Category Archives: Peoria Public Schools

Peoria Public Schools

D150 dreaming up still more ways to throw our money away

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Money in the trashThe Journal Star reports that District 150 is “considering spending between $7,000 and $18,000 to hire a search firm to help it find a new principal for Richwoods High School.”

First of all, I don’t see how this can be interpreted as anything less than a no-confidence vote against D150 teachers. No one internally is qualified? No one has the necessary leadership skills? What is the leadership of D150 trying to say here? Maybe Associate Superintendent Hannah can shed some light on this:

“We want a pool, I think, that we can really be proud of … I think that’s where the drive is coming from,” Associate Superintendent Herschel Hannah said tonight at a School Board committee meeting.

Ah. Translation: We’re not proud of our internal pool of candidates. (Although, just reading his remarks, he doesn’t sound very sure of himself. He thinks that’s why they’re considering spending thousands of dollars. He doesn’t know?)

Secondly, even if a school needed extra-special expert leadership skills — someone from outside the system that would come in and really turn a school around — is Richwoods the D150 school that needs it? Is Richwoods really more in need of a (for lack of a better term) “top-tier principal” than Manual, Woodruff, or Central?

I have an idea: Why don’t we put Herschel Hannah or Cindy Fischer in as principal at Richwoods and then eliminate one of those completely unnecessary, money-wasting “associate superintendent” positions? We’d save the 7-18 thousand dollars on a search firm and a full-time salary/benefits position — a win-win for a school district that’s supposedly trying to save money.

City of Peoria, Peoria Journal Star, Peoria Public Schools

Journal Star blindly supports more money for D150

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Peoria Public Schools logoThe Journal Star Editorial Board thinks District 150 deserves more support from the City. They think the proposal on tonight’s agenda to “share inflationary revenue growth from those properties in the [Eagle View] TIF that don’t participate in the redevelopment program” is too stingy.

They start off by saying, “The Peoria City Council should have no trouble approving an agreement with District 150 tonight that, for the first time locally, would allow the city’s largest school system to share in the proceeds from a tax increment financing district before its term is over.” First time, eh? Apparently the JSEB is unaware of or has forgotten about the $236,000 the school district receives annually from the Southtown TIF.

“That said, it’s little more than a toe in the water of the city-school cooperation that is so desperately needed if Peoria is to be an attractive place for young families,” they continue. By “cooperation,” they mean “giving money to District 150.” Never mind that the city already gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to the school system every year. Never mind that District 150 is its own taxing body — it takes the lion’s share of our property taxes every year. Never mind that, after figuring in all sources of revenue, the City of Peoria’s budget is only about $10 million more than District 150’s to start with (~$160 million vs. $150 million, respectively).

That’s not enough for the JSEB, or District 150.

If anyone at City Hall wonders why Peoria’s overall population is at best flat, and why its status in Illinois is declining even with all the new subdivisions sprouting on its northwest side in a different school district, Peoria’s core public school system is a big reason, followed closely by violent crime.

They’ve got that right. But naturally the JSEB blames the school district’s failure on the City and their TIF districts. Has the Journal Star Editorial Board ever considered the possibility that District 150 might be in the mess it is because of their own mismanagement? That maybe paying for four superintendents to do the job of one is a wee bit of a waste? That spending almost a million dollars on property they can’t use might be contributing a tad to their woes? That low testing scores and their inability to make adequate yearly progress is negatively affecting their funding more than the City of Peoria’s tax increment financing districts?

Yet some local voices are still urging the city to sever any relationship with District 150. It’s mystifying, because all involved would only be punishing themselves.

Heh. We’re being punished either way; why not save the money?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m all for true cooperation — but cooperation works both ways. The School Board (and evidently the JSEB, too) seems to believe that a “give and take” relationship with the city means that the city gives and the school board takes. It doesn’t work that way. I don’t think it’s asking too much for the school board to work with the city on, say, siting of an East Bluff school. Or, say, focusing on improving their test scores so they stop driving people out of the city.

