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School Board News Bulletin
May 2002

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State school construction grant program in jeopardy

IASB announces plans to build new headquarters to expand member services

JCAR approves mandatory chicken pox vaccination

Visionary Teacher of the Year honored

Bill would have required elected state superintendent of education

Legislature approves state finance authority for Round Lake

NSBA conference draws over 600 Illinois school leaders

New NSBA president finds education "at the crossroads"

NEWS HEADLINES

WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS

IASB revises booklet on meetings and records

NEWS FROM IASB

IASB can disseminate your board policies via the Web

IASB seeks officer nominations to lead the Association in 2003

Cole nominations now sought for 2002 newspaper work

IASB welcomes new Field Services head, John Mannix

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

Education issues summarized in new guidebook for all educators

State school construction grant program in jeopardy

As this Newsbulletin went to press, state leaders were faced with the difficult task of determining, by the May 17 legislative adjournment deadline, which programs will be eliminated and which will be saved in the state budget crunch. "Programs critical to school operations are on the table, perhaps none more important for the future of maintaining secure and sound schools than the School Construction Grant Program," according to Ben Schwarm, IASB director of governmental relations.

Threatened with elimination, the state grant program has assisted 367 Illinois school districts to build or renovate more than 9,700 classrooms since 1998. New construction or renovation projects have been funded in 78 different counties.

All legislative budget proposals put forward in April called for continuing to fund the program in the coming year, with both the Senate Republicans and House Democrats calling for budgeting $300 million this year, according to Schwarm. "We're keeping our fingers crossed, but it looks good at this point," Schwarm added.

Under the program the state has allocated more than $2.1 billion in matching funds to local districts for construction costs, including a record $740 million in the current fiscal year (FY 2002). Appropriations to date are as follows:

The Illinois Association of School Boards, along with lobbying partners in the Statewide School Management Alliance, has urged lawmakers to rescue and adequately fund the construction program. "Legislators need to hear from school board members, administrators, teachers, parents and taxpayers on this issue," noted an urgent alert sent by e-mail to school board presidents from IASB on April 16.

Besides those already funded, another 189 districts remain eligible under the program, and 50 more school district applications for FY 2003 were pending state agency review.

Local taxpayers have pledged their financial commitment to match state funds for all of these projects, but with just $70 million remaining in the program, only a handful would receive assistance without some last-minute budget revisions.

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IASB announces plans to build new headquarters to expand member services

The Board of Directors of the Illinois Association of School Boards recently directed the staff to hire an architect and explore purchase options for construction of a new IASB headquarters building on the south side of Springfield. The board on May 3 visited a 1.5-acre site in the city's Park South development across the street from the Illinois Principals Association's new head-quarters.

The proposed $2.5 million (projected) building -- to be paid for out of budget reserves -- would expand office space from 12,600 square feet to 20,000 square feet. More room is required in order to provide much-needed additional workspace and parking to accommodate growing member services, including a planned increase in field staff. Building expansion options on the present site at 430 East Vine were found to be too limited and too costly in light of city regulations, and leasing options were ruled out for cost reasons, as well.

"Therefore, building on another site is the only logical solution and three sites are being explored," said the minutes of the Board's February 23 meeting. Of the three sites initially considered, two were located on the far west side of Springfield, and one was on the south side.

The south side location was deemed far more convenient for Capitol area access. Governmental relations staff, for example, could reach the State House more rapidly from the South Park location.

IASB signed a purchase contract for the site, and the Board voted May 4 to approve $375,000 for purchase of land, following completion of Phase I environmental testing by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Such testing was considered necessary because the site, while surrounded by other office buildings, is located on the former grounds of a reclaimed manufacturing facility for Fiat trucks and, before that, Allis-Chalmers farm equipment.

Preliminary plans call for ground breaking on the new site by September of this year, with an April or May target date for moving to the new building in the spring of 2003.

Funds for the cost of the new building will come from member's equity (reserve funds). No borrowing will be required for the project.

