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School Board News Bulletin
August 1996

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First Illinois charter school chosen

The Board of Education of Peoria District 150 initially approved the charter school and appointed an 11-member citizen's committee, which includes county, city and law enforcement officials, to oversee its development. Youth Farm Inc., a program for troubled young people, will play a key role in running the charter school. Staff will report to a Youth Farm employee, who will serve as the school's administrator.

Source: The State Journal-Register (Springfield), July 31, 1996.

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Ombudsman firm serves students in varied districts

Board acts against tobacco ads

Board member Leland Yee says the district already bans gang attire and clothing bearing racist remarks.

A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cigarette smoking by students in grades 9-12 increased from 27.5 percent in 1991 to 34.8 percent in 1995.

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School culture touted

A school's culture exerts an enormous influence on a school's effectiveness. It affects teachers' attitudes toward their jobs, as well as student motivation and achievement, says a new report by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management.

The report suggests school leaders transform a school's culture into one that supports excellence by developing a vision for the school in conjunction with the entire school staff.

Transforming School Culture: Stories, Symbols, Values, and the Leader's Role is $12.50 plus $4 for shipping and handling. Order from the ERIC Clearinghouse, Publication Sales, 5207 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403.

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Educate! Program now on Chicago TV station

Educate!, hosted by Carole Davis Dillard, plans to explore local educational success stories and areas where changes are needed. The producers said the show would explore a broad range of issues, from bilingual education and affirmative action in education to global standards. For more information on the show, call Harvind Kaur at 312/553-3330.

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Penn State less costly than state pen

Hodgkinson recently told the nation's governors that education can make a huge difference in reducing government spending. Writing for "What Governors Need to Know About Education Reform", a publication of the National Governors Association, Hodgkinson noted:

"Governors spend roughly $22,000 annually on each individual in prison. That is enough to provide four full-tuition scholarships to most state universities."

"The factor most closely related with being a prisoner is dropping out of school: nationally 82 percent of prisoners are school dropouts," Hodgkinson said.

He notes that a dropout is more likely to become a prisoner than a smoker is to get lung cancer. "But just look at the success our society has had in reducing smoking. The same concern is needed for education in order to limit our most expensive social serviceCtaking care of prisoners," Hodgkinson said.

Seventy percent of released inmates are back in jail within three years for a crime similar to the one that sent them to jail in the first place. What is the return on that $22,000 per year investment?

While most people might agree that we need prisons to keep dangerous criminals off the street, building more and more prisons seems to feed a "build them and they will come: syndrome, he says.

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Head Start graduates have done better

Compared to a control group, these students have a significantly higher employment and graduation rateCan advantage for our social and economic systems. The control group of kids left out of Head Start, according to the study, have a much higher arrest and welfare record. Those left out are a tremendous drain, in other words, on the social and economic system of the United States.

Building jails and prisons does not reduce crime rates. But increasing the percentage of high school graduates will, Hodgkinson says. He notes that investing in education reduces crime, and the earlier we start Apreventing bad things from happening to children, the faster the (crime) rate will start to decline.

Source: Rich Begin, Executive Director, National School Public Relations Association.

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Workshops & Meetings

Community service group to hold
conference on learning and linking

A key aim of the conference is to build better coordination of regional efforts to augment resources and intensify community service efforts throughout the state. No registration fee will be charged and organizers say coordinators who attend may be eligible for travel reimbursement.

For information, contact William Garcia at 312/814-3606 or wgarcia@chi.isbe.state.il.us.

Premier education technology conference
expands scope of learning for leaders

The three-day conference is sponsored by the National School Boards Association's Institute for the Transfer of Technology to Education (ITTE) and co-sponsored by more than 20 other leading national education organizations. The Technology + Learning Conference will provide information and insight to school leaders on what they need to start the future in their schools today.

The conference "presents the possibilities and potential for education technology as well as what is actually working in the field today," says ITTE Director Cheryl Williams. Participants can learn from their peers' success stories and experiments.

Keynoting the conference this year will be physicist and former NASA astronaut Sally Ride. Calling on experiences from her two trips aboard the space shuttle Challenger, she will inspire conference participants with her view of the role future generations will play in the continuing exploration of space.

Other general session speakers include Christopher Cerf, author, producer, editor, and computer software designer, who will discuss the use of digital technology as a tool for educating young children. Cerf's credits include musical compositions for the Children's Television Workshop's Kermit the Frog and other Sesame Street characters.

The third general session will feature Alan C. Kay, Athe father of the personal computer.@ Kay, who created the first lap-top sized computer and pioneered the use of icons, will share his beliefs on designing computers for children and some of his innovative ideas for the next generation of personal computing.