More money is not the answer for District 150. Better management is. And sadly, the City has no control over that.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Housing Authority, Peoria Public Schools

City to consider intergovernmental agreement with D150

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Peoria Housing Authority LogoDistrict 150 — the district that recently spent $877,500 to acquire properties it can’t use on Prospect, let them be stripped and then subsequently had to start razing a few of them for thousands more dollars; the district that has hired four highly-paid superintendents to do the job of one; the district that owns the Meyer building in the Warehouse district but allows it to fall further into disrepair, lowering property values in that area; the district that refused to cooperate with the city’s good-faith effort to work with them on placing a replacement school on the site of the current Glen Oak Primary School — that district is unhappy that the city is trying to raise property values in the older part of town through the use of a TIF. They want an intergovernmental agreement that gives them some of the money if property values go up.

So, city staff has worked with them to hammer out a proposed agreement — which, interestingly only affects the Eagle View TIF, not the Warehouse District TIF. In the agreement, the city would reimburse District 150 $1.5 million to be used toward the cost of infrastructure improvements around their new Harrison Primary School they want to build, only if/when the fair-market value of improvements within the TIF equals or exceeds $95 million. The city would also agree that if/when $250 million in new construction is completed, the city will stop incentivizing with TIF funds and instead pay off any debts/bonds and retire the TIF.

It would also include the new Harrison Homes Primary School in the TIF. At least, that’s what I believe the language is stating. But I’m a little concerned about the wording. According to item 3 of the proposed agreement, it says that the two governments would agree that “the Harrison Homes site shall be included in the Eagle View TIF redevelopment project area.” Not the Harrison School site, notice, but the Harrison Homes site.

Now, it’s possible that “Harrison Homes Site” could have been defined earlier where it says, “WHEREAS, District 150 plans to construct a community school in the Eagle View TIF redevelopment project area at the Harrison Homes Site, bounded by Krause, Griswold, Folkers and Grinnell Streets;” but it’s vague at best.

You see, back in December, the Peoria Housing Authority asked for all of Harrison Homes to be included in the Eagle View TIF. But in January, the city council said “no.” In fact, they said “no” to a lot of requested additions. I wouldn’t put it past someone over at the PHA to come knocking on Peoria’s door if this agreement is approved and say that they should be included in the TIF because of it. Perhaps the wording should be clarified.

It’s sporting of the city to play nice with the school district, but honestly, I hope the council rejects this agreement. You’ll notice that it benefits the district, but not the city, as usual. The city should require the school district to agree to put an East Bluff replacement school on the site of the current Glen Oak Primary School as part of the bargain. There shouldn’t be any more of this one-directional, so-called “cooperation.” The school district needs to start giving back to the city. Right now they’re doing nothing but driving people away.

Peoria Journal Star, Peoria Public Schools

This is why we have the press and FOIA

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Kudos to Clare Jellick for her investigative report on the Roosevelt Magnet School field-trip scam. Her persistence in getting information through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has brought to light a very disturbing situation — shaking down district parents for money that they don’t owe:

The requested information shows that the district considers there to be a “total outstanding balance” of $17,391 to cover the cost of the trip – even though the figures provided show Roosevelt families actually owe only about $8,800. […]

With all the contributions from kids, families and community members added together, $40,491 has been raised to cover the trip. This is about $8,800 short of the total cost.

So the district is saying the parents owe $17,391, but the numbers reveal the families only owe $8,800 — a difference of $8,591. That’s a huge chunk of change. Who is going to be held accountable for this? Where is Mr. Hinton’s public statement on this issue?

The school board members should be demanding an explanation from the school administration. Will anyone have the cajones to confront Hinton at the next board meeting?

Peoria Housing Authority, Peoria Public Schools

D150 plops down a cool $750,000 for $178,000 worth of land

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District 150 BusClare Jellick reports that the District 150 School Board has “agreed to pay $750,000 for the 22 acres of land” on which they want to build a replacement building for Harrison Primary School.

The land is appraised at $178,000, but the PHA has maintained that it should recoup some of the costs for razing buildings there. The cost of demolition was about $1.4 million.

My question is, why? Why should they recoup costs for razing buildings there? These buildings were going to be razed anyway. The process was started at least a year before the school district expressed interest in a land swap with PHA for the land.

