The Journal Star reports this morning that Dunlap schools (District 323) have added 167 new students this year. More students means more federal dollars; it also means more people are moving into the Dunlap School District, bringing more property tax revenue into the system. Dunlap School Superintendant Jeanne Williamson is quoted as saying, “I welcome our growth, it says to us the school district is attracting families to Dunlap … and we’ll continue to serve them.”
But when she says they’re attracting families “to Dunlap,” she doesn’t mean more people are moving into the village, just the school district. Williamson was interviewed in a recent issue of Peoria Woman and had these interesting statistics to share (emphasis mine):
For the past two school years, we’ve tracked where our new Dunlap students come from. Only about 15 percent of our growth is a shift from District 150. The majority of our new students are from families moving into the Peoria area from other locations. There’s been extensive new construction and development of subdivisions in the City of Peoria that are located in the Dunlap School District; this enhances the decision for families to buy these homes. Since approximately 70 percent of our students live in the City of Peoria, it’s been a great marriage between the city and the Dunlap School District.
I would argue that it hasn’t been a “great marriage” for the city. It’s more like a divorce because it divides the city and damages our sense of community (and by “community,” I mean, “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals”). We now have a situation where the northern part of the city has an economically-advantaged student base with a growing school district budget, and the southern part of the city has an economically-disadvantaged student base with a growing school district deficit. District 150 is trying to educate the neediest, most at-risk children with dwindling resources while all the tax revenue from Peoria’s growth area is going to the least needy.
It’s the age-old story of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. And something needs to be done about it.
As readers of my site know, I’m a proponent of the Heart of Peoria Plan and related initiatives to revitalize our older neighborhoods in the core of the city. But everyone acknowledges that the biggest things we need to be working on in Peoria are crime and schools. We’ll leave crime for a later discussion; right now, let’s talk about what can be done to improve the schools.
I propose (and this is not original with me) that we consolidate school districts 150 and 323. Since 70 percent of the students in District 323 are from Peoria anyway, I don’t see any reason to have separate school districts that divide our city and cause an ever-increasing economic disparity that hurts the neediest of our city’s children. Our civic leaders should begin a campaign now to lobby for consolidation. I realize it will be an uphill battle and may take years to succeed, but someone needs to get the ball rolling.
I think it should start with the District 150 school board working directly with the District 323 school board. If those two boards vote to consolidate, a referendum can be put on the ballot. Otherwise, it would take petitions with 50 signatures from District 150 residents and 50 signatures from District 323 residents to get a referendum on the ballot. However, if the school boards were for it, I think that would carry more weight with the public.
Under a new law for school consolidation, the way it could work is that both District 150 and 323 would be dissolved and a new district formed with a new school board elected at the same time. Thus, it wouldn’t be like one district joining the other, but a new district with new leadership formed all at once. This could be the renaissance that Peoria needs to improve education for all the children of our city.
The last time Peoria experienced massive growth — back in the ’60s when Richwoods township was annexed — civic leaders (and the media, including the Journal Star) campaigned tirelessly and passionately about the importance of having a united school district, and they succeeded. I’m confident that it can be done again.
Wow A great idea. This would help 150 who is struggling with almost 75% needy or poor children. It would help to improve the schools that need it and build new ones to replace the older ones. But, I think this will go over like a concrete cloud in Dunlap. Simply because I think a lot of the people there would not see the benefits of such a merger. The “what’s mine is ours” syndrome would be the order. Sad
While commendable in theory, it doesn’t seem possible that the result you desire would happen. Dist. 150 in a sense is a virus. Merging with Dunlap would enlarge the “host” and I’m afraid would result in a larger school system becoming infected with the same virus. More families will opt for private schools or move out of the newly-merged school district.
Granted, it’s easy to poke holes in ideas for improvement. So what’s the answer? That’s the hard part. I think at least part of the answer is to allow people to have school choices – it’s part of freedom. Dist. 150 should strive to be the best it can be and educate its students the best it can. But it will likely continue to shrink, and maybe that’s OK. If it doesn’t meet the “market test” then it perhaps should shrink. But the kids who choose or have to go there shouldn’t be ignored. On the other hand, I don’t think we should risk taking down the whole Peoria-Dunlap region because we want to force feed Peoria’s public school system to them. It’s a very tough issue, and I look forward to other thoughts.