Conference participants will have the opportunity to see more than 200 exhibits featuring the latest technology products and services. Representatives from exhibiting companies will be on-hand throughout the conference for informative discussions and hands-on demonstrations.

For registration information about the 10th Annual Technology + Learning Conference, call 800/950-6722. You can contact ITTE via the Internet at http:// www.nsba.org/itte or call fax-on-demand at 800/950-NSBA, press 1 and select document 717.

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NEWS FROM IASB

WCSIT and ISDA experience banner year

Providing workers' compensation coverage to nearly half of all school districts in Illinois, WCSIT experienced a 98 percent renewal retention rate this year. Kimberly Kobos, Vice President of Hinz Professional Insurance Program Managers, Inc., Program Administrator for the two Asister@ pools, attributes this success to the entire package that WCSIT provides to its members.

In March, WCSIT's Board of Trustees added to the WCSIT package by approving a plan that guarantees dividends to qualified participants until the year 2000, thanks to several recent successful investments:

WCSIT participants who are members of record on September 15 of the following year will be guaranteed dividends of at least 20 percent of their annual audited paid contributions amounts for the 1995-96 program year and the following three years. In the 1999-2000 program year, administrators said, the dividend amount will be reviewed and determined by the WCSIT Board of Trustees, depending on the available surplus at that time. (For more information about the plan, see "WCSIT Members Find Elusive Pearl: Guaranteed Dividends until the Year 2000," on page 32 of the March/April 1996 issue of the Illinois School Board Journal.)

Program managers say WCSIT's other benefits of membership may have contributed to this achievement: Qualified WCSIT participants receive School District Treasurers Surety Bonds, School Board Legal Liability coverage (school board errors and omissions coverage) and loss control services.

AIllinois school districts have become more savvy in purchasing their coverage and realize that self-insurance pools, like the WCSIT and ISDA, not only provide excellent coverage, but are vehicles in which districts can invest taxpayers' money for the future,@ Kobos said.

District wins free registration

Bus driver drug testing delays seen

"Because of the number of tests we are now doing each month, we have extended our time frame somewhat," said a July newsletter from the Mid-West Truckers Association, which administers the program.

APlease remember--we are here to help [consortium districts]C stay in compliance, but they are ultimately responsible if they get audited by IDOT or USDOT. They need to get the random tests completed as soon as the collector calls and schedules the tests with them,@ the newsletter said.

When a driver who is selected for testing is vacationing, laid off, hospitalized, placed on medical leave or is not driving, a district in the consortium should call Mid-West Truckers Association for direction.

Also, if the collector does not notify . . . [the school district] within the time frame shown on their random notice, you need to call us, the Mid-West Truckers Association newsletter stated.

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Federal Update

President proposes initiative to help
local communities and states rebuild schools

As America moves into the 21st century, our schools should too," Mr. Clinton said. "If our schools are in no shape for the future, our students won't be either," he added. He stated as well that:

• One-third of all schools -- serving 14 million students Cneed extensive repair or replacement. According to a recent U.S. General Accounting Office report, about 60 percent of schools have at least one major building feature in disrepair, such as leaky roofs and crumbling walls. Over 50 percent have at least one environmental problem, such as poor indoor air quality. [Source: General Accounting Office Report: "School Facilities: America's Schools Report Differing Conditions," June 14, 1996]

• Schools do not have the physical infrastructure to allow our students to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Many schools do not have the physical infrastructure to make the best use out of computers, printers, and other equipment. Almost half (46 percent) of the schools report inadequate electrical wiring for computers and communications technology, and over half (52 percent) of schools report six or more insufficient technology elements (such as fiber optics cabling, phone lines for modems, and wiring for computers). [Source: General Accounting Office, "School Facilities: America's Schools Not Designed or Equipped for 21st Century," April 4, 1995]

• Expected Enrollment Growth Imposes Additional Burdens. Many school districts also face the need to build new schools to accommodate enrollment growth. Public school enrollment in grades K-12 is expected to rise 20 percent between 1990 and 2004. [Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1995, p. 151]

Key elements of the School Construction Initiative

• Up to a 50 percent interest subsidy for new school construction and renovation. The initiative will reduce interest costs on new school construction and renovation projects by up to 50 percent, with a sliding subsidy scale depending on need.

• $20 billion in school construction spurred by $5 billion in federal jump-start funding over 4 years. The interest reduction allegedly is equivalent to subsidizing $1 out of every $4 in construction and renovation spending. $5 billion in federal funding over 4 years -- with most of the money administered by the states -- would support $20 billion in construction and renovation. One of the key criteria in distributing funds to projects reportedly will be the extent to which the spending is incremental -- above what would have occurred without the initiative.

