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School Board News Bulletin
March, 2003

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Nationwide teacher shortage easing, as job fairs illustrate

Governor's initial State of the State address

Schiller maintains grassroots effort needed on funding

Deadline at hand for notifying teachers of non-renewal

National red alert would trigger local plans

President's budget underfunds NCLB

WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS

IASA conference set for May 7-9

New board member workshops announced

NEWS HEADLINES

DEVELOPMENTS IN SCHOOL LAW

Technicality trips board’s dismissal decision

NEWS FROM IASB

Problems with unfunded mandates, NCLB described

Susan Herrmann now full-time on policy staff

Boards soon will be asked to submit IASB policy proposals

REFERENDUM NEWS

More than 100 school finance referenda top April 1st ballot

All February tax increase referenda soundly defeated

RESEARCH REPORTS

Most Americans say school vouchers not the answer

NCLB's 'carrot-and-stick' approach typically fails

National survey: State tests lead to faulty teaching practices

Nationwide teacher shortage easing, as job fairs illustrate
Recession, rising deficits forcing many districts to make personnel cuts

While the shortage of Illinois teachers remains sizeable, particularly in some areas and teaching specialties, school districts across the country are seeing a major increase in qualified applicants this year.

Schools in Illinois, New York, Texas, Georgia and other states have reported an increase in teacher applicants, due largely to the nation's economic downturn. In some localities this increase in applicants also is happening in response to incentives such as rent discounts, help with down payments on houses, grants to cover moving costs, and teacher signing bonuses. But such stepped-up recruiting apparently is not widespread in Illinois.

There has been improvement in the state's supply of teachers, however, as shown by a recent report, the 2002 Annual Report of Educator Supply and Demand, issued by ISBE. The report found the issuance of Illinois teaching certificates is rising, with new certificates for teachers increasing 15 percent in each of the past two years.

Another indication of the growing supply is instructors' skyrocketing participation in job fairs. For example, IASB's eighth-annual job fair March 8 in Chicago drew a record crowd of job seekers, including 1,200 prospective teachers and administrators. In contrast, last year's event drew 261 teachers and administrators.

Despite the growing supply of applicants, however, most Illinois schools have not been doing much hiring. Budget deficits in nearly 80 percent of Illinois districts, and worries about faltering state and local finances, have seen to that. Instead, harsh economic realities have led many school districts to reluctantly approve Reductions In Force (RIFs) in anticipation of teacher layoffs.

Elgin's Unit District 46 Board of Education, for example, recently voted to RIF nearly 840 teachers and 600 teaching assistants. The potential layoffs were necessitated in the state's second-largest school district because budget constraints compelled the district to cut 14 percent from a $280 million budget.

RIFs of teachers have swelled the ranks of qualified job-seekers. So has the long economic recession, which has caused many qualified teachers to flee the private sector for teaching. Other factors credited with easing the teacher shortage include recruitment promotions, better pay than in past years, and an increase in the number of programs offering alternative ways to get teacher credentials.

The number of alternative teacher training programs has risen over the past two decades from just eight programs to 122, according to C. Emily Feistritzer, of the National Center for Education Information, in Washington, D.C. Such programs directed nearly 25,000 teachers in 45 states into the nation's education system in 2002, she said.

This may auger well for the future, but ISBE estimates Illinois schools will need to add 44,000 teachers through 2006, and about 2,400 administrators. The greatest need for teachers is projected in the following disciplines and subject areas:

• English as a second language
• special education
• agriculture
• Spanish
• reading/remedial reading
• language arts
• bilingual
• learning resource center and library
• physics and general science.

Sources: ISBE, 2002 Annual Report of Educator Supply and Demand, January 2003; and Chicago Tribune, "Teacher shortage abates," February 10, 2003.

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Governor's initial State of the State address to
legislators offers new ideas and programs on education

Governor Rod Blagojevich used his initial State of the State address March 12 to urge members of the Illinois legislature to join him in enacting a $29.1 million list of educational improvements. Specifically, the governor put forward proposals aimed at improving the state's preschool education system, boosting parental involvement (with more time off for parents), and helping schools attract teachers to hard-to-fill posts.

The governor announced creation of the "Illinois Future Teacher Corps," a new scholarship program that would provide scholarships each year to students who agree to teach in Illinois public schools.

These scholarships would address the expected need for 44,000 teachers by 2006 and could help attract teachers for areas and specialties where there are teacher shortages. Under the program, $5,000 annual scholarships would be available to juniors and seniors in college who agree to teach for five years in Illinois public schools in either shortage subject areas -- such as reading, science or early childhood -- or in regions of the state experiencing teacher shortages. Scholarships of $10,000 per year would be available to those students who teach in both subject and regional shortage areas.