I guess I don’t see it as “force feed[ing] Peoria’s public school system to them.” First of all, no one can force the districts to consolidate; it would have to go to a referendum and voters would decide. So it would be a campaign of persuasion. Secondly, North Peoria cannot be sustained as an enclave disconnected from the rest of Peoria. Like it or not, we’re one city, and our futures are bound together. If the southern part of Peoria fails to thrive, it will hurt the northern part of Peoria. It’s in the city’s best interests to strengthen the whole city and not have its school districts segregated along economic (and, let’s face it, racial) lines.
“Great marriage”? Sure, for District 323. I doubt Williamson thought the same when she was principal at Richwoods.
C.J., I applaud you for recognizing the problem and proposing a solution. Our split district system is leading to further disparity between 150/323, and continued suburban sprawl. However I don’t see why District 323 would go along. If they merged their district’s growth could be stunted, with people moving to the Princeville or Brimfield district, or across the river to Germantown Hills or Washington. In a 150/323 merger there would be nasty racial undercurrents in the debate.
District 150 could take a step forward and close one of the high schools. Money would be saved by eliminating redundancies and operating costs, and 150 could redouble its efforts toward three high schools. Which one to close, that’s another political dilemma.
I fully admit I’m prone to idealism, so I appreciate all your comments. I guess I’m hoping that the things that maybe could help convince people in District 323 to consider consolidation are:
(1) The prospect of a new school district and school board, not just D150 acquiring D323. Maybe they could even assign a new number so that it’s a fresh start all around and no one feels like they’re getting taken over. Perhaps they could choose an equal number of people from each school board to run for the new school board so everyone feels their interests are being served.
(2) The argument that we’re one city and our futures are bound together; that the schools being successful throughout the city actually does have a positive effect on those living in North Peoria, and segregating our schools on economic lines would have a profoundly negative impact. It’s a long-term vision, which is a harder sell than a short-term “fix,” but I think it can be persuasive.
I think #2 is the easier sell. The argument would have to be framed around businesses and jobs, IMO. If 150 falls into an abyss, businesses would be less likely to be started in or relocated to Peoria, and many existing businesses may leave the area altogether. This would result in fewer jobs for everyone, including those in suburban districts such as 323.
What would happen if Dist. 150 just went away? What have they done to deserve to continue to exist? You can say they are a victim of their environment, but I’m not convinced. I believe in fresh starts as C.J. suggests, but the Dist. 150 train should be left at the station rather than pulled along by Dunlap or anyone else.
I’ll bet we (including the good principals and teachers, caring parents, as well as Joe citizen) could devise an education solution for the present Dist. 150 students if the administrative and other 150 legacy baggage would get out of the way. Sometimes in order to cure the patient, first all the crud needs to be scraped away.
OK. Let’s look at the numbers (’03-’04 data from iirc.niu.edu):
150 :
Avg. Teacher Salary = $54,473
Avg. Teacher Experience = 14.5 yrs
Instructional Expenditure Per Pupil = $5,625
Operational Expenditure Per Pupil = $10,038
Meet/Exceed Standards = 87%
323:
Avg. Teacher Salary = $49,020
Avg. Teacher Experience = 13.8 yrs
Instructional Expenditure Per Pupil = $3,739
Operational Expenditure Per Pupil = $7,121
Meet/Exceed Standards = 54%
District 150 has higher paid teachers with more experience, and spends over 40% more per student. Yet, their test scores are much lower (the national average is 65%). Spending a lot does not coorelate to high test scores. There are just so many other factors:
family – education a top family priority
safety – gun, crime, bullying
expectations – family, teachers, self
culture – is it “cool” to be smart?
District 150 should be making an agressive plan to deal with the root causes, rather than try to get money from 323. It will be hard and take time, I’m sure. Maybe I’m missing something, I don’t know????
So, if 150 and 323 are consolidated, does that mean that the “old 323” would get more money?
District 150 can’t address many of the root causes… it isn’t something schools do exactly. How does District 150 provide meaningful job opportunities? Yes.. I have seen the paper. There are a lot of jobs. Yes.. those employers cry oh me oh my.. there is no one qualified.
A past employer of mine had a simple rule they stuck too and it hurt me immensely in trying to manage my turnover. The rule was simply.. if you could not work there if you had a felony conviction, nor if you were arrested, nor if you were on parole, nor if you were under investigastion. Indeed some misdemeanors would get you fired too, oddly alcohol possession or intoxication was not one of them.
