District 150 recently voted to close Kingman, Irving, and Tyng schools — and a high school to be named later. This was supposed to save $11 million — and even that might not be enough, we were told. More drastic cuts may need to be made. Not only that, but the district had overspent for so long that they had no reserves, and they needed to issue $38 million in bonds to replenish those reserves and go on a fiscal diet.
Then last night, they voted to create three new schools:
The School Board on Monday unanimously approved a request for $25.5 million from the Public Building Commission of Peoria to build a math, science and technology academy, a career vocational and technical center as well as facilities for an alternative or nontraditional high school.
WCBU News added that they are planning to renovate and use existing buildings for these three schools.
But what about the $11 million in savings? How is it that just two months ago, the situation was so dire that we had to close four schools and increase class sizes, but now we can magically afford to reopen three other schools? Oh sure, the renovation costs are coming from the Public Building Commission (God forbid they not use every last penny of bonding capacity before this district’s five-year limited access to the PBC expires!). But those three buildings are still going to need staff and maintenance once they open — just like the schools that were closed. Aren’t they going to be eating up their savings? Aren’t they going to be overspending again, causing them to draw down their recently replenished reserves? Isn’t this setting up the district to be broke again in just a few years, like when they closed Blaine-Sumner and White, but then acquired the old Social Security office on Knoxville and renovated Blaine-Sumner for offices?
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against establishing these schools they talked about last night. These sounds like great additions. My questions is simple: How can they afford it? I thought they were broke. Either they were bluffing about the severity of their structural deficit when they voted to close four schools two months ago, or they are now bluffing about being able to afford the establishment of three new schools. They can’t have it both ways.
Hinton pushed that before Spangler left I am sure. She’ll do anything he wants. I won’t say anymore, I am too mad.
Looks like the teachers will be getting a nice pay raise afterall! Hey, they have money for buildings, programs, double-dippers…….I’m sure they have money for the teachers, too!
C.J. has covered all the bases. These schools are needed–the vocational and alternative schools have been needed for the last 20 years. But how can 150 justify new or renovated buildings when they are closing schools because they don’t have enough money to pay personnel to work in the buildings? Will robots or computers be teaching in these new schools? Also, did you all catch the information that Terry Knapp presented last night–new legislation stating that 75% of all teachers in charter schools have to be certified? That will probably impact the vocational school most heavily–depending on what kind of vocational school is being planned. C.J.’s last sentence states the enigma that does require an answer from District 150.
And what a slap in the face for the families and staff at the schools that were just closed. Just how much disregard can you show for a group of people? Ridiculous!
I have an idea for a few new local reality TV shows.
How about??????
Survivor: PSD School Board (viewers could vote them off)
Hinton plus Seven makes a Mess of District 150
I’m a District 150 Teacher! Get Me Out of Here!
I have to admit that I like the idea of the math/science, vocational, and alternative high schools; however, I am not crazy about administration of these schools. I don’t understand why they have to be charter schools. Why can’t 150 administer these schools. I realize that 150 for the past 20-30 years has demonstrated a love affair with the current educational fads and jargon but hopefully they can get past that. They could look at models from many foreign countries that have specialty focus schools. Richwoods could house the math/science high school. Central could house the humanities/fine arts high school. Then either Woodruff or Manual could house the vocational/adult ed school and the other the alternative high school. The alternative school could have tiers: a tier for those who just prefer a traditional high school; a tier for those who don’t fit into a specialty school; and a tier for those who truly need an alternative setting. The current adult ed and alternative school buildings could be closed. Of course, the district would have to play nice with the city and work out a deal with public transportation. They would also have to sell the idea to the community. They would have to have clear admission requirements and stick to them. They would have to have clear disciplinary requirements–if you receive so many demrits you lose your spot and must go to the alternative high school for a semester then you can reapply to one of the specialty schools. How much renovation would be required for the current high schools in order to house the specialty schools? I think that having choice high schools could be very positive if run correctly. I know that parents are rightfully concerned about the safety of their children, but if the students get to choose the school that best suits their talents and discipline is done correctly, then, in theory, all of the schools should be very safe. Of course, theory and reality don’t always match. Just a few thoughts.
Thanks for good commentary, C.J.
And I love the ideas for a local reality show! Says it all.
Why can’t 150 manage them? GREAT question. There isn’t any reason why they can’t. They just are incompetent.
Manual Elementary School is really taking off, isn’t it? I hear they have 37 vacancies that need to be filled before next year. They’re not reinventing the wheel so much as they are deconstructing a flat tire . . . Deconstructing a flat tire in the most inefficient manner conceivable.
That’s what they’ll do with these other schools too . . . if we let ’em.
While I believe these ideas were likely in the hopper, I suspect that their unveiling may have been moved forward by the Vallas revival. One didn’t need a crystal ball to suspect something like this was forthcoming after Gorenz started blathering to the PJS in an effort to make it appear as though D150 was already on a Vallas-like path.