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The legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) voted April 10 to approve a new state regulation requiring that all children entering kindergarten or day care after July 1, 2002, be vaccinated against chicken pox. The proposed rule was submitted by the state Department of Public Health last year and pushed through in the midst of a vaccine shortage despite declining incidence in Illinois, from 24,798 cases in 1995 to 12,848 cases in 2000.

The rule, advocated primarily by Illinois public health director John Lumpkin, made Illinois the 34th state to require chicken pox vaccinations. It will take effect July 1, and will be in place for the 2002-03 school year in the fall, generally at a cost to parents of roughly $100 per vaccination. There would be no significant additional cost to schools and no new policy action is required, however the requirement could make more work for school secretaries and other staff who must check for proof of the vaccination.

"Despite the widespread belief that chickenpox is a mild childhood disease, it in fact causes an average of five deaths a year in Illinois and hundreds of hospitalizations," public health director Lumpkin stated.

Although the new vaccine requirement has the force of law, no legislation was adopted to include chicken pox shots as the ninth immunization requirement for children entering school. The other school immunizations required in Illinois are diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, rubella, and tetanus.

The Department of Public Health is given broad latitude in statute to add new vaccination requirements by rule, and the process merely requires the agency to submit the proposed rule for public comment. This was done in November 2001, and with no objection by JCAR, the rule now will be deemed adopted once it is printed in the Illinois Register, the official publication for all state agency rulemakings.

The rule requires:

1. Any child two years of age or older who first enters a pre-kindergarten child-care program on or after July 1, 2002, must show proof of having received the varicella vaccine after age one or proof of prior varicella disease or laboratory evidence of varicella immunity.
2. Children who first enter kindergarten on or after July 1, 2002, must also show such proof.
3. In schools where grade levels are not assigned, students must show proof of having received the vaccine after age one or other proof of immunity must be submitted prior to the school year in which the child reaches age five.

If proof of prior chicken pox is submitted, it must be verified by one of three kinds of evidence: 1) date of illness signed by a physician; or 2) a health care provider's interpretation that a parent's or legal guardian's description of disease history is indicative of past infection; or 3) laboratory evidence of immunity.

A child without the state-mandated vaccinations may not be allowed to attend school or a day care facility. School districts must demonstrate at least 90 percent compliance with the immunization requirements by October 15 each year or face a 10 percent loss of state aid. School districts have the option of enforcing the requirement anytime from the opening day of school until October 15.

Some opponents of the vaccination requirement questioned the safety of the vaccine itself. Merck & Company, the only chicken pox vaccine supplier in the United States, was cited by the FDA last year for quality-control problems at a Pennsylvania manufacturing plant.

What's more, there is now a shortage of the vaccine after "two voluntary interruptions" recently occurred in manufacturing the antibodies, according to Merck. One interruption was in response to issues raised by the FDA. The firm still expects, however, to have normal supplies on hand by early summer.

The current low supply is but one of many U.S. shortages of vaccines, including those for measles and tetanus. The shortages apparently have occurred for a number of reasons, including the end of production by one manufacturer and some new FDA requirements for a preservative commonly used in many vaccines.

The shortage has prompted some states to change their policies on school admissions by temporarily easing childhood vaccination requirements.

"Merck has told us there will not be any problem getting the vaccine before the start of the school year," said infectious disease expert Janet Larson, of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Should shortages continue, however, parents can simply obtain a note from their physician to send to schools in order to be enrolled until the vaccine becomes available, Larson said.

Sources: Alliance Legislative Report 92-49, April 12, 2002; Chicago Tribune, "Shortage a threat to routine of vaccinations," April 12, 2002; Janet Larson, Illinois Department of Public Health, conversation, April 30, 2002.

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William Fremd High School physics teacher and science department chair Robert Grimm says that his vision for education focuses on doing whatever is necessary to ensure that students succeed not just within the classroom, but within the community as well.

Grimm, who teaches in Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211, was chosen Teacher of the Year from among 14 finalists in the Illinois State Board of Education's Those Who Excel awards program. Grimm and about 290 other educators, school staff, parents and community volunteers were honored April 13 in Springfield as part of the 28th annual event.

