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School Board News Bulletin
October, 2004

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Moratorium on E-rate program funding lingers

One superintendent runs two Lake Forest districts

More accountability expected from ISBE; Dunn, Johnson agree

NEWS FROM IASB

Online communication tool tailors message and audience

Online learning coming soon to a PC near you!

First-place Cole Awards go to Naperville, Morris, Ottawa, Moline papers

2004 Conference will unveil many new features

Alliance PAC cancels auction & raffle

ELECTION NEWS

Sixty finance referenda on November ballot

2005 school board election will not be routine

IASB to offer new board member workshops in 2005

ILLINOIS SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Assessment data errors delay report cards again

Two strikes end quickly

Eight districts win federal physical education grants

NEWS HEADLINES

Moratorium on E-rate program funding lingers

Illinois schools waiting on a share of nearly $100 million to defray technology costs

Illinois school leaders are understandably concerned about a nationwide moratorium on new grants under the federal "E-rate" program - a program that, on average, provides nearly $100 million in technology funds to Illinois schools and libraries each year. But the money will soon break loose, according to Lou Berkman, Learning Technology Center Coordinator for the Illinois State Board of Education.

"Those funds will begin flowing again," said Berkman. In the meantime, he says, school districts need to make sure they get an approved technology plan on file - if they do not already have one - in order to be eligible for funding. Berkman also said schools need to be sure they can account for how E-rate funds are spent.

Illinois has received nearly $300 per pupil from the program in its first six years to help schools and libraries pay for providing high-speed Internet access, telephone service and interactive television networks that connect rural classrooms. There were more than 500 Illinois school districts participating in the most recent full year of operation, receiving more than $82 million (see chart below).

Illinois school leaders say the E-rate program is good for schools, but can be a bureaucratic nightmare with endless forms to fill out, unpredictable timelines, and ever-changing rules. Nevertheless, E-rate is counted on to subsidize from 40 to 90 percent of the cost of phone service or Internet access for most Illinois school districts, with dollar amounts ranging from less than $1,000 (in several districts) to more than $45 million (in Chicago District 299). Schools must reapply for funding each year under the program.

Although the moratorium on all funding that began in August was set to end on October 31, it could last several months beyond that and create problems for some schools, according to executives at the company that runs the E-rate program. Meanwhile the filing window for the 2005 E-rate program is quickly approaching, and experts say school leaders have little choice but to wait for the funding to come through for the 2004 program year.

The program was created by Congress in 1996 and is financed by the Universal Service Fee (7-8 percent) that appears on all telephone bills.

But the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC), which administers the E-rate, stopped issuing funding commitment letters for the 2004 program year on Aug. 3. The moratorium was imposed, they said, so that USAC could have time to adopt newly required government accounting standards.

The change in accounting procedures was ordered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees USAC and the E-rate, to bring USAC's finances in accord with the FCC's own accounting standards by Oct. 1. Essentially, the FCC imposed tighter spending rules to make it easier to uncover any fraud and waste.

Mary Kusler, a legislative specialist for the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), thinks the change is a good thing, despite the delays it has caused. "I think it's not really a big deal, because accounting systems go down all the time," Kusler said.

But the resulting delay leaves more than $3 billion in 2004 requests nationwide still hanging, with the 2005 application period set to start in November. Thus, the timing of the moratorium is unfortunate, coming just as schools should begin finalizing their plans for a grant application, and preparing a Form 470 request for services. Form 470 can now be filed online.

Critics say that not knowing the status of their 2004 applications makes it extremely difficult for school leaders to plan for their 2005 needs.

In addition, bureaucratic delays have caused roughly $437 million in 2003 applications to be held up while awaiting a decision from the SLD, even though the 2004 program year began July 1.

For more information about the E-rate program, or to apply, search the program's Web site at: www.sl.universalservice.org or visit the multi-state cooperative Web site: www.e-ratecentral.com/ . Or phone the Illinois coordinator for the E-rate program, Lou Berkman, at ISBE's Chicago offices: 312/814-3853.

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One superintendent runs two Lake Forest districts

Two school districts in affluent Lake Forest now share one superintendent in an economizing move more commonly seen in poor and rural areas when schools struggle to meet rising expenses. Experts say the Lake Forest sharing arrangement, which began in July, is but one more sign of the spread of financial hard times among schools throughout the state.

Board members voted in July to approve a three-year contract for Superintendent Harry Griffith - a 10-year veteran leader of Lake Forest School District 67 - to also administer Lake Forest High School District 115. Together the two districts serve a total of 4,000 students.