In fact, their first application for federal approval to raze 200 units (30 buildings) on the south side of Harrison Homes was reported in the Journal Star on March 30, 2005. On August 23, 2005, they added another 11 buildings to be demolished on the north side. “The decision to raze the additional buildings brings the total number of units to be destroyed to 306”; it was all part of a “10-year plan to tear down and rebuild the entire housing complex,” the paper reported at the time.

The paper also said, “Most of the latest buildings approved for razing are located near Harrison School, in the block between West Krause Avenue and West Seibold Street.” The “latest buildings” were the 11 that were added, with a total of roughly 106 units (306 total minus the 200 units initially reported in March). How much would that cost to raze? “The cost of demolition is estimated at about $4,000 per unit, said Regina Simpkins, director of facilities management.”

At $4,000 per unit, the cost to raze 106 units near Harrison School would be $424,000. But according to later reports, demolition of all 306 units cost roughly $1.4 million total, which comes out to about $4,575 per unit. Even then, the cost to demolish the 106 units near Harrison School would only be $484,950. Add that to the $178,000 appraised value for the land and the cost comes to $662,950.

So, if my reading and calculating is correct (which it admittedly may not be, since I’m only going from published reports) the school district is still overpaying for the land even if they eat all the demolition expenses for the land they’re purchasing. And that doesn’t even take into consideration this little nugget from that August 2005 article: “The PHA plans to apply for demolition grants so they can reprogram their budgeted funds for other uses, [Simpkins] said.” How much of this demolition cost was already paid for with grant funds?

This is a big coup for the PHA. It basically takes over half a million dollars the School District collects from our property taxes and transfers it to the PHA, an agency that has lost considerable federal funding as of late for a variety of reasons, including low occupancy in PHA properties.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Housing Authority, Peoria Public Schools

Time to shame Peoria’s most notorious slum lords

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Remember when the City of Peoria tried shaming slumlords by putting a sign in front of their rundown properties with the name and number of the owner? Maybe the city should put one of those signs in front of these properties:

Meyer Building small

Harrison Homes

Know who owns these properties? The top one is the old Meyer building in the Warehouse District, and it’s owned by the illustrious District 150, which is terribly concerned about losing tax revenue from the Warehouse TIF. Of course, their neglected property isn’t contributing to lower property values down there, right? Margaret Hanley, who owns A. Lucas and Sons right next door, called District 150 out on the condition of their property at a recent council meeting, and rightly so. I wish I could say this was an isolated case, but alas, it isn’t. The district has lots of neglected properties (not to mention their school buildings). They recently demolished one property on Prospect and plan to demolish two more. And they own about 10% of the property in the Warehouse TIF District, which was passed by the council tonight. So put up the sign in front of the Meyer building and others with District 150’s name and number; label it “slumlord.”

The bottom building shows a very small sample of the boarded up windows adorning Harrison Homes, owned by the Peoria Housing Authority. If you’ve ever been by this low-income housing complex, you will notice that just about every building has at least two windows boarded up, often many more. And if you saw the map I posted earlier, you may have noticed that a number of homicides and lots of aggravated discharges of a firearm take place within Harrison Homes. We’re not paying taxes for these people to run a ghetto. They’re supposed to be providing decent transitional housing for people. Allowing their properties to fall into this state of disrepair is egregious. Council members Gary Sandberg and Barbara Van Auken called PHA out on the state of their properties at tonight’s council meeting, and rightly so. Put up the sign in front of Harrison Homes with the PHA’s name and number; label it “slumlord.”

It’s time for these public bodies to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their role in lowering property values and providing havens for crime. If they don’t, then the city should go after them just like they would any other slumlord. If these public bodies moan and complain, the city can explain that they’re just cracking down on crime and trying to raise property values, for the betterment of all Peorians.

Peoria Public Schools

Royster lawsuit evaporates

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Kay RoysterI think everyone knows by now that former District 150 superintendent Kay Royster dropped her racial discrimination suit against the district. According to the Journal Star:

…a one-paragraph stipulation was filed Monday afternoon, stating both sides agree to dismiss the case. No mention was made to the merits of the case or any of the allegations.