• A goal of a 25 percent increase in school construction over 4 years. National spending on school construction and renovation is currently about $10 billion a year or $40 billion over 4 years. By focusing on incremental or net additional construction projects, this initiative aims to ensure that at least half of the $20 billion supported by federal subsidies would not have otherwise occurred. The administration says this would increase school construction by at least $10 billion to a total of $50 billion over 4 years -- increasing school construction by 25 percent.

• A one-time construction initiative fully paid for by one-time auction of communications licenses. An auction of portions of the spectrum between channels 60-69 will allegedly fund this jump-start proposal in full. The FCC apparently has concluded that, with the development of digital wireless technology, the unused or underused space between existing TV stations can be auctioned and used without disturbing these broadcasting stations.

• State and local governments maintaining responsibility and control. States would administer the bulk of the subsidies, while the largest school districts would apply directly to the U.S. Department of Education. State participation would be voluntary, according to the Administration.

GOALS 2000 plans set in 19 states

Truancy means a child is in trouble

America goes back to school

This year, Americans are invited to go back to school to help make schools safer, encourage children to improve their reading, encourage greater parent involvement in children's education, prepare young people for work and college, bring computers into schools, support efforts to raise academic standards, and make college more accessible.

Ideas on how people can organize an AMERICA GOES BACK TO SCHOOL event in their community were scheduled to be mailed to every school in the U.S. in early August. This information also will be available in the federal education department's Online Library (http: //www.ed.gov/Family/) or by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN.

Individuals already planning an event for the fall are being asked to send an e-mail describing it (agbts@ed.gov). Initiative leaders add, "remember, better education is everybody's business!"

Electric power deregulation could mean
big savings for school boards

In a move that mirrors increased competition in the natural gas and telecommunications industries, legislation has been introduced in Congress to allow consumers to bypass their local electric utility and shop around for the lowest rates among electricity suppliers.

If this legislation is approved, proponents of deregulation predict school boards will one day be able to change electric power suppliers as easily as they now change long-distance telephone companies.

"The implications are enormous," says Kathy McMichael, NSBA's director of federal relations. "School boards could take advantage of increased competition to negotiate lower electricity rates and see sizable budget savings that can be put back into the classroom."

The move to deregulation started years ago. Under the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Congress sought to foster partial competition within the electric power industry by opening interstate electric transmission system lines to wholesale power suppliers.

Previously, many electric suppliers such as municipal utilities who didn't own a power-generation plant had to purchase electricity from privately owned, government-sanctioned monopolies. Other electric companies with more efficient power-generating systems whose rates were four cents to eight cents less a kilowatt hour could not sell within the monopoly territories.

By opening up the electric transmission system, Congress hoped these companies could sell power to wholesale customers at cheaper prices and pass along any savings to consumers. That's yet to happen: Only recently has the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released regulations governing wholesale transmission service.

A number of arguments and issues are yet to settled, including concern that small, rural and low-income customers who generally cost more for utilities to serve won't have the sophistication or economic clout to negotiate cheaper rates. The fear is that many consumers might be forced to stick with their present utility regardless of what rate is charged.

But that is not likely to include school boards, Nipper says. The energy use of school districts is large enough that singly or joined together in purchasing collaboratives -- school boards will be able to negotiate better rates.

And that is just what NSBA intends to see happen, McMichael says. NSBA is monitoring the congressional committees regarding their work on this new legislation, she says. "If deregulation is coming, we want to make sure the public schools see a benefit."

Source: NSBA News Service, July 23, 1996.

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Tools for Schools

Technology training planned

A year-round program developed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF), it will provide individualized training on technology management. It will cover all skill levels while it provides training in foundation labs that house both the latest technology and the older generation hardware and software found in most schools.

"The Management of Technology for School Administrators" is designed for Principals, Assistant Principals, district-based and school-based Technology Coordinators, and other educational leaders within the school community. Course content will include:

• the need for educational technology and current trends;
• serving as your school's technology leader;
• writing your technology statement and strategic plan; and
• management of educational technology from the top down.

Danforth grants available

Vocational trends reported

Fees of NAEIR reduced for schools

Curriculum items offered free

The center has approximately 750 items available on a first-come, first-served basis. The items cover a variety of educational topics, and are available on all types of media. The deadline to get the free items is September 30. Call Ann or Susie at 217/786-6015 for directions. The center's hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Introduce some very important people

"Concerns for girls' self-esteem and career aspirations have led to an explosion of interest in women's history. Our staff has reviewed hundreds of new items for every grade level and chosen the very best," reports Bonnie Eisenberg, NWHP Education Director.

It's not too early to begin planning school celebrations of the National Women's History Month, project leaders say. Materials from the new catalog can help, including colorful bookmarks, lunch-tray liners, and a unique selection of women's history celebration supplies.

