Tag Archives: Peoria High School

City of Peoria, East Bluff, Economic Development, Peoria Public Schools

Open discussion on Peoria High and East Village TIF

28 Comments

I have mixed feelings about the recent windfalls of state money Peoria has been told its getting. In the news recently have been announcements that we’re getting $10 million to upgrade Washington Street and $17 million to renovate Peoria High School and build an addition onto Lincoln Middle School.

On the one hand, the money is going for a good cause, and we can certainly use it. On the other hand, the State of Illinois is in a financial crisis, and this additional spending is not helping to alleviate it.

It has led to an interesting question that I didn’t expect to hear while we’re still reeling from the recent recession: what should we do with all the money? Of course, the Warehouse District money is pretty cut and dried. But the District 150 money is another story. I got this comment recently from school board member Jim Stowell:

CJ – can I please ask if you could open the question of how we should best develop PHS and the surrounding feeder system/neighborhoods – what collaborations we should explore, etc. Thx! In light of the recent funding grant, there exists tremendous opportunity. I am optimistic about the East Bluff residential TIF, but I also have reservations. The Dist. will no doubt be convening meetings, but the discussion needs to begin now. Thanks for providing a forum.

I’d kind of sworn off open threads a while back, but this does sound like it would be an interesting discussion. Other readers have expressed interest in this as well. So, always being happy to oblige my readers, here’s an open thread to discuss Peoria High and the proposed East Village TIF.

I’ll just add that while Mr. Stowell may be “optimistic about the East Bluff residential TIF,” that doesn’t appear to be the official opinion of District 150. The District’s interim comptroller Dr. David Kinney has been attending recent City Council meetings, and when I asked him why, he said it was in case an opportunity came to speak about the proposed TIF. He’s not what you’d call a fan of the idea. On its face, he says it’s a recipe for disaster. The preferred outcome is that it would encourage families to move back into the East Bluff. If it’s successful in doing so, it will require more services from District 150 to educate the increasing number of children, but provide no additional tax revenue to support them. Thus, it would put even more of a strain on District 150’s already stretched finances.

The proposed East Village TIF area is currently being studied for eligibility (this is perfunctory, as no proposed TIF has ever been found ineligible), with the consultant’s report scheduled to come before the council November 9.

Peoria Public Schools

District 150 disputes press release from Rev. Watson

38 Comments

After I posted the press release from Rev. Raymond E. Watson, Jr., I was received some e-mail messages disputing the accusations made. So I made some inquiries. School Board member Laura Petelle stated, “Contrary to what this press release claims, I have not been contacted by this group or any individual claiming to be connected to it, though I realized people sometimes misspell my last name when attempting to e-mail me. However, I attempted to contact them after receiving this press release and they have not returned my attempts at contact.”

In addition, I requested an official response from District 150 through Stacey Shangraw, who referred me to the new FOIA officer. My e-mail to the new FOIA officer wasn’t acknowledged, but Petelle forwarded me this e-mail from Superintendent Lathan (with Lathan’s permission). She also forwarded the e-mail to Billy Dennis (Peoria Pundit) and Emerge Peoria.

Board Members,

In response to Reverend Watson’s “press release” here are the actual facts about PHS. To my knowledge, only one blogger has inquired about the press release.

1) All principals and Central Office administrators in the District, who were not already on multi-year contracts, have been offered one-year contracts. There were no exceptions. Any ongoing multi-year contracts prior to my arrival must be honored. New principals were offered multi-year contracts.

2) Textbooks are an ongoing issue throughout our District. Several years ago, we evaluated our textbook process as a Six-Sigma project. We improved the process, but our high student mobility rate is an issue. To correct his letter, the first Peoria High textbook request sent to the warehouse was dated August 19, not August 1. The warehouse has filled all of the received textbook requisitions that are able to be filled.

3) There are only two plumbing work orders outstanding for PHS. A Sept. 30 work order for a leaking drinking fountain and an Oct. 5 work order for two toilets – one fills slowly and the other has a broken flush handle. A nearby plumbing service would need to be contacted.

4) I am developing a schedule to meet with all parent groups to introduce myself and allow time for Q&A.