Grimm will spend the first semester of the coming school year traveling the state, speaking at conferences, and serving as "an advocate for the classroom." He can be booked by local school districts for speaking engagements next year.

In the meantime, he will represent Illinois this summer at the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, and in a National Teacher of the Year program.

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An ill-fated proposal to require that the state superintendent of education be elected rather than appointed was to have been heard in committee April 23, but the hearing was cancelled. Specifically, the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee chose to delay the gathering of testimony on House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 13 (Hoeft, R-Elgin) until May 1, apparently too late to permit placing the proposal on the November ballot.

The resolution calls for the State Superintendent of Education to be elected statewide in the General Election for a four-year term. The proposal needed to pass both the House and Senate by a 3/5 majority in order to be placed on the statewide ballot.

With the delay, however, it was not possible for the question to go to the voters this November, although the plan remains alive for next year. The state constitution states that such questions must be approved by the legislature at least six months before the next general election. Thus, both chambers would have had to approve the measure by May 5, but the Senate was not even scheduled for session that week.

Currently the state constitution requires that an Illinois State Board of Education "be elected or selected" on a regional basis, with selection specifics left up to state law.

Before 1975 the state had an elected Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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The Illinois Senate voted April 25 to send a bill to the governor that would create a finance authority to run troubled Round Lake District 116. If Governor George Ryan signs the bill, it would create such a school finance authority for only the second time in state history (the first involved Chicago District 299 in 1980).

District 116 is operating under short-term debt of $14 million and long-term debt of $40 million. It has been on the state's financial watch list for a decade.

The legislation sent to the governor would establish a five-member finance authority to be named by the Illinois Superintendent of Education. The authority would control the school district's finances for at least the next decade, longer if debts are not paid off.

The new authority would be granted the power to issue bonds and increase property taxes in excess of tax-cap limitations and without local voter approval. This finance authority is to include only two members from within the community, and three from other areas of the state. It would be required by law to immediately employ a new CEO, along with a top financial administrator and a chief education executive.

As reported in the March 2002 Newsbulletin, the financial oversight panel that manages district funds urged the state in January to create a finance authority with broad powers to remedy the financial troubles that have plagued District 116. But the state oversight panel initially suggested giving the finance authority powers to prevent teachers from striking for the next five years, and to suspend bargaining on teacher reassignment and class size.

Those restrictions on labor privileges were lifted from the bill under pressure from teacher labor organizations, prompting the local board of education to oppose the legislation. District 116 Board President Terre Ezyk notes, however, "We'll be ready to work with the finance authority."

If the governor should choose not to sign the finance authority bill, the financial oversight panel has recommended the district be disbanded and its students sent to surrounding districts.

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A total of 639 Illinois school representatives registered for the 62nd annual conference of the National School Boards Association held in New Orleans in April.

The annual event drew nearly 16,000 school board members and education officials from across the country. Illinois was represented in panels, education excellence fair, delegate assembly, receptions, and state executive directors' meetings. Attendees also heard four nationally-renowned general session speakers, visited more than 350 exhibitors, and joined as many as 24 pre-conference workshops, in addition to enjoying the sights and sounds of this historic Louisiana city.

NSBA Delegate Assembly participants from Illinois were IASB President Christy Coleman, Vice President Ray Zimmerman, immediate past president Dennis McConville, and the Chicago Board representative to the IASB board, Tariq Butt. Alternates were IASB Blackhawk Division director David Kniker, and at-large director Michelle Skinlo.

The delegates proposed six NSBA constitution and bylaw changes, 14 policy amendments, and 21 resolutions. Leading the discussion were reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Other issues included full federal funding for mandated programs, agency collaboration, national testing, arts education, school governance takeovers, early childhood education, and rules governing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Skinlo, who is active in the Eastern Illinois Area Special Education Cooperative, was especially interested in the IDEA resolution.

"Besides asking Congress and the President to improve the funding mechanisms, we wanted to provide more protection for students' rights and limit liabilities for districts who act in good faith to provide educational opportunities to disabled children," she said. Language was clarified over the weekend to resolve differences between two state delegations before the delegates voted overwhelming support at Monday's session.