For a free copy of the catalog, write: National Women's History Project, 7738 Bell Road, Dept. P, Windsor, CA 95492; or call 707/ 838-6000; or e-mail to hp@aol.com

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Research Reports: Facts and Figures for School Leaders

Parents can make kids into readers: Study

The new study, Reading Literacy in the United States, arose from a fresh examination of data as part of an international reading report. The most compelling finding of the new analysis, according to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, is the crucial role of parental involvement. Fourth-grade average reading scores were 46 point below the national average in schools where principals said parent involvement was low. Scores were 28 points above the national average, however, in schools where parent involvement was highCa difference of 74 points. Even when other factors such as parents' education were taken into account, the gap remained.

Children of parents with less than a high school education, however, are at a distinct disadvantage in the classroom.

"Every adult American should be able to read and write English," Riley said. "Some parents can best help their children by helping themselves. Not only can parents teach their children, they can also learn together through Family Literacy, Even Start and other similar programs."

For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Education at 202/401-1579. To obtain single copies of the study, while supplies last, phone the department's National Library of Education at 800/424-1616.

Californians' top priority: Schools

The survey also finds 77 percent of Californians think school improvement is more important than environmental protection and 51 percent give it a higher priority than fighting crime.

Nearly eight in 10 Californians believe their state should spend more on public education.

More homework leads to higher geography scores

Students in grades 4, 8 and 12 took tests that established their achievement levels as basic, proficient or advanced. About 70 percent of all students taking the exam scored at or above the basic level. The proficient level was reached by 22 percent of fourth graders, 28 percent of eighth graders, and 27 percent of twelfth graders.

Students performed better if they had support from home--if they discussed their studies at home, if their homes contained literary materials and if they watched a limited amount of television.

Single copies of the NAEP geography report are available, while they last, from the National Library of Education: 800/424-1616.

Special education costs growing

Special education enrollment among students ages 6 to 17 has grown at three-and-a-half times the rate of general education enrollment since 1987, the center reports. That increase is fueled at least partly by the rise in infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers served by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

During the 1993-94 school year, 5.4 million students were enrolled in special education.

Contact: Center for Special Education Research, Palo Alto, CA, 415/493-3550.

Income key to future educational expectations

Days of free ride are over for growing numbers
of public school students

Although still uncommon in most areas, more districts have turned to bus fees since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled them legal in 1988 in a case from North Dakota.

Other districts have cut their transportation budgets by eliminating bus service altogether, dropping buses for sports or after-school activities, or changing school schedules so fewer buses can be used to make more trips per day.

A growing number of school districts in Illinois are charging bus fees, but at least three-quarters still provide free transportation, notes Alvida Petro, consultant to the state board of education. The state doesn't maintain data on how many charge, but she believes "a few more are doing it this year than last year."

The Lake Forest school district in suburban Chicago is joining the trend. Beginning in September, parents will have to purchase annual bus passes for their children for $130 per rider or $250 for the whole family.

Illinois school districts receive a transportation subsidy from the state, but it's never 100 percent of their costs, Petro said. State law requires certain districts, including consolidated and community unit districts, to provide free transportation. Other districts are allowed to charge.

Still, in most areas, people expect public schools to provide free bus service. When the Montgomery County, Maryland, school board began considering bus fees this spring to raise money for education programs, the proposal met an outpouring of public opposition. The idea was quickly dropped.

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Recent mailings from IASB

August 8: Conference Chicago schools tour announcement, mailed to board presidents and district superintendents.

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Classified ads

Also: a complete school or office Merritor HK 3 telephone system (sold by GTE), $1,750. System consists of: one wall-mounted patch panel; one operator's phone; 22 telephones (multi-button touch-tone type). This system has features such as call back, call waiting, conference call, speed dial, and many others. Please contact: David School, Assistant Director, LaSalle/Putnam County Special Education Cooperative, 1009 Boyce Memorial Drive, Ottawa, IL 815/433-6433.

FOR SALE: Ricoh Priport VT 2130 Stencil Duplicator, purchased March 1995, $3,000. Toshiba 2540 copy machine, purchased November 1994, $1,500. Items may be seen at the high school, 950 Third St., Carrollton, IL. Call Michael Barry, Supt., Carrollton C.U. District 1, 702 Fifth St., Carrollton, IL 62016-1404; phone 217/942-5314.

FOR SALE: 70-person band/chorus riser, with all accessories, deck, and deck cart; four years old; $5,700 or best offer; contact Larry Elsea, Superintendent, Smithton C.C. District 130, 316 S. Hickory, Smithton, IL 62285; 618/233-6863.

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IASB School Board News Bulletin
Illinois Association of School Boards