5) We have been working collaboratively with the City to address the after school safety issues :

a) The posting of new signs on North Street indicating “No Stopping or Standing” and indicating no left turn onto North Street between the hours of 2:00 & 4:00 PM Monday through Friday.

b) Requesting support from the Parking Enforcement Division to assist in the enforcement of parking violations.

c) The installation of gates that will prevent vehicles from exiting designated entrance / exits.

d) The moving of the public bus stop form Richmond/North to Nebraska/North

e) The purchase of video cameras to tape student dismissal and after school activities.

f) Conduct school assemblies at all high schools regarding sidewalk safety.

Grenita F. Lathan, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Peoria Public Schools
3202 N. Wisconsin Avenue
Peoria, IL 61603

Peoria Public Schools

PHS supporter(s) respond to negative press

46 Comments

I received an e-mail yesterday that said: “The attached is a press release from concerned parents of PHS students. This is a response to negative and comments that have been publicly made. We send this in hopes that it will posted on your information websites.” It was signed by “Concerned Parents of PHS Students,” but only one member of that group was named — Rev. Raymond E. Watson, Jr., who is listed as the “contact person.” Here’s the letter:

Once again the parents of Peoria High School students feel the need to stand up and speak out against false accusations by the District 150 Administration, School Board and certain individuals/groups in the public that have made it their personal agenda to attack Peoria High School and thus, our children.

We have repeatedly asked for Board Members to come meet with us to discuss our issues and no response. We have contacted Dr. Lathan as far back as May, and had no response. If The Chamber of Commerce or any other organization deemed important by the B.O.E. or Superintendent requested their presence, they would attend. We, as parents, are tired of groups/members of the public that have no children at PHS spreading false rumors and accusations against our children and school staff. We felt the closure of a high school was a mistake but we have to make the best out of the situation. Those in the public that are spreading rumors, we ask you to stop because it does nothing but harm all the students of PHS. There is much truth to the adage if you can’t say something positive, say nothing at all. You are there to represent all the students of District #150 and set an example.  How do you think our students feel after hearing these unwarranted accusations? Remember, the Board voted to close Woodruff and now it is a Peoria High problem?  It might behoove you in the future to have solutions before decisions are made.

We have asked for a reason behind the PHS staff being the only high school that has its administration on a year-to-year contract. There have been numerous administrators that have received multi-year contracts before they proved themselves capable. Some have not even lived in the District and yet they are given multi-year contracts. This is a double standard and we feel there are ulterior motives behind the lack of continuity from the Board and Administration on Wisconsin Ave. We have been told that the Superintendent wanted to evaluate things before making a decision. So, what is the reason for individual administrators unfamiliar with our District and yet having been relocated to District #150; how do they justify receiving contracts without proven results?
 
If you want results, here are some results.

The facts are as follows:

PHS ACHIEVED SAFE HARBOR

AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IS 93%

ACT SCORES ARE UP AND NOT JUST FOR ONE YEAR

  2008 2009 2010
Average 16.28 17.08 17.7

The fact that discipline in school is being handled by our undermanned staff (add 500 students and only 2 additional campus police officers for a total of four) is a testament to the PHS Administrators who have made the best out of a difficult situation thrust upon them by a School Board and community leadership that failed to plan. Where are all the civic leaders that endorsed closing a school? Where are the business leaders that profess wanting the best for all the children of District 150? Talk is cheap!!!

The students are in a safe environment and learning in spite of the district’s failure to provide children with schoolbooks. It was not until e-mails were sent out that books were finally delivered 2 weeks into the school year and PHS staff requested the books August 1st.

Another issue is the transportation system that is the fault of District Administrators who were unprepared due to a failure to plan. This is unacceptable and continues as buses fail to show for extra-curricular activities, or do not have heat or are mechanically unsound putting our children in danger.

In addition, why has it taken 5 months to get work orders regarding plumbing issues addressed? Why is it that basic maintenance issues that should have been addressed years prior as part of routine upkeep of the building were presented to the public as ‘major updates’?

