Have you heard about this? The school superintendent in Fresno County, California, Larry Powell, is a hero to taxpayers nationwide: Some people give back to their community. Then there’s Fresno County School Superintendent Larry Powell, who’s really giving back. As in $800,000 – what would have been his compensation for the next three years. Until … Continue reading School Superintendents: Fresno vs. Peoria
A public hearing will be held at Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting on a proposed amendment to the downtown Hospitality Improvement Zone Business District Development Plan (or HIZ BDD Plan, for short). The amendment consists of these two changes: Adding Staybridge SuitesIn order to add property to the HIZ BDD Plan, the added property has … Continue reading Business District project costs to double if amendment passes
From my inbox: Dear Friends of District 150 Campus Police & District 150 Union Leaders: On July 25, 2011 the Peoria District 150 School Board passed a policy which jeopardizes the safety of every student, teacher, and staff member in District 150. Policy 5:400, strips the Campus Police Officers of their authority to make arrests, … Continue reading Police union decries ‘diminished authority’ of D150 campus police officers
As promised at Tuesday’s council meeting, the City has released maps showing how the City might look with eight or ten council districts instead of five. Here’s the explanation: The Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council on Redistricting conducted several public meetings regarding criteria and possible maps for new boundaries of five City Council … Continue reading City looks at 8- and 10-district possibilities
Here’s what we know so far: [From the Journal Star:] Peoria 5th District City Councilman Dan Irving was charged Thursday with patronizing a prostitute, a felony that could send him to prison for up to three years. Irving, 43, of 10708 Alex Drive faces three felony counts accusing him of engaging in sexual activity with … Continue reading Councilman Irving charged with three felony counts
The media reform group FreePress has a campaign called Change the Channels, and it is currently profiling our fair city, saying, “Peoria, Illinois is suffering from one of the worst cases of covert consolidation in the country; all five of its commercial TV stations produce just two distinct newscasts and are controlled by only two … Continue reading Peoria ‘one of the worst cases of covert media consolidation in the country’
Georgia is one of ten states that won big grants in the “Race to the Top” competition last year. “Race to the Top” is an education incentive plan championed by President Obama that awards billions of dollars to states that have the best plans for school reforms. Illinois didn’t make the cut. But in Atlanta, … Continue reading Now we know how Atlanta’s schools raced to the top
The City has set its “top” and “high” strategic priorities at its latest planning session, reports the Journal Star: Of 27 possibilities, the council labeled only six policy priorities as “top” priorities for 2011-12. Those included focusing on code enforcement performance and direction, developing a school strategy and action plan, focusing on short-term shared services … Continue reading Peoria’s peculiar priorities
Readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic. Two out of three ain’t bad for us Illinoisans: Illinois high school juniors no longer will be tested on writing skills during the state’s standardized tests every spring, eliminating the last Illinois writing exam and shaving about $2.4 million amid budgetary shortfalls…. “Good teachers, good schools, good principals don’t need a … Continue reading Public education ain’t what it used to be
From the Journal Star: District 150 School Board Vice President Linda Butler was elected Friday as president of the board, which again passed over longtime member Martha Ross. Ross has been on the School Board for nine years, longer than any other member. After Friday’s 4-2 vote, she said the practice of selecting a board … Continue reading Butler new D150 Board president