Speaking of Vallas, after two days of researching, I have discovered that Vallas was relieved of his job in Chicago and in Philadelphia. In Chicago, he ostensibly resigned (having read the writing on the wall) but was under constant pressure from Mayor Dailey, because of reading scores in Chicago. In Philadelphia he had racked up a huge deficit for the school district primarily because of the charter schools to which he gave Edison contracts. There will be those who will argue (as many argued in favor of Royster inspite of her previous history) that he was a martyr, etc. However, when he comes to Peoria offering his services, shouldn’t he be up front about his employment history to prospective “buyers of his product”?
Following up on Jeff’s comments–I guess he forgot that Manual’s “real” names are 9th Grade Success Academy and Manual Talent Development High School– 🙂 one of the major selling points of the restructured Manual was “looping.” Looping means that students were to have the same teacher for at least two, maybe more, years. No one anticipated that because so many first-year teachers were hired (either 1st year of teaching or 1st year in the district), the majority of teachers would be pink-slipped. Now the staff will probably be made up of involuntary transfers–teachers who have no desire to be at Manual. So much for Kherat’s desire the first time around to hire teachers that were “team” players.
PS about Vallas: I actually like many of his ideas and can understand why his message is so appealing. I especially like his ideas about discipline, etc. However, his ideas require a particular mind set and guts. District 150 could easily follow his plan without using Vallas’ consultants. However, I do think that his accomplishments were a bit of smoke and mirrors. In a school system as big as Chicago, he could taut his successes and play down his failures. I believe I read that 20 of his charter (cherry picked students–my opinion) were successful but 200 Chicago schools were still low performing. District 150 does the same thing–brags about Whittier, Northmoor and other schools north of War Memorial, hoping no one will notice that the rest of the schools are failing. They brag about one-year two or three point advances in AYP–that can just as easily go down the following year.
Rod Mckiminson says
how district 150 staff and hinton staff start working for free!
Just like British Airways staff for free when the corporation council suffers massive, what could be better than employees working for free then
I bet almost every member of the board owns a ShamWow. That’s what these “solve-it-all-by-giving-us-money” education companies are about. They’ve found a way to commodify education . . . to exploit our children’s education funding . . . especially via federal funds. These companies broadcast their infomercials to administrators and board members, and the administrators and board members buy into them. Colossal waste of money (and time).
Difference between the ShamWow and Edison . . . the ShamWow may actually work.
About half of what we teachers do, we do for free.
Lewis Carroll sums it up nicely in these quotes ……
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
Rod Mckiminson
writes if district 150 is one worst districts in the state, bankrupting the city of peoria I think you should work for free more than half the time
and that does not mean sucking up to people to get then to waste another 30 million or 100 million dollars for district 150 mistakes in judgement
Rod Mckiminson
what was that name they use corporate council
if they were real company they be chapter 11 long time before chyrlser got their
Well the choices for administration have stunk for years! hinton did not do as most when they resign. He gave lots of notice and that lets him hang on and get more $$ while really screwing things up.HE just loves to spend. What a Board? Seems once elected some type of mental defect comes forth. Common sense {if any??} leaves. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TO A “POST ” ELECTED MEETING TO TALK WITH THEIR OFFICIAL? Once elected they do//vote as they please. What amount of money will get people to realize that the test scores mean nothing? What is so hard about teaching to READ /Write/ and do SIMPLE MATH ?? Go back 50-60 years. Forget all the so called ideas about what to teach and in what NEW building. If they can not pass those levels now then what good is wasting your time trying to placate
the goverment , the lazy kids and their worthless parents?
Popijw when was the last time you were in a school?
I believe that 50 or 60 years ago it was understood that teachers knew best and parents let them teach. Teachers were allowed to touch (swat, spank, wrap knuckles) students and discipline was swift. Teachers were not competing with TV, music videos and cell phones. As for new buildings, what business would continue to use an office that did not meet its needs? Classrooms with broken fixtures, lack of heat or too much heat, restrooms 3 floors away, electrical outlets that can’t manage the load of new technology (if the classroom even has any technology), definitely no AC, windows that allow little air to circulate but with seals that allow all the cold winter air in, and the list can go on. I admit some of these old schools are lovely buildings with lots of character and great architecture, but they are not suited for the needs of education today.
Rod,
Great idea–teachers should work for free. Not only would there be less people paying taxes there would be more on welfare so that they could provide for their families. If CAT doesn’t make a profit then their higher ups should also work for free. Doctors and nurses who don’t save every patient should work for free. Wow–the savings keep coming. Great idea!
J Darcy, Good question why can’t #150 perform like a charter school? Same as why BeWood Nursing Home that collect your taxes, taking in more than $4 million of property taxes and can’t break even. I’m not aware of any tax paying private nursing homes going out of business in Peoria.
There is no governmental body I’m aware of than can do a better job than a well run private entity.
Hmmmmm. Read my blogs, be patient, a lot more coming out as I’m collecting facts. Read my old blogs on problems at #150 going back for many years.