It is not the responsibility of school staff to follow students home. The responsibility to ensure your child gets to school and home safely is the responsibility of the parent, student, District #150 Board and District #150Administrators. It is unrealistic to think that school staff can follow every child home. There are numerous after-school activities and teachers are available for students that need extra help with their studies. The responsibility lies mostly with the District #150 Board and Administrators, not PHS staff. We realize that buses are provided for students who live a certain distance from their respective school and for students who have to cross hazard-deemed streets. However, again, this all comes back to a failure to plan, to obtain correct information; and it certainly points to the fact that the knowledge was not present when the Board or District Administration decided to close a high school. The due diligence was not done to plan for such possible events since the District has encountered similar issues with the other high schools. The onus is on the Board and Administration who failed to work cooperatively with the proper entities with whom they should have a good-working relationship to see how potential issues could or would be addressed. It is always best to plan for unforeseen happenings

We also are offended by the fact that nothing was done by the Administrative staff to prevent these stories from exacerbating on Channel 25 and in the Peoria Journal Star. Stories like this could likely be ran about every school in America, but the Board and Administration reacted to the stories by recommending staggering dismissal times, etc., in essence, blaming PHS. Again, more assumptions about our Peoria High students. We understand that there will happenings, but it is not exclusive to Peoria High. These incidents occur across every school, across every city, across the nation.

In summary, we feel we are receiving disparate treatment as issues are ongoing at the other schools, yet they do not receive the unwarranted attention that has been thrust upon the Peoria High School community. The Board of Education and the Superintendent have failed to address and plan regarding the issues mentioned above. We do not appreciate the inaccurate perception that is being portrayed to the general public about our school and we are extremely disappointed and frustrated with the lack of information and support that we have received. Randy Simmons and his staff are the best of the best and we expect to be treated as such, which provides for a domino effect to the education and fulfillment for the PHS students. Our children deserve no less.

We have asked for School Board involvement and been ignored. We have asked for District150 Administration involvement and been ignored. We will no longer be silent about the injustice being perpetrated against PHS and our children. Let all who read this know if you want your child to be taught by the best and cared for by the best then PHS is the right place for your child!

Peoria Public Schools

District 150 continues to improvise plans for Lincoln, Central

17 Comments

From the Journal Star:

Questions about eliminating four classrooms from an estimated $14 million to $17 million addition at Lincoln Middle School have led District 150 officials to step back and ask whether they should take up the project at all.

The plan was to build an addition onto Lincoln Middle School in order to transform it into a “birth through eighth” school, absorbing the students from the shuttered Kingman and Irving primary schools. Now the District 150 board wants to change or possibly eliminate that addition and use the funds to make more improvements to Peoria High School, which will be absorbing most of the students from Woodruff High School, which closes this Spring. There’s just one problem:

About $30 million in bonds have been sold, contracts signed and property deeded from District 150 to the Public Building Commission two months ago for about $24 million worth of work at Lincoln and Peoria High School. Both projects are expected to get under way this year.

So, this discussion is being held at the 11th hour — after the PBC approved the original plan, sold the bonds, and acquired the land. In other words, it may be too late to do anything about it.

This is what happens when you don’t have a clear plan and you’re working under a deadline to spend millions of dollars. The District 150 Board and former Superintendent Hinton had a five-year window of opportunity to use Public Building Commission money, and during that time they had trouble deciding on a plan. They vacillated on closing a high school for most of that time, finally voting to close it because the PBC supposedly required it in order to get the remaining $30 million available. That caused them to scramble to cobble together a plan to use that $30 million at the last minute. Now they’re having second thoughts about that plan.

Millions in taxpayer money about to be spent, primary school children wondering where they’re going to go to school next year, and the District is still trying to improvise a plan.

Peoria Public Schools

Peoria High parents and boosters express concerns

3 Comments

From my inbox:

District 150 Administration and School Board

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are writing as concerned parents and supporters of Peoria High School students. We have been attending school functions and meetings hoping to hear about the upcoming changes for PHS and have been incredibly disappointed with the district’s total lack of communication with parents from Woodruff and PHS.  We are registered voters and taxpayers in Peoria and cannot sit by and watch this situation unfold and say or do nothing. We have complete faith in the PHS staff; it is the Administrators from District 150 and the School Board that we find suspect and lacking. We are the parents that make up the boosters, we are the parents that are involved in our children’s lives, we are the parents that teach their children by the example that you cannot sit by and wait for someone else to bring attention to this matter, we are the parents that are demanding your full attention to this matter. We parents have heard the rumors that “PHS is being set up to fail” and, after the lack of input and communication with parents and staff, this may be correct. You, as an administration and school board, are not paying attention to the largest movement of students in district history and as a result it could become a huge failure, since we need to examine the problems with students and their depressions in order to give them help, and there are professional treatment centers for depressed teenagers which can really help a lot with this.