In addition, Blagojevich called for universal preschool in Illinois. With legislative support for his plan he said the state could be reaching every at-risk three- and four- year old child in Illinois -- nearly 25,000 children -- within three years. "Every educational expert agrees that the sooner a child begins to learn, the better his or her chances are of succeeding," the governor explained.

Blagojevich cited the important role parents play in their children's education--and the many challenges they face.

"Our message to parents is unequivocal -- we support you," he said.

Blagojevich announced several initiatives to enhance parental involvement in education. First, he said that he would have legislation introduced to expand the amount of unpaid leave time parents can take from work to attend school activities, such as meetings with teachers or counselors, from the current eight hours per year to three full days per year.

Despite legislative complaints that the governor has not detailed his plans to balance the budget, Blagojevich provided no real hints about what he will propose in his budget address on April 9.

Prior to the speech, Blagojevich spokesman Tom Schafer announced the governor does not intend to disrupt year-end state aid funding for schools.

The remarks came in response to legislation unveiled March 11 by Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. (D-Chicago), designed to ensure the state would make its scheduled education payments to schools in June. The legislation was reportedly prompted by growing rumors in the education community that the governor would hold up the year-end payments.

"If these payments aren't made, many school districts will have to lay off personnel," Jones said. "Putting off payments until next year doesn't resolve any problems."

Schafer said the governor would not oppose Jones' legislation.

Typically, schools receive 24 state aid payments each year, but the last two payments need to be accelerated by the governor's office to go out in June.

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A financial "crisis of historic proportions" is facing public schools in Illinois, state superintendent of education Robert Schiller said in a February 12 letter to a Chicago newspaper.

"That crisis should and must drive elected officials and other policymakers to address seriously the level of commitment to education funding by our state government. That will happen only from the ground up. It will happen only if committed citizens demand it of the governor and the General Assembly," Schiller added.

Source: Daily Southtown, Chicago, February 12, 2003.

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State law requires school districts to serve written notice 45 days before the end of the school term to probationary teachers who are not being reemployed for the following school term. Notice is require 60 days before the end of the school term for any tenured teacher being honorably discharged because of a reduction-in-force (RIF) or the discontinuation of a program.

Notice must be given directly and mailed to the teacher, either by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personal delivery with receipt, along with a statement of honorable dismissal and the reason for the dismissal. In some cases these requirements also apply to the dismissal of an administrator. Employees who aren't properly notified are deemed reemployed for the following year.

Collective bargaining agreements, policies, or evaluation plans may have notice requirements that differ from the requirements of state law. As a result, school districts must be careful to meet all relevant notice requirements when making a reduction in force.

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In the event of a red alert from the nation's security agencies, school leaders should follow the advice of local emergency planners about whether to close their schools, according to the National School Boards Association (NSBA). What's more, school districts that don't already have one should develop a school crisis plan to deal with any potential safety threat, including terrorist attacks.

Schools are encouraged to develop their crisis plans locally, gathering input from law enforcement agencies, fire departments, health care and mental health care providers, and local governments. "Work with your local crisis teams to determine appropriate responses depending on your community. Homeland security is a community issue and your response and plans should be a community effort," said Dick Anderson, NSBA Associate Executive Director for Federation Services.

While the federal government does not directly fund schools to pursue emergency preparedness, the federal CDC recently sent funds to state health departments to provide funding at both the state and local level. These funds are for bio-terrorism preparedness and response planning, and developing laboratory and healthcare capability. Part of what is expected of states and communities that receive the money is that they work with a broad, community-based advisory group in developing their preparedness plans. Involvement of school districts and local schools in these advisory groups is being encouraged.

Federal experts say the best school safety plans are ones that can be flexible for a wide range of possible emergencies, including terrorism alerts. For specific guidance, however, the American National Red Cross has provided suggested responses for schools, which can be found at: http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/hsas/schools.pdf.

According to the Red Cross' Web site, it is possible that local schools and the general public, might be advised to "shelter in place" in the event of a terrorism alert. That means everyone would be asked to remain inside their schools, homes or offices, and close and lock all windows and exterior doors until the danger subsides.

Sheltering in place also would involve going to a windowless interior room or rooms located above ground level. The Red Cross advises that adults should listen to radio or television reports until the public is told all is safe or everyone is encouraged to evacuate the area.