Skinlo added that she was impressed with the structure and orderliness of the delegate assembly, and with how many observers attended. "A lot of people took the time to come to listen when they had other things they could be doing," she said.

McConville said he was impressed with the state's large turnout, making Illinois second in total registrations. "It's important that these individual boards take an interest in the national conference … to see what else is out there, to learn what other boards and states are doing and how they are handling the same issues we handle at home," he said after the conference.

IASB's board of directors also hosted a reception for board members, staff, and other guests. According to Pat Culler, IASB's Assistant to the Executive Director, the event drew 500 people. "It was the largest and nicest reception we attended," added Kniker. "It makes you proud to be part of IASB."

In addition to attending various functions, IASB President Christy Coleman also served on the NSBA national nominating committee. Dennis McConville also served on the NSBA policies and resolutions committee.

Michael D. Johnson, IASB Executive Director, said the state directors' meeting focused on getting information and help to boards about the federal Leave No Child Behind law.

"Illinois is planning to sponsor a regional meeting for NSBA to explain this important legislation," he said.

Johnson also noted that NSBA complements the Illinois Triple-I conference by "providing a national and international perspective to school issues, problems and solutions."

Illinois school board members and administrators also participated in Meet the Experts and Share the Success panel sessions. Districts and their panels included:

• Lombard District 44, "How to be a leader in promoting character in your school and community"
• Northbrook Elementary District 27, "Using TIMSS data to improve local math programs and bring about world-class performance"
• Township High School District 211, Palatine, "Improve public relations: sure-fire, low-cost ideas"
• Township High School District 214, Arlington Heights, "Efficacy: the power to cause an effect"
• Kirby District 140, Tinley Park, "Providing high-quality teachers for your district" and ""Maximizing instructional budgets"
• Aptakisic-Tripp C.C. District 102, Buffalo Grove, "Community-wide access to a district's student information system and curriculum"
• Woodland C.C. District 50, Gages Lake, "Having a hard time finding good administrative leaders? Grow them in your own backyard"
• DuPage HSD 88, Villa Park, "Using technology to increase student achievement"
• Community Unit District 300, Carpentersville, "Community engagement: the continuous school improvement process"
• Keeneyville District 20, Hanover Park, "Community engagement: the board's work of translating community aspirations into an educational agenda"
• Lincoln-Way CHSD 210, New Lenox, "New teacher orientation/mentoring program"
• Ridgeland District 122, Oak Lawn, "Using creative and unprecedented technology techniques to win a referendum campaign"
• Lyons THSD 204, LaGrange, "Recruiting and training top teachers in tough times"
• Brookwood SD 167, Glenwood, "An evergreen contract: continuing success"

Other Illinois districts also participated in Sunday's Education Excellence Fair. Held in conjunction with a circus and other carnival-like events for children, the fair allowed exhibitors to hand out information about special projects and programs in their home districts. Participants from Illinois included:

• Kewanee District 229, "A macro-view of school-wide improvement to achievement"
• J.S. Morton High School District 201, Cicero, "Big into small can fit" and "alternative certification"
• Sherrard C.U. District 200, "Passing the baton – transitioning district leadership"
• Thornton Township High School District 205, South Holland, "Creating strong partnerships for new teacher success" and "Hear and see how an urban-suburban high school district uses comprehensive school reform"
• Litchfield C.U. District 12, "Tutorial assistance program"
• Cerro Gordo C.U. District 100, "Engaged learning thematic units and elevating high school achievement"

This was the second year Kewanee hosted a booth at the fair and Kniker said the board was better prepared this time in terms of presentation and attention to details.

"We've begged, borrowed and stolen so many good ideas from others that this is a way to pay back other districts," he said. "I was very impressed with their questions and interest."

IASB staff also participated in some of the panel sessions and other events, such as the executive job fair, Federal Relations Network and National Affiliate Advocacy Network, the Council of Urban Boards of Education, and others.

Representatives also listened to remarks from general session speakers: former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman and retired Apollo astronaut James Lovell.