The most critical issue is construction plans that keep changing yet never made sense at the onset. The classrooms and security issues no one will argue with but lack of restroom facilities is a definite health and safety concern, yet it is not included in phase 1 of construction nor is replacing outdated and inefficient windows. We don’t understand how the restrooms and windows are going to be done in phase 2 when kids are in school. This should be done now -not postponed. Why would you wait to replace bathrooms and windows when students are present? There are no extra rooms to move into – so again let’s not think about the kids – just what’s more convenient for an administrator. Interior construction needs to be done over the summer and it can all be done if you place the demands upon the contractors and schedule accordingly. How is it that Richwoods gets new bathrooms and PHS has bathrooms older than Richwoods? Sounds like a double standard to us.

These maintenance issues should have been handled years ago. We challenge you to tour the PHS facilities and see what you have created. You have failed to properly maintain PHS and it shows. The building is not the issue; it is a superbly constructed building in incredible shape with many built-in safety advantages.  The issue is that you have unfairly allowed basic maintenance to go unheeded. We have been there for years and have witnessed the District’s repeated failures to provide even basic upkeep and maintenance let alone improvements.

The District has been lacking in maintaining PHS and has failed to provide even basic safety equipment to the point that the Boosters have had to purchase safety communication equipment. Relying on the Boosters and Alumni is taking advantage, as the District has an Operations and Maintenance budget for these purposes, as well as Health, Life, Safety funds, etc.  This is offensive to the PHS parents, the community, and most importantly, the students. This school is not only surviving but also getting better in spite of the District and School Board’s attempts to undermine. Mr. Stowell you can call us “a pig with lipstick” but we, as parents, know the real story.  

  1. Peoria High was the only District 150 High School to raise their Average ACT Score (2008-2009).
  2. By the end of the 2009-2010 school year PHS will reduce the number of suspensions for accumulation of demerits by 10%. At the end of the first semester the data indicated PHS was on track to decrease the number of suspension for accumulation of demerits by over 30%.
  3. By the end of the 2009-2010 school year PHS will increase the daily attendance rate to 90%. At the end of the first semester the data stated the daily attendance rate was at 93%. The PHS staff and administration believe this is in large part to the newly assigned Home School Facilitator.
  4. By the Spring 2010 Post Assessment (for NWEA) 20% of all PHS students will increase their math score.
    Spring NWEA post tests are scheduled for the weeks of April 19-30th.
  5. By the Spring 2010 Post Assessment (for NWEA) 20% of all PHS students will increase their reading score.
    Spring NWEA post tests are scheduled for the weeks of April 19-30th

The issue of lack of funding for athletic facilities is one more area of concern. You are creating the largest high school in the District yet you have no plans on correcting deficiencies in athletic facilities. Where are girls supposed to play softball? Where do boys and girls play tennis? This is unacceptable and has title IX lawsuit written all over it. If you don’t believe us look at Canton. Why have these facilities at this one high school not been maintained by the District, when the other high schools have all received monies for athletic facilities?  We demand you meet with your school staff, teachers and parents and get some real input from people who know what needs to be done and stop listening to administrators and consultants.  We are offended that PHS is being depicted as a “pre-Great Depression building, so therefore, in poor shape.  Many of our finest homes and buildings were built before the Depression.  It is your duty and responsibility to see that all District #150 buildings are properly maintained and this it is done equitably.  It is time you do your job and stop shifting blame.