School safety recommendations announced in March by U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge are part of a broad safety campaign rather than a response to any potential terrorism against schools. Their new Web site, however, serves as a clearinghouse for federal guidance to schools on dealing with all kinds of disasters; the guidance is available online at: http://www.ed.gov/emergencyplan/ .

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President George W. Bush's proposed 2004 budget includes over $12.3 billion for Title I programs for disadvantaged students--a major component of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. That represents an increase of $648 million or 5.5 percent.

But school advocates complain that the $12.3 billion set aside would continue to seriously underfund NCLB. The original NCLB legislation authorized about $18.5 billion for those Title I programs, yet only $11.8 billion was appropriated.

Moreover, the White House and Congress agreed last year to boost Title I spending to $16 billion in 2004, but the President's budget underfunds NCLB by nearly $4 billion, according to the National School Boards Association (NSBA).

That $4 billion needs to be added to the federal education budget to ensure that state performance goals are met next year--the first step toward the NCLB mandate to bring all students to proficiency in math and English in 12 years, according to Michael A. Resnick, NSBA's associate executive director for advocacy.

Source: NSBA.

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WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS

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"Leadership in Changing Times" is the theme of the 2003 Annual Conference of the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), scheduled for May 7-9 at the Springfield Hilton and Springfield Renaissance hotels. A brief summary of the conference program is available online at http://www.iasaedu.org/ conferences/conf.htm

For information about the conference, which annually draws more than 600 school administrators, contact IASA by phone at 217/787-9306 or e-mail cmiddleton@iasaedu.org.

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The Illinois Association of School Boards has announced its 2003 schedule of workshops for new school board members. These workshops will be held at various locations around the state following the April 1 election:

Basics of School District Governance will be held on Friday afternoon and all day on Saturday, April 25 and 26, at two locations:

• Rend Lake Resort, Whittington
• Indian Lakes Resort, Bloomingdale

Basics of School Law and Finance will be held on Saturday, May 10, at two locations:

• The Gardens, Litchfield
• Hyatt, Lisle

Basics of School District Governance and Basics of School Law and Finance will both be covered in a single workshop lasting two and one-half days, Thursday afternoon through Saturday, as follows:

• June 12-14, at the Hilton, Springfield
• June 19-21, at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago

Information regarding these workshops will be mailed soon to district superintendents and school board presidents. Details and registration information also are available on the Web in the IASB under Board Member Training.

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School-based health services significantly reduce hospitalization rates for asthmatic elementary school children, according to a study published in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Asthmatic children whose school has a health center also miss three fewer days of school per year (February 14, Reuters) ... The majority of U.S. elementary school instructors are untrained for answering students' questions about sex, research indicates. Only 34 percent of fifth and sixth grade teachers have received training in teaching about sexuality, according to findings reported in February in the Journal of School Health. This is important, researchers said, because research shows most parents want sex education taught in elementary schools (February 27, Reuters) ... State legislation to repeal the Illinois tuition tax credit failed to make it out of a Senate committee March 5, all but destroying any chance of its passage in the spring legislative session. (March 6, Belleville News-Democrat)

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DEVELOPMENTS IN SCHOOL LAW

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by Melinda Selbee, IASB's general counsel

Last month the Illinois Court of Appeals, Third District, reversed the dismissal of a tenured teacher based on a technicality. The decision, Buchna v. Illinois Valley Central Unit School Dist. No. 321, No. 3-02-0404 (Ill.App., 3rd Dist., 2-2003), is an example of a judicial ruling that favors form over substance. As a result, school officials must be mindful that courts do not make decisions based on children first; rather, courts can be sticklers for exact compliance.

The teacher, Lauri Buchna, was a third-grade teacher for the Illinois Valley Central Unit School District. Under the District's evaluation scheme, teachers were rated either "Meets or exceeds District expectations" or "Does not meet District expectations." Ms. Buchna was placed on a remediation plan after receiving a "Does not meet District expectations" rating. At the end of her remediation period, she was still rated "Does not meet District expectations" and was dismissed.

During her appeal before the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Ms. Buchna argued her termination was improper because the district failed to precisely comply with The School Code, Article 24A. Section 105 ILCS 5/24-5 states that teacher evaluations shall include a performance rating of "excellent," "satisfactory," or "unsatisfactory." The ISBE was not persuaded by Ms. Buchna's arguments; instead, it found that the District had substantially complied with Article 24A.