"We're going to save money in the long term from the sharing of services between the school districts," said Janet Nelson, board president of the high school district.

Lake Forest and eight other Illinois communities now share a school superintendent between multiple school districts.

District 67 hopes to save as much as $250,000 over three years by sharing their superintendent with District 115, whose superintendent requested reassignment last July and is currently a consultant to the district.

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More accountability expected from ISBE; Dunn, Johnson agree

Accountability was the watchword when Randy Dunn - an SIU, Carbondale professor with considerable experience in leading Illinois school districts - was officially appointed as interim state superintendent of education. Dunn was chosen on Sept. 20 to begin overhauling Illinois' K-12 education system while the governor's office searches for the eighth permanent state superintendent (see the adjacent all-time roster of state superintendents).

Dunn, the first state superintendent to be approved by the governor, burst upon the scene with orders to lead the state's education system in a more innovative, less bureaucratic, way. "I didn't come on board to take a position that is at odds with the governor's stated position," Dunn explained.

Governor Rod Blagojevich also named seven new members to the nine-member Illinois State Board of Education. He asked the state board and the interim superintendent to focus on three main areas: reducing the teacher certification backlog, cutting the number of rules and regulations burdening local districts, and creating new, sensible and affordable plans to improve public education.

Blagojevich said he wants to "give students, parents and the taxpayers of Illinois about what they deserve: an efficient, accountable school system that gives our children the best possible preparation for the future."

Michael Johnson, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards, said he thinks the appointment is a move in the right direction, because the governor wants a different kind of state board and a new way of doing business in education.

Johnson has known Dunn for 25 years and he said Dunn talks to people directly, learning the problems educators are facing straight from the source. He said Dunn has already revealed his style of leadership at the annual superintendents' conference and a state board meeting in Springfield.

"We have a governor who is standing up and saying, 'I've got my team together; give me a chance to make some changes,'" Johnson said. "If in one year's time education is better off than it is today, then he (Blagojevich) deserves praise; if not then we know who's at fault."

Below is the roster of appointed Illinois State Superintendents of Education.

• Joseph Cronin, 1975-1980
• Donald Gill, 1980-1985
• Ted Sanders, 1985-1989
• Robert Leininger, 1989-1994
• Joseph A. Spagnolo, 1994-1999
• Glenn W. McGee, 1999-2002
• Ernest Wish, interim supt., Jan.-Feb. 2002
• Respicio Vasquez, interim supt., Feb.-Aug. 2002
• Robert E. Schiller, Aug. 2002-Sept. 2004
• Randy Dunn, interim supt., Sept. 2004-

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NEWS FROM IASB

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Online communication tool tailors message and audience

A new value-added benefit to IASB members was launched in early October. The online service is called "il.schoolboard.net" and adds a new dimension in communications for school board members, administrators and their communities.

Actually, il.schoolboard.net is two services:

1. A free service that gives districts access to the IASB, where you can link to Association documents, participate in surveys and forums, etc.

2. A fee-based service that allows districts to host and customize their own information, by posting documents and agendas, archiving minutes, etc.

Free access allows any IASB member to log on to browse for Association information in several categories. Among them are: news, links, archives, calendars, surveys, forums.

To help members stay current, il.schoolboard.net will notify all subscribers automatically once daily whenever new information is posted.

The new service to board presidents and superintendents was also designed to give individual school districts the ability to tailor information for their specific audiences.

This fee-based service allows the district to distribute, post and edit information by password-protected access. Members who log into specific groups can view group member lists, correspond via interactive business cards, post messages, participate in forums or surveys, and download important information or documents.

"We believe this service gives our members quicker access to vital information from their Association and gives districts another tool to become more effective communicators," said Cathy Talbert, associate executive director of IASB.

The service will be featured at panel sessions at the Annual Conference, where it will also be demonstrated at the IASB Services (Comiskey) room.

To learn more about ilschoolboard.net or for an in-district demonstration, contact Susan Farrell, sfarrell@iasb.com, or call either IASB number and ext. 1226.

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Online learning coming soon to a PC near you!

Beginning in January 2005, the Illinois Association of School Boards will open its Online Learning Center – the answer for those board members who want to learn more about board work but who can't afford to take away valuable time from their work or families.

The courses offered through the Online Learning Center will complement those made available at regional and statewide School Board LeaderShop workshops. Most of these courses will be "electives" that are not offered in face-to-face settings, because they consist mainly of factual information with little need for group facilitation or discussion.