Other speakers included U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, 2001 National Teacher of the Year Michele Forman, author Margaret Wheatley, school reform advocate Warren Simmons, NSBA executive director Anne Bryant, author Juan Williams, AASA executive director Paul Houston, and author Riane Eisler.

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Mossi W. White, the newest president of the National School Boards Association, is not a veteran of local and state politics, but honed her respect for public education as a stay-at-home mom in Provo, Utah.

She volunteered in school activities and was active in the PTA. She only accepted an appointment to the local school board in 1987, after the person who had resigned persistently encouraged her to apply for the vacancy. She has never looked back.

"We are at a crossroads," she told NSBA affiliates and members at the annual conference in New Orleans. "Public education has been under attack for years. And a high percentage of the public has bought into the rhetoric that public education has failed. But it is up to you and me to stand up for it. You are the leaders of the leaders. We hold in our hands the hands of all the children in our communities."

White, who has been serving on her state board of directors since 1988, has twice served as its state association president. She succeeds James R. Ruhland of Botetourt County, Va.

Among her goals as NSBA president is to emphasize the "absolute need" for local boards to become even more vocal in their advocacy of public education. Another is to encourage them to be leaders in the quest to raise student achievement.

White, who has accepted an invitation to attend the Illinois Triple-I conference in November, said she also plans to promote NSBA's Key Work of School Boards.

NSBA is a national federation of state and territorial school boards associations that represent more than 95,000 school board members. Mossi White, of Provo, Utah, was elected 55th president of the NSBA, succeeding James Ruhland of Botetourt County, Virginia.

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NEWS HEADLINES

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Otter Creek-Hyatt District 56 will remain open next year, despite an enrollment of 37 students, the local school board decided April 16. The decision to continue operating the state's smallest school district came 10 days after the Streator Elementary Board rejected a District 56 reorganization plan. The plan would have divided the Otter Creek district among three others: Streator Elementary District 44, Grand Ridge C.C. District 95, and Allen Township C.C. District 65, Ransom (April 18, The Times Press, Streator) . . . Palatine drew educators from across the nation in April to examine the "Koalaty Kids" teaching method used in Palatine Township Elementary District 15. The occasion was the American Society for Quality's Koalaty Kid Conference, held in Palatine April 20-23. A business-based education program now used in all schools in District 15, Koalaty (read quality) has enhanced test scores and student achievement, according to John Conyers, district superintendent. Information about this novel teaching concept is available online at http://www.koalatykid. org/ (April 18, Daily Herald, Arlington Heights) . . . Tornados damaged two schools in southern Illinois in late April. A portion of one wing and a large part of the roof at the nearly completed, $10 million Whiteside Dist. 115 middle school in Belleville were damaged the night of April 27. Early the next morning, another twister -- crossing three states with sustained winds of up to 200 miles an hour -- heavily damaged Cypress District 64 Elementary School. Classes were resumed May 2 for all 120 students in the Bethany Baptist Church, which graciously agreed to share its facilities. No one was injured at either damaged school, but the storm that hit Cypress killed a 69-year-old woman in Dongola and a young boy in Missouri. (Belleville News-Democrat, April 30; The Southern Illinoisan, April 29)

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WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS

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The Illinois Association of School Boards has published a revised edition of School Board Meetings and Records, its 32-page explanation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act. Authors of the booklet are Terrence M. Barnicle, James P. Bartley and Lance C. Malina, attorneys with the firm of Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, Ltd.

Copies of the revised publication have been mailed to school board presidents, secretaries and superintendents in IASB member districts. Additional copies are available from IASB Publications or may be downloaded in portable document format (pdf) from the IASB website--www.iasb.com/ sunshine.

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NEWS FROM IASB

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IASB has come up with an answer for school boards looking for a way to keep their current policies in the hands of people who need them.

Publish your policies on the World Wide Web.

"Web publishing of board policies solves at least two problems," says Cathy Talbert, IASB policy services director. "For one thing, the Web makes board policies easily accessible to anyone with Internet access. That's pretty important for people who are expected to implement or abide by those policies."