District 150 can perform like a charter school anytime it selects the best students and puts them all in one school–look at Washington Gifted. As I read more and more about Paul Vallas, the same is true of him. No inner city school in the country has come up with a way yet to raise the reading level (and therefore the academic level) of the majority of upper level students. Of course, I don’t think most have tried that hard. Somehow, as in 150, the decision makers believe that some program (like Johns Hopkins at Manual) can bypass literacy and make gifted students out of students who can’t read. For some reason, a large percentage of our student population reaches a plateau in reading beyond which they seem unable to rise above. Someone needs to figure out why that happens and what can be done to overcome this block in development. And, please Kcdad, just this once please don’t tell me about a broken system. The system might be broken but this problem with literacy goes beyond a broken system. The system worked quite well until we began to make education mandatory to a certain age. The U.S. education system (and probably all others) is very inexperienced at trying to make the whole population literate. I think it can be done–but I believe we need more scientific (not educational) research into how the brain works to find a real solution to this problem.
Yeah . . . I think we’re one of the few countries trying to educate everyone. Things aren’t all that bad. Some of the stats you look at re: other countries and how far advanced they are in science and math . . . Well, that may be because only the most fortunate are getting an education. We do deserve our props . . . in many ways. Kids in the U.S. (for the most part) don’t read any worse now than they did fifty or a hundred years ago.
According to PJS today 150 is exploring ways to spend the federal stimulus money. ” the district has hired an outside consulting firm to help direct the best use of the money” What! They can’t figure this out on their own so they have to pay someone to determine how to spend money!
What a joke!
The buck stops with Hinton. He evidently has no idea how to spend the money. This is outrageous. Why isn’t the board questioning his ability?
I have heard a RETIRED administrator is taking over at Lindbergh. Has anyone else heard this?
Serenity-
The Board approved the hiring of a retired principal from Woodruff to lead Lindbergh on a temp basis.
Yes, Dave Barnwell will be the interium principal at Lindbergh, according to the PJS. District 150 has already committed themselves as to how the federal stimulus money (or some money) will be spent. They have just committed to new or renovated buildings–buildings that were closed due to lack of funds. The buildings were closed to get rid of personnel (teachers, custodians, administrators, clerical, etc.). Now the plan is to reopen the buildings (or new ones). Won’t they have to “rehire” personnel to work in these buildings? Won’t that negate the savings they are planning now by pink-slipping so many teachers? What’s the plan?
Sharon:
C’mon, are you really asking for a PSD150 plan? There is no such thing.
Listen to what Dutro is saying, he makes a lot of sense.
He may have been crushed in the election,and believe me
there are people all over the country that are still reeling
from that loss. But this young man has a lot of great ideas,
and he should be a big part of the decision making for 150.
$tax
it would’nt hurt to get his input. No one worked harder to make a difference in dist 150 and from what I can see 150 needs all of the difference makers it can get. Bring back Stax!
Stax, Jeff wasn’t really crushed; I would say there are a good percentage of teachers who voted for him. His influence isn’t over by any means. Jeff’s voice is definitely the voice of reason.
Ouch! Make that “There is (was) a good percentage”–better yet–a significant number of teachers voted for him.
$taxwear has announced that due to their recent increase
in sales, that they will sponsor Dutro in the next election.
I tried to find an education link to share this bit of humor. I am always amused by the use of educational jargon: I found this online:
An elementary school teacher, well versed in educational jargon, asked for a small allotment of money for “behavior modification reinforcers.” The principal saw the item and asked, “What in heaven’s name is that?” “Lollipops,” the teacher explained.
I tried to find a site related to class size in 150. Class count averages for District 150 will probably be figured soon. When those figures come out, please keep this information in mind. Manual High School’s 7th and 8th grade has an enrollment of from 80 to 100 students—I’ve heard 80, but Jim Stowell says 100, so I’ll go with the higher figure. There are 9 teachers for that 100 students. There is an academy leader whose sole duty is to be the administrator for these 100 students. She makes a salary of $110,000 and has her own secretary. Of the 9 teachers, there are 2 math teachers, 2 literature teachers, and 1 reading and language arts teachers. My math skills aren’t the greatest but….since each 7th or 8th grader takes only one math course, doesn’t that mean that each of the two math teachers has a total class load of only 50 students. I would assume these are full-time teachers, so they should be teaching 5 classes a day. Doesn’t that mean that the class average would be 10? The same applies to the literature teachers—7th and 8th graders take only one literature course. Doesn’t that mean that in this academy there at least 20 classes have a class size of only 10? (4 teachers x 5 class periods per day). There are only language arts teacher and the one social studies teacher, but each has a total class load of only 100—which means a class size of 20 students.
The 9th-12th grades (divided into three academies) have 7 math teachers—the same number of math teachers that Woodruff and Peoria High have (I believe both have considerably higher enrollments than Manual does). I hope these figures shed a little light on the inaccuracy of class size figures—because I truly believe that class sizes at other middle schools and high schools are considerably higher than those at Manual.