYER
ITEM NO. 3 PRESENTATION – PEORIA PROMISE
ITEM NO. 4 PRESENTATION – RACE TO THE TOP
ITEM NO. 5 PRESENTATION – DISTRICT #150 SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION – NEW and RENOVATIONS
ITEM NO. 6 PRESENTATION – SCHOOL/CITY IMPACT ZONES
ITEM NO. 7 PRESENTATION – PEORIA HIGH SCHOOL and READINESS to OPEN in AUGUST 2010
ITEM NO. 8 PRESENTATION – DISTRICT #150 ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE for 2010/11
ITEM NO. 9 PRESENTATION – MAYOR JIM ARDIS — MAYORAL INTERESTS in URBAN EDUCATION
ITEM NO. 10 ANNOUNCEMENTS and CLOSING COMMENTS by MAYOR JIM ARDIS and DISTRICT #150 SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT DEBBIE WOLFMEYER
Item No. 9 should be especially interesting, as it’s being reported that Mayor Ardis hopes to “put to rest” rumors that the City wants to take over the school district.
Lady I know, as a teacher in the combat zones of District 150, you have some difficult days but the teacher retirement packages are one of the MANY things that are breaking the bank in Illinois. Yes, you did pay SOME into your retirement but you never came close to paying in what you are receiving.
As for you Charlie, it might not be a “golden parachute” but it will sure qualify as a silver parachute unlike the lead parachutes we are getting for having to pay for your mega retirement packages.
How many of you stayed on working as a teacher for 30, 35 or 40 years for the children? Don’t even say that you stayed that much past 20 or 25 years because you “wanted to help the children”. You stayed in order to maximize your retirement benefits PERIOD!
Let’s be real stoopid… Judge much? Why does anyone stay on their job for 30 or 40 years? They love selling tractors?
Let’s be real—
There are many of us that are 2nd career teachers. We pay into SURS and TRS. We won’t be able to retire after 30 years because we will be too old within 25 years of teaching. I am proud of the fact that my 1st career was raising my children–all 4 of them! Yes, I worked when I was younger and some part-time while a mom, but my SS will be greatly reduced BECAUSE of my teaching. I went into teaching BECAUSE I wanted to make sure every child I came into contact with realized that they are capable of reaching farther than their parents did.
I am not looking for a golden parachute but being able to live without resorting to government assistance for things like groceries, utilities, etc. would be nice.
People who buy tractors are willing participants in spending THEIR money but the taxpayers who constantly have their taxes raised to help pay for YOUR mega retirement packages really don’t have too much of a choice…do they?
At least with the tractor it will work for you and work is the last thing that the majority of D150 students will ever do in their future.
Let’s Be Real–once again you are doing what no one can do–imputing motives to people you don’t even know. You can’t legitimately imput motives even to people you do know. Hopefully, you know your motives. Also, I thought that the state of Illinois invested our money–when money is invested don’t we expect to get more than we invested in return? Also, the state of Illinois probably couldn’t have survived if it hadn’t continually dipped into our retirement funds to use for other state services–now the IOU is bigger than the state can pay back. Yes, I did keep working for both reasons: because I loved the young people and I loved teaching and because I wanted to be financially secure in my retirement. Right now I am helping to tutor some of Hedy’s GED students and I am doing it for free and I hope I am helping the young men who want to pass their GED, but I am, also, enjoying myself.
Sharon – why didn’t the GED students apply themselves the first time? What are their reasons? How do THEY suggest stopping that on-going dynamic in our society? Apathy towards education is the worst form of cancer afflicting our community……..
Just asking, I am not sure that I understand your question. I have known many high school students that didn’t apply themselves the first time around. Some of them dropped out, and some of them just settled for barely passing grades. Many of them definitely didn’t have the advantages that the rest of us enjoyed. My own parents didn’t finish high school–and I never asked them why they didn’t apply themselves the first time–and they didn’t get a second chance. Because my parents didn’t finish high school, they saw absolutely no reason to prepare me for college. In fact, they were none to happy when I decided to quit a good secretarial job at first Caterpillar and later LeTourneau (which became WABSCO) to go to college. The one thing that impresses me about the young men with whom I am working now is that they do not blame teachers, the system, or society for not applying themselves the first time around. One of them has a wife (now taking ICC classes) and a son who came with his parents last night to GED class, so, I believe, he sees that his parents are not apathetic about education. Some young men currently taking GED classes recently spoke at a District 150 board meeting. They and their message to the board was extremely impressive
Civility, Ms. Crews? Whoa! Never thought I was opening a can of worms concerning salary and/or anonymity. Education seems to be the only profession where people are down right hostile when you make money for doing a good job and getting results. I have an undergraduate degree, nine years experience as a classroom teacher, a graduate degree, and work for the federal gov’t under my belt. I also work on the west coast which commands a higher salary than the Peoria area.