I can’t help but wonder if this has any connection to the Alicia Butler scandal. Butler was going to testify as a witness for Royster’s claim, but she would have been a pretty easy witness to discredit due to the highly-publicized allegations that she did not receive the degrees from Bradley that she claimed on her resumé. Without her as an “inside” witness, could that have doomed Royster’s case? And could that be why an anonymous tipster told the Journal Star about the questionable resumé in the first place? Yes, I know it’s a conspiracy theory, but it is plausible.

I’m also wondering who’s paying the legal bills for District 150. According to the Journal Star, “Each party would bear its own cost. For District 150, that’s about $75,000 in legal fees.” But according to WEEK.com, “Attorney Dave Walvoord says no taxpayer dollars were spent in the matter.” So, who’s paying the $75,000?

City of Peoria, Dunlap School District 323, Peoria Public Schools, Taxes

Cheaper taxes another perk of living in North Peoria

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House GraphicIf you live in the older part of Peoria like I do (Uplands neighborhood, near Bradley), your total property tax rate is 8.35885%. If you live where fifth-district councilman Patrick Nichting lives (Sleepy Hollow Rd., north of Route 6, near the corner of Knoxville and Mossville Rd.), your total property tax rate is only 7.69782%. And if you live where at-large councilman George Jacob lives (Dana Dr., north of Route 6, off Wilhelm Rd.), your total property tax is 8.02308%. (Note: I picked Nichting and Jacob merely for descriptive purposes and because, as public figures, their addresses are already widely published.)

Why the differences? It’s because different taxing bodies have different borders. Both Nichting and Jacob live outside the Greater Peoria Airport Authority’s taxing district, saving them 0.24087% on their tax bills. They also both live in Dunlap’s school district (4.0644%) instead of District 150 (4.48456%), saving them another 0.42016%.

Jacob’s rate is a little higher than Nichting’s because Jacob lives in Medina Township instead of Peoria Township. Medina assesses 0.13019% for township government expenses plus 0.33166% for road and bridge maintenance. That totals 0.46185% for living in Medina Township versus only 0.13659% for Peoria Township.

So how does that translate into dollars and cents? Well, a $200,000 owner-occupied home in the Uplands will cost you $407.64 a year more in taxes than a $200,000 home in Nichting’s neighborhood, and $207.06 more than a $200,000 home in Jacob’s neighborhood. That’s not chump change.

On May 29, the Illinois legislature passed Senate Bill 263 which makes the airport authority’s boundaries coterminous with Peoria County. Once the governor signs that into law, those in northern Peoria will have to begin paying their share of the airport’s expenses. Since the levy will stay the same, but be spread among more taxpayers, those currently paying the airport authority’s tax will actually see their rates go down a little.

That will leave the 200-pound gorilla — school taxes — as the biggest difference between living out north or closer to the center of the city, tax-wise. In the older part of the city, you can find a wide range of housing prices, but the farther you go north, the more homogeneous the housing prices become. Pretty soon, you’re in an area where the lowest-priced housing is out of many people’s price range.

Those who can afford $200,000+ houses out north are rewarded with lower taxes and better schools. Meanwhile, those who can only afford a home costing less than $180,000 have few if any options out north. In Peoria, their choices are all within District 150, which means they get relatively poorer schools (based on Illinois Report Card info) and proportionately higher taxes.

I’ve suggested before that school districts 150 and 323 be combined. I still think that’s a good idea. But there’s something else that needs to be done: new neighborhood developments in northern Peoria need to have a broader range of housing prices. Instead of building homogeneous neighborhoods where every house is $280,000, new neighborhoods should include a diversity of housing prices. I’m not talking about low-income housing (that’s a different topic); I’m just talking about a range of, say, $120,000 to $250,000 homes being built within the same neighborhood.