So one guy I remembered… I had hired was in his 50s, was an outstanding employee by all accounts of his performance. So a month later the background check comes back and he had a ‘minor’ felony conviction that was over 20 years old. I had to fire him (or get fired myself). There were numerous others like him. Most were stupid drug convictions or ‘petty’ crimes that just barely met the threshhold of a felony. I had one guy get arrested for being in the wrong place at the wrong time but he was never charged, never convicted of anything… fired. I hated it, the policy sucked. The thing is, the company I worked for was not unique in that. Many of these people, whom I talked to, had formidable problems getting jobs for some stupid mistake they did but for which they paid their debt to society. Most wanted to get on with their lives and we had a job that paid well ($8-$16 an hour on average). It probably cost me upwards of 30% of my staff or potential staff.
Onward… what about skills… it would seem many employers simply do not want to invest in staff. This is a problem at all levels. Companies want ready out of the box employees. So.. when I hear employers cry, oh there is no one with the skills, show me what they have done to enable folks to get the skills they need. Odds are they haven’t done a damn thing. There are probably plenty of 25+ aged folks that have largely given up but have recognize they need to do something and could if the opportunity were real and if the past could somehow be forgiven.
District 150 has much to do but so does the rest of the community. Unless meaningful job opportunities are made for those in the lowest rungs, you are beating a dead horse.
So everytime the city decides to grab more land with the idea of grabbing more property tax revenue, 150 should be allowed a piece of the pie? When the city expands to Kickapoo and on towards Brimfield then the Brimfield school system should also be happy to become a part of 150? Same with Chillicothe? Princeville? Many of these people moved and/or built new homes out of the city to not only ESCAPE FROM 150, but to get away from the city’s ridiculous property taxes. Those coming in from other areas moved into 323’s area to AVOID 150.
150 isn’t working. If anything, 150 itself should be broken up into smaller districts that can actually respond to issues. It is obvious that size has not given it any efficiencies.
MDD, yours is the first idea that could actually work. Dist 150 is a non-functional entity at this point. Dist 323 is working. The students in Dist 150 would be better served if the district was divided by 4 with each high school serving as the anchor for a new school district.
Not many places have “one” school district. Pekin doesn’t. East Peoria doesn’t. Also, District 150 doesn’t just serve the City of Peoria. What about the residents of West Peoria? Limestone High School district takes kids from the City. So does Pleasant Valley Grade School district.
How can the City of Peoria be “divided” by it’s different school districts when it was never the intention to be under one district?
Two weeks aago, the JS advertised 8 1/4 pages of employers seeking workers. The Workforce Network says 80% of the people coming to them seeking job placement lack soft skills such as listening and speaking ability, the ability to reason (common sense),writing skills, relationship skills, attitude and work ethics. I suggest we all work together to help people understand that hard skills are often times not the most important thing an employer is looking for. If a person has soft skills, they can be trained and earn a living wage or more. Why would an employer wastetime and money if a person has hard skills but lack the fundamentals of basic life styles?
I’m not positing consolidation as an antidote to all of District 150’s woes. All I’m saying is that it’s not healthy to have the city’s school districts divided along socio-economic lines. Over time, that gap is only going to widen. Pez does bring up a good point, though — it could be an economic advantage to 323 to consolidate; they wouldn’t have to be so heavily reliant on property tax revenue (their taxes may even go down). As far as teachers go, it’s worth mentioning that in addition to D150 having more experienced teachers, they also have more teachers with masters degrees than 323, which is probably the bigger reason they have larger salaries.
The comments I’ve been reading on here are a perfect example of why we should consolidate. Just listen to the bitter “us vs. them” tone, the statement that people are moving to 323 to avoid 150, etc., etc. Does anyone think that this kind of division is really healthy for the city? It’s not. We’re one community, and we should act like it.
But where do you draw the line? The ever-increasing lines of the city limits? Even so, District 323 is not anywhere near entirely within the city limits of Peoria. As long as District 150 continues its same broken practices, people will keep moving farther away in order to avoid 150 which continues the urban sprawl you seem to hate. Break up 150 into smaller districts that can work.
District 323 residents will not gain lower taxes by consolidating. They already have lower tax rates than if their property was in District 150. Why do you think so many businesses have moved from 150 to 323, even though they are still in the city?