I don’t remember Peoria being this uncivil and disgruntled. I hope everyone who is unhappy is trying to change the situation with positive action, not just words. As I said before, I work in Education, but it is also my passion. Not only do I draw a salary for it, I also volunteer to try to better the circumstances for kids. I just sent out to my Peoria contacts list two wonderful grant opportunities Central HS or Manual HS may be interested in taking advantage: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-15084.htm and http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2010-2/061810e.pdf. Check it out. Maybe some can offer to help gather data. If the district is interested I will be offering my services to help write, FREE OF CHARGE, while I’m here in Peoria.
It’s disturbing that so many people seemed upset or offended by my post. Another reason I rarely blog. Just trying to set the record straight. I’ve done that now, so I’ll take my comments off line.
Oops – I didn’t apply myself “they and their message WERE”–probably other errors that I didn’t catch
Johnna–I should have said “most of the time, bloggers are civil on this blolg.” However, you are right, educators are expected to be volunteers with little compensation for their efforts. I think that attitude might come from the fact that the teaching field was once filled with single women who did work for very little. When men entered the teaching field, salaries began to change somewhat. I can remember a time not that long ago when I was surprised to learn that grocery store checkers at stores like Kroger’s made more than teachers. That did change but only within the last 30 years. It wasn’t just your post that elicited this response–every time teachers’ salaries are brought up, the results are the same. I guess there are just way more self-taught people in this world than I thought because teachers are certainly not given any credit. Also, I have the distinct feeling that there aren’t as many negative bloggers as it would seem–sometimes it’s just the same people blogging under more than one “handle.”
Lets be real
Trickle down theory??? That’s what you got?
and Peoria too
“work is the last thing that the majority of D150 students will ever do in their future.”
Oh… sorry, were you trying to be funny?
“Apathy towards education is the worst form of cancer afflicting our community……..”
yeah… worse than a Supreme Court that rules that corporations and their executives are above the law… immune to prosecution and endowed by their creators with unalienable rights…
worse than a a media company extolling the virtues of Joseph McCarthy and selfish morons like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman (Angle, Barbor, et al) and giving them platforms to spew their idiocy as if it were mainstream thinking… oh …
Our education system sucks for most inner city kids and isn’t very useful for many suburban kids… it doesn’t work. Why should kids NOT be less than enthusiastic towards their 12 year prison sentence???
Workforce education! What a joke.
charlie – you have all the answers and insight,yet make $16k per year? What keeps you from writing a book or marketing yourself to promote all of your “correctness”? Is it fear of rejection, no one is listening, or you don’t know all that you think you do? I answer D. all the above.
Charlie is the smartest man in the room! If you don’t believe me just ask him he will tell you he is.
Charlie left out how his pension is helping drain funding from childrens education.
District Watch meeting will be at Monical’s on Lake & Knoxville at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 27. Remember the board meeting is on TUESDAY, June 29.
I have been considering writing a book, but everything I have to say has already been written… it’s all my livejournal site there are no really NEW ideas. There is enough trash out there… Glen beck has a novel out.
“Charlie left out how his pension is helping drain funding from childrens education.”
My pension?
Did you see the list of names for 1-yr principal contracts on the BOE agenda? I thought D150 had about 34 schools–there are only 20-some names on that list. Does this have to be voted on three times to be approved like other changes to board policy, or is it one-and-done? (BTW: the district website still says meetings ‘are broadcast’ on channel 17.)
TR64: Last year several principals were given multiple year contracts, such as the Harrison School and Richwoods Principals. One year contracts for administrators are more common place than in the past. This will definitely keep them on their toes. I am sure this year will be a “test” year for many of them. Some may find themselves back in a classroom if their leadership skills aren’t effective. We shall see.
“everything I have to say has already been written..(communicated….spoken?)……..chirp…..chirp..chirp