Sincerely,
PHS Parents and Boosters

Peoria Public Schools

Counter proposals offered for D150

25 Comments

While Ken Hinton continues working on his plans to close schools and cut expenses, others have been trying to come up with counter proposals. There are two so far that I’ve been told. The first one comes from Board of Education member Jim Stowell:

Proposal

Purchase homes on Perry that front Lincoln

  • Build out a birth through sixth facility – beautiful new back entrance (or North end entrance to Woodruff campus)

Push up into Woodruff 7th and 8th from Lincoln

  • Mirror academy model @ Manual
  • Use best practices and cut contract and cost
  • Focus on technology (CISCO bias)

Close Peoria High; immediately begin:

  1. utilizing Peoria High as the much needed alternative school
  2. empanel group of Admin., etc. to begin planning for a better Peoria High

Planning and completion would take 3 probably 4 years – while it is being done – facilities are temporarily used as alternative school. Other programs might co-exist, but primary purpose is for much needed alternative school

Planning Part and Vision

Collaboratively with City and Park District acquire land from Peoria High North St. to Nebraska, and Nebraska to Herke Field

With city help – vacate maintenance and the two lane cut through to create Center Bluff Campus

Acquire homes on North St. to stop light. Close through traffic on North. The 74 overpass becomes gateway to new Campus.

Seen from I-74, it replaces cafeteria area and becomes a beacon on the hill.

Design curriculum to align with UIC College of Medicine and hospitals needs – have it be the choice school for a Medical Career path.

City concurrently working in planning phase to engage in the Impact Zone concept – on both sides of interstate.

North to Richmond becomes park like one-way exiting out on Knoxville.

Park-like campus helps shape revitalization of Sheridan North.

For 3 – 4 years we gain control over our costs by consolidating to 3 full service high schools.

We begin preparing what Peoria High School becomes.

oundaries for entering could be changed to south of Nebraska (McClure)?

  • go to Manual – Manual 1100, Richwoods 1400 and Woodruff 1400
    (Manual has been land-locked)

Redraw once new Central opened

  • also with academies
  • but potentially aligned with proposed Math and Science, which, should take on a lower priority currently than the needed alternative school environment

Back fill permanent alternative program into a vacated building that could be renovated

The other counter proposal comes from District 150 teacher Scott Donahue and is based on the 2005 Structural Budget Imbalance Task Force report. The SBI Task Force was made up of community members, D150 support staff, school principals, and board member David Gorenz. Many of the savings opportunities outlined in this plan were never implemented:

SBI Task Force Recommendations:
District chose to ignore these potential savings
Item Savings Recommendation
RIF Administrator $234,000 RIF Minimum 2-3 Administrators
Three Tier Bell Schedule $525,000
Eliminate Edison Contract $3,825,000 (2009-2014) Figuring district would pay $135,000 for benchmark testing each of the five years
Eliminate Department Heads @ HS $160,000
Eliminate Controller-Treasurer $150,000 Re-assign responsibilities to other central office administrators
Reduce Admin in Buildings $1,014,000 $78,000 per person for 13 positions
Eliminate Alternative High School $525,000
Eliminate Adult Education $171,000
Eliminate Transition to Success $184,000
TOTAL Savings: $6,788,000

This did not count more administrative cuts that could be made for additional savings if reducing programs and buildings.

Questions for the board:

  1. If most items from the SBI Task Force Document were implemented then where is money/savings?

    • Administration claimed to get a “Freeze” only to receive retroactive pay later on
    • The District got better than projected savings in union’s insurance package
    • The District got better than projected savings in previous teacher contract
    • The District got better than projected savings by limiting professional development for teachers thus no advancement on payscale

  2. What cuts has the District made to reduce the deficit?

My guess is that more questions and counter proposals will be coming forward in the next few weeks.

Peoria Public Schools

Mayoral candidate opposes high school closing

56 Comments

Parents and teachers gathered at Godfather’s Pizza again Sunday night to further discuss ways to keep Central and Woodruff high schools from being closed. General Parker, candidate for Mayor of Peoria, assured those in attendance that he will “stand behind [them] all the way”:

[flashvideo filename=https://peoriachronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/Video/WHS-Protest-01252009.flv /]

Parker distributed copies of a summary report from the House Appropriations Committee on the proposed stimulus package known officially as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. The summary stated that a large amount of funding will be going toward education:

Education for the 21st Century: To enable more children to learn in 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries to help our kids compete with any worker in the world, this package provides:

  • $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
  • $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.