All of these issues intertwine. Tax disparity, school disparity, and housing disparity all converge to make Peoria a tale of two cities. Things need to change, because our current trajectory is unsustainable. Some people actually believe that it’s desirable for the city to consider South Peoria the place for the violent and criminal element to live, the East Bluff to be a buffer, and the northern part of the city to be the “safe” part of Peoria. Folks, this is not healthy thinking. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

We can dream more inspiring dreams for Peoria. Let’s set higher goals for our city. Let’s not abandon our friends and neighbors on the south side out of fear and ignorance. Let’s not build neighborhoods that keep people out, but rather invite people in. Let’s make all of Peoria a great place to live.

City of Peoria, Peoria Public Schools

City and School Board should make a deal

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Peoria Public Schools logoI read with amusement the Journal Star’s report on the school board not supporting the proposed TIF districts for the Warehouse District and Eagle View.

The school district, however, is interested in sharing some of the tax proceeds or securing a commitment that some funds will be directed toward the area around a school planned for South Peoria.

So now they want to work with the city. You gotta love a school board whose definition of “give and take” is that the city gives and the school board takes. My initial reaction was that the city should show District 150 as much respect and willingness to compromise as the school board showed the city regarding the location of a new school in the East Bluff.

But on second thought, I think the city should use this opportunity to negotiate. The school board wants the city to share property tax proceeds from the TIFs. The city wants the new East Bluff replacement school to be located on the site of the current Glen Oak School and be urban in design. If the school board will agree to the city’s desires, then I see no reason the city shouldn’t agree to the school board’s desires, do you?

Let’s make a deal!

Peoria Fire Department, Peoria Public Schools

Prospect properties used for fire training

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Two properties on Prospect avenue owned by Peoria Public School District 150 are being used for training by the Peoria Fire Department (PFD). The graphic below shows all the properties purchased by the district:

Of those properties, two are being used by the Peoria Fire Department: 2144 and 2208. In addition, 2126 was approved for fire department use, but was razed by the school district before the PFD got a chance to use it.

Fire Prevention Chief Greg Walters said he contacted District 150 when he heard the District was planning to raze three of the houses. He asked if the Fire Department could use them to conduct training, educate people on fire damaged property insurance tips and soon after such a positive request the District approved his request. “We have an excellent working relationship with District 150,” Walters said.

In a letter sent to District 150 Director Dave Ryon (Buildings, Grounds, and Maintenance) dated April 13, Chief Walters explained that the PFD would be using the houses for hands-on training:

We will simulate fire scenes and the activities involved without setting fire to the building or buildings. We will use theatrical smoke periodically to simulate real conditions inside the structures. This theatrical smoke is not harmful to the environment nor to any individuals who may breathe it. In addition, we will be breaching walls and performing ventilation operations on the roofs of these structures as needed.

Walters didn’t comment on the condition of the houses before the training started except to say that a stairwell was missing in one of the houses and that they were “safe structures” for conducting firefighter training. Buildings the City of Peoria has slated for demolition due to code violations are often in such bad shape that they’re not safe enough for indoor firefighter training. So the District’s houses, which are in good shape structurally, “were a godsend” for training purposes, Walters explained.

In addition to breaching walls, the training included cutting holes in the floors and simulating fire suppression and rapid intervention scenarios. However, no fire was set to the structures, and the PFD was not allowed to damage the exterior of the houses, “for aesthetic reasons.”

District 150 purchased the homes in April and May of 2006 as part of their ill-fated plan to build a school adjacent to Glen Oak Park. The Park Board declined to enter into a land-sharing agreement at the end of last year, effectively killing the project. The property at 2144 Prospect was purchased for $89,000 and 2208 Prospect was purchased for $133,500. The assessed value of each property at the time was $63,750 and $89,190, respectively.

While I am deeply concerned that the school board has squandered thousands of dollars by purchasing this property over market value and now razing some of it, I think the Fire Department is doing the right thing by taking the opportunity to use these properties for training purposes. It’s sort of like making lemonade when life gives you lemons. It’s a travesty that the school board has allowed the properties to come to this, but if the opportunity can be seized to allow our firefighters to practice their skills, at least some good can come out of a bad situation.

2144 Prospect Ave. 2208 Prospect Ave.
The two houses being used for firefighter training are pictured above. 2144 is on the left and 2208 is on the right, obscured by large trees in the front yard.