The Appellate Court was not as reasonable. In fact, its effort appears painstakingly persnickety to the point of being capricious. The opinion acknowledges that the district's "two ratings essentially represent the legislature's three ratings (with 'Meets or exceeds District expectations' being a combination of 'excellent' and 'satisfactory,' and 'Does not meet District expectations' being 'unsatisfactory.')" Finding that Article 24A-5 "clearly and unequivocally" requires districts to rate teachers as "excellent," "satisfactory," or "unsatisfactory," the court held that the board lost its remedial authority when it failed to use these ratings.

The School Code contains many mandates for boards and districts. This case is a poignant reminder that failure to follow these mandates may have harsh consequences. In this instance, the consequences included being required to retain an "unsatisfactory" teacher who had failed to meet district expectations both before and after remediation.

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NEWS FROM IASB

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IASB lobbyist Deanna Sullivan told an Illini Division audience in Shiloh C.U. Dist. 1 on February 27 that legislators and bureaucrats are anxiously waiting for new governor Rod Blagojevich to submit a state budget April 9. Sullivan said in the meantime legislators have introduced a whole host of education-related bills proposing new unfunded mandates.

Fully 196 school-related bills were submitted in one recent week, and assigned to 20 different committees of the General Assembly, Sullivan noted.

The bills included legislation: prohibiting schools from using answering machines and voice mail; requiring schools to keep defibrillators on site, with trained users; ordering school buses to be equipped with seat belts and ceiling safety hatches; mandating that all schools prepare an indoor air quality management plan; requiring suspended students to attend a community-based education program, with the district picking up the cost; allowing consolidation without district voters' consent; removing the authority from school districts to hold tax referendums while locking current district funding rates in place; and mandating that districts establish school breakfast and summer food service programs.

"We have got to hold the line against these mandates," Sullivan stated.

At the same meeting, the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law was the topic of a workshop led by John Mannix, IASB Associate Executive Director of Field Services.

"We believe in this," Mannix said. "But want children to achieve, but is No Child Left Behind do-able? It's not do-able."

Mannix said a careful review of the law is raising new questions about its weaknesses, inconsistencies and flaws. In fact, NCLB now appears to be yet another under-funded mandate that creates a burdensome amount of paperwork for local districts. He noted that it was estimated $6 billion would be needed initially to implement NCLB, yet the actual appropriation was $1 billion.

Mannix also stated that a major focus of NCLB is the achievement gap between affluent students and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. But he said the law's remedies in this area appear well intentioned but are misdirected.

"The whole thing about this is poverty, but nothing deals with the underlying problem of poverty causing the achievement gap," said Mannix. "There would not be an achievement gap if there was no poverty."

Mannix said the under-funded mandates of NCLB almost doom public education to failure. "Yet if we don't handle this properly, the feds will come in with vouchers," he warned.

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IASB welcomes Susan Farrell Herrmann, Assistant Director of Policy Services, as the newest addition to the full-time policy services staff. She has been working with IASB policy services as a Policy Consultant since February 1998. Before joining IASB, she worked as a Grant Writing Consultant for Park Ridge C.C. Dist. 64, and was awarded the ISBE "Those Who Excel" award of merit for her contributions to education in Illinois.

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Setting policy for the Illinois Association of School Boards for the coming year is an important task, and the opportunity for member school boards to suggest new policies is fast approaching. Copies of resolution submission forms will be sent to board presidents and district superintendents soon, along with a cover letter asking boards to submit proposed resolutions. Resolution forms may also be obtained by calling IASB at extension 1132.

Proposals from active member districts may be submitted by school boards for: 1) new IASB resolutions; 2) amendments to existing position statements; or 3) reaffirmations of existing position statements.

The annual IASB Delegate Assembly functions as a major policy-setting mechanism of your Association. The November assembly consists of delegates chosen by IASB member boards (one delegate per board) to represent them in setting policy for IASB in the year ahead.

The deadline for submitting resolutions this year is in late June. But resolutions are welcome at any time before the deadline, and earlier submissions allow the staff to better serve member districts by preparing adequate background materials for the resolutions committee.

For further information, contact your division representative to the resolutions committee or contact IASB Governmental Relations, ext. 1132.

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REFERENDUM NEWS

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The April 1 ballot will offer voters a chance to decide the fate of roughly 107 school district finance referenda across the state, according to unofficial State Board of Elections figures. That total includes 89 tax propositions and 18 bond issues.

Of the tax propositions, 87 are education fund increase proposals and two are operations and maintenance fund increase proposals. Apparently no transportation fund tax increases are on the ballot this time.