Web publishing also makes it easy to keep policies up-to-date, Talbert observes.

"When the board changes a policy, it now takes days or weeks to put the printed amendment into the hands of everyone who needs it," she says. "The Web-based policy can be revised in minutes and everyone has immediate access to it."

Still another benefit of a Web-based policy manual: each policy can be linked directly to the statutes, regulations and/or case law related to the policy.

The bottom line is that the bulky three-ring binder is likely to go the way of the buggy whip. In its place will be a PC or a laptop. And that explains the attraction of the latest policy service being introduced by IASB--online publishing of school board policy manuals.

IASB Policy Services now offers online publishing as an adjunct to its policy development and updating services. IASB has contracted with MicroScribe Publishing, Inc. to convert and format a school district's policies into Web documents, complete with links to legal references, and maintain them online. The district can then link to its policy manual from it own Web homepage.

For a first-hand look at the service (PRESS) and some school board policy manuals being piloted online, visit the IASB website -- www.iasb.com/policy.

School boards interested in putting their policy manuals on the World Wide Web should contact Talbert for information on procedures and costs. She can be reached at ctalberT@iasb.com or call her at 630/629-3776, extension 1234.

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The 2002 Nominating Committee of the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) is seeking candidates for the offices of president and vice president.

The following criteria will be used by the committee in considering nominees: 1) leadership experience and general participation in IASB activities, 2) leadership experience on the local school board, 3) involvement with other education-related associations or organizations, 4) other leadership experiences, and 5) special talent or interests of benefit to IASB as currently constituted.

Nominating forms are due to be submitted by early August; candidates will be interviewed in August. A slate of candidates will be presented to the Delegate Assembly meeting in Chicago at the 2002 Joint Annual Conference in November.

To request the necessary forms, interested candidates should write: IASB, 2921 Baker Drive, Springfield, IL 62703 or phone 217/528-9688, ext. 1102.

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If your local newspaper does a crack job of covering local school board matters, you may wish to give the beat reporter some positive reinforcement. One approach is to encourage him or her to enter articles in the 2002 Robert M. Cole Awards competition.

The newspaper awards, sponsored annually by IASB and administered by the Illinois Press Association, are named for IASB's first executive director. This year's contest for school board coverage will cover four divisions of newspapers: 1) non dailies; 2) dailies with a circulation of less than 8,000; 3) dailies with a circulation of 8,000 to 20,000; and 4) dailies with a circulation of 20,000 or more.

Entries will be judged July 18 as part of the IPA's annual newspaper awards, with presentations in the fall. Deadline for entries to be received at IPA is Friday, June 7. For more information contact the Illinois Press Association, 900 Community Drive, Springfield, IL 62703; phone 217/241-1300.

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John Mannix, a member of the association's Board of Directors since 1994, has joined the IASB staff as Associate Executive Director, effective May 6. Mannix will oversee the Field Services Department and will be housed in the Lombard office. John resigned from the Board May 4 in order to take this new assignment.

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TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

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The Council for Basic Education has devoted the latest issue of its journal, Basic Education, to rural school topics. Issues covered include: the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) recently authorized by federal law (a law that initially could provide $20,000 to $60,000 per small school district, depending upon district size); the difficulties associated with sustainability and accountability in rural schools; the challenges of preparing teachers for work in rural schools; and the incongruity of pushing rural school consolidation at a time when school research celebrates the educational benefits of smaller schools.

Researcher Mary Anne Raywid is quoted, for example, as stating that the advantages offered by smaller schools have been "…confirmed with a clarity and at a level of confidence rare in the annals of education research." The new publication is available online at www.c-b-e.org/be/iss0201/a0toc.htm.

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Feeling misunderstood in your role as a school board member? The National School Board Foundation, in partnership with the Family Education Network, may have developed a helpful tool. Their Web site contains simplified information aimed at assisting the public in thinking about school boards. To see it visit their Web site at www.familyeducation.com and click on the National School Boards Foundation logo at the bottom of the page.

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IASB ARCHIVES HOME

Illinois Association of School Boards

2921 Baker Drive
Springfield, Illinois 62703