Parker emphasized that last bullet point, implying the closing of a high school would qualify as a “[cutback] to key services.” Thus, he encouraged everyone to write their senators and congressmen asking them to pass the stimulus bill, and then ask their school board representatives to pursue some of that stimulus money to help them through these tough economic times instead of closing schools.

Parker also criticized city employees — especially [acknowledged that many city employees, including] our “most highly paid city workers,” such as police officers and firefighters — who don’t live in Peoria. By living outside the city, the school district loses revenue that would come from their property tax dollars, he said. [Parker states in the comments section of this post that another quote from last night better summarizes his feelings about this: “We need to make District 150 the best school district in the area to make the firefighters and police want to move back into the district.”]

Others who spoke at the meeting questioned whether the school district’s plan to redraw attendance area boundary lines is legal. In the state’s school code, there is a section (105 ILCS 5/10?21.3) also known as the Armstrong Act. It says the school board has the duty:

To establish one or more attendance units within the district. As soon as practicable, and from time to time thereafter, the board shall change or revise existing units or create new units in a manner which will take into consideration the prevention of segregation [emphasis added] and the elimination of separation of children in public schools because of color, race or nationality. All records pertaining to the creation, alteration or revision of attendance units shall be open to the public.

The argument is that Peoria’s schools would become more segregated if Hines and Von Steuben students are sent to Richwoods, as is currently proposed, and that is illegal under the school code. A legal opinion on the matter is being sought.

Several people opposed to the school closings are also getting together to go over (1) Treasurer Guy Cahill’s deficit projections to verify their accuracy, and (2) the district’s budget to see what other cuts could be made instead of closing a high school.

Peoria Public Schools

Central or Woodruff campus? Pros and cons

13 Comments

For all of you who wondered “why Woodruff?” here’s your answer. School board member Jim Stowell forwarded me the district’s “Merged High School Campus Selection Analysis.” It basically is a detailed pro and con list for each campus. I think it helps explain the administration’s recommendation that Peoria High be used for the new “merged” high school and Woodruff be used for grade school.

On a side note, did you know that “Woodruff [was] originally designed to be [a] junior high school”? I didn’t. I’d love to know the rest of the story on that. I wonder how it went from being a junior high school to another high school.

Peoria Public Schools

Budget not the only reason to merge Central, Woodruff

107 Comments

I was able to obtain a copy of District 150’s draft “Educational Enhancement and Budget Alignment Plan.” I discovered something. I thought that the district was planning to close Woodruff and distribute its students to Central and Richwoods. That is practically what’s going to happen, but it’s not technically what will happen. Technically, the plan calls for Woodruff and Central both to be closed, and a new school created:

Close Irving and Kingman primary schools, Lincoln middle school, Woodruff and Peoria high schools … re-draw boundaries and re-allocate entering Woodruff-Peoria high sophomore through senior year students to a merged Woodruff-Peoria high school on the existing Peoria high campus.

So the question that immediately comes to my mind is, “Why?” Why state it that way? I believe the answer is that both Central and Woodruff have been in “academic watch status,” or AWS, for five years as of 2008. Do you know what happens if they are still in AWS after six years? They go into State Intervention and Federal Restructuring, and that means some really drastic action could be taken by the state:

The Regional Superintendent removes the local school board OR the State Superintendent appoints an independent authority to operate the school or district. The State Board may dissolve the entity OR the State Superintendent may reassign pupils and reassign or remove administrative staff. Title I schools must continue to offer school choice and supplemental services. Federal restructuring options include the following: classify the school as a charter school OR replace principal and staff OR select an outside management entity OR state takeover and management.

However, if both schools are closed, then the academic warning status is moot. The AWS disappears into history along with the schools’ independent identities. A new combined school will essentially reset the clock of state accountability. A cynic might say that a plan to close and merge schools ostensibly for budgetary reasons is really just an end-run around the state’s accountability standards — and their consequences.

So, despite the protests that will take place Tuesday night before the school board meeting, I’ll bet this plan is put into action anyway. It not only helps fix budgetary shortfalls, it also obviates state action against failing schools.