Of the 18 bond issues placed before voters in April, all but two seek approval to issue bonds for new construction. The exceptions are Batavia Dist. 101, which seeks to issue $5 million in bonds to purchase property, and Newark C.C. Dist. 66, which is asking to refinance a previous bond issue. Specifically, the Newark referendum seeks an increase in the service extension base for payment of principal and interest on limited bonds from $93,306 to $150,000 for this and future levy years.

Bond proposals on the ballot range in size from a high of $72 million in Wheaton Warrenville C.U. Dist. 200 to a low of $200,000 in Shirland C.C. Dist. 134. Tax rate percentage increases range from a high of 1.6 percent proposed in Astoria C.U. Dist. 1, to a low of .16 percent in Batavia C.U. Dist. 101.

The largest bond issues other than Wheaton Warrenville's called for proposed new debts of:

• $48.7 million in Crete-Monee C.U. Dist. 201-U
• $39.8 million in DeKalb C.U. Dist. 428
• $35 million in Grayslake C.C. Dist. 46
• $32.4 million in Troy C.C. Dist. 30-C

Voters also will decide the fate of at least four school district consolidation plans, including proposals: 1) to combine Alexis C.U. Dist. 400 with Warren C.U. Dist. 222, Monmouth and Yorkwood C.U. Dist. 225, Monmouth; 2) to combine Northwest C.U. Dist. 175, Sciota with Colchester C.U. Dist. 180; 3) to permit Tower Hill C.U. Dist. 6 to annex to Pana C.U. Dist. 8; and 4) to allow Utica Elementary Dist. 135 to annex to Waltham C.C. Dist. 185, Utica.

A summary of election results will be reported in the April Illinois School Board Newsbulletin.

Source: Illinois State Board of Elections, Web site search, March 7, 2003.

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Unswayed by growing school deficits and the increasing likelihood of reduced educational opportunities for students, voters defeated all four school finance referenda on the February 25 ballot. The proposals called for education fund tax increases; no bond issues appeared on the primary ballot.

All four tax questions were voted down by wide margins; on average the vote went more than 2-to-1 against. The results were well below par for tax increase propositions in February elections, which are held only in odd-numbered years. Voters have adopted 39 percent of tax increase proposals in February elections over the past ten years.

Two of the four districts participating this time have already placed the same finance questions on the April 1 ballot. Unfortunately, this primary election represented the final opportunity for school districts to increase their revenue in time for the 2003-04 school year.

Referendums defeated in February included:

• C.U. Dist. 300, Carpentersville
• Gurnee Dist. 56
• Warren Township High School Dist. 121, Gurnee
• Sterling C.U. Dist. 5

For a look at the success rate of recent tax rate and bond referendums, visit the IASB Web site link at: http:// www.iasb.com/files/finance.htm.

Source: Newspaper accounts, and State Board of Elections' Web site at: http://www.elections.state.il.us/RPS/pages/ReferendaSCrit.asp.

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RESEARCH REPORTS

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Sixty percent of Americans reject the notion that school vouchers represent the best answer to improving the education of most students. Minorities are the staunchest supporters of vouchers, with 47 percent of black Americans, and 54 percent of Hispanic Americans, believing that vouchers are the answer.

The survey found 88 percent of adults say public education needs improvement, while a majority of respondents say school vouchers alone will not correct the main problems. More than 62 percent of respondents nationwide say vouchers should only be used as a temporary measure.

Source: American Demographics, poll by Harris Interactive, January 2003.

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A study by the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Foundation says "success is not the norm" for NCLB-like efforts to revitalize failing schools by using sanctions to drive major reforms. The study found no comparable system of sanctions has ever boosted student performance in a majority of schools.

Thus, NCLB "may expect too much too fast," according to Ronald Brady, the Fordham report's chief author.

A second study released in February also casts doubt on the NCLB approach and the effectiveness of any kind of sanctions. Produced by the Education Policy Analysis Archives, a Web journal, the study said "putting schools on probation only weakly motivates teachers."

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Most teachers think state testing programs lead to the use of unsound teaching practices, according to a nationwide survey of educators released by Boston College's Lynch School of Education. The study, considered the broadest of its kind, also revealed that nearly half of all teachers thought test scores could be raised without really improving learning.

The report, prepared after surveying 12,000 teachers in 47 states, found educators do not object to standards but do not like being held to a single test. In a related study, researchers compared high-stakes Massachusetts with no-stakes Kansas and medium-stakes Michigan. They found that the higher the stakes, the greater the disruptive impact on classroom teaching.

Source: Boston Herald, "Instructors: Testing hurts teaching," March 5, 2003.

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IASB ARCHIVES HOME

Illinois Association of School Boards

2921 Baker Drive
Springfield, Illinois 62703