Participants will earn both LeaderShop and Master Board Member credit for each course they complete, depending on the course and the amount of time required to complete it.

Here is the first group of courses that will be offered, beginning in January:

• Robert's Rules of Order for School Boards.
• School District Labor Relations: What Illinois Law Requires.
• Constructive Superintendent Evaluations.
• Lighthouse Learning: the Board's Role in Increasing Student Achievement.

More information about these courses and registration for the Online Learning Center will be mailed to all board members in early January. Information will also be available at IASB's Joint Annual Conference in Chicago. Visit the Comiskey Room for a course demonstration or attend the Online Learning Center panel session on Saturday, Nov. 20.

For information about School Board LeaderShop, visit the IASB Web site at http://www.iasb.com/leadershop.htm.

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First-place Cole Awards go to Naperville, Morris, Ottawa, Moline papers

This year's Robert M. Cole Award for Best School Board Coverage went to four Illinois newspapers that covered subjects ranging from busing to budget cuts.

Winners were announced Friday, Oct. 8, at the annual convention of the Illinois Press Association. James Russell and Linda Dawson of the IASB communications department presented plaques to first place winners.

Winners of the 2004 Robert M. Cole Award (and judges quotes) are:

• Non-daily newspapers: Susan Carlman, Sun Publications, Naperville. ("This article was very well-written and dealt with an age-old issue: the value of the neighborhood school. (She) explained the issue so well that even (this) judge could feel the pressure that school board members must have been under.")
• Small daily newspapers: Kim Warnell, Morris Daily Herald. ("The articles do a good job of following the school board process, both in breadth and depth.")
• Medium daily newspapers: Melissa Garzanelli, The Daily Times, Ottawa. ("The writer did fine work providing strong coverage on a variety of related topics [including busing.]")
• Large daily newspapers: Robin Youngblood, Kristina Gleeson, The Dispatch, Moline. ("Well-done series on [Catching up to No Child Left Behind.]")

Winners of second, third and honorable mentions included certificates for:

• Non-dailies: second, Lenore Adkins, Hyde Park Herald, Chicago; third, Barbara Langley, Press Publications, East DuPage, Oak Brook; honorable mention, Cheryl Wolfe, Woodford County Journal, Eureka.
• Small dailies: second, Vickie Speek, Morris Daily Herald; third, Staff, Daily Leader, Pontiac; honorable mention, Jane Long, Breeze-Courier, Taylorville.
• Medium dailies: second, Mike Jones, Jennifer Atchison, David Porter, Morning Sentinel, Mt. Vernon; third, Jared Olar, Pekin Daily Times; honorable mention, Heath Hixson, Kane County Chronicle, Geneva.
• Large dailies: second, Caleb Hale, The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; third, Christine Byers, Mark Bonnie, Carrie Watters, Rockford Register Star; honorable mention, Rebecca Loda, The Pantagraph, Bloomington.

Named in memory of the first executive director of IASB, the Robert M. Cole Award recognizes outstanding newspaper coverage of education issues that emphasizes the community's connection with its local public school district.

There were 53 entries for this year's award, more than quadrupling the number from 2003. "This year, we asked school superintendents to help us reach reporters and editors who, for whatever reasons, don't choose to participate," Russell said.

Members of the Virginia Press Association judged the contest.

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2004 Conference will unveil many new features

The upcoming Joint Annual Conference, Nov. 19-21 in Chicago, will feature lots of new information and sessions about what's newly available from IASB.

Two panel sessions will explore the "Targeting Achievement Through Governance" program. This new IASB program is designed to serve the needs of school districts currently not making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The panel sessions are titled: "AYP Issues and the Targeting Achievement Through Governance Program," at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, and "School Boards, Student Learning, and AYP," at 3:30 p.m., Saturday.

Another 3:30 p.m. Saturday panel, "SchoolBoardNet: The Future is Now," will cover a new IASB school board communications service available via the Internet. The program aims to boost communication among board members, administrators and the public they serve. The service also is designed to help enhance school board effectiveness. (see page 2 for new details about this service).

Also new at the conference this year is a focused workshop at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning designed just for those district employees who serve as secretary to the board of education.

Another new topic covered is childhood obesity, to be explored in an 8 a.m. Sunday morning roundtable discussion focusing on how this issue relates to boards and administrators.

A reminder: conference payments, registration and housing forms, as well as any changes in existing registrations postmarked and received after Oct. 15 will be taken to the conference, where registrants will need to pick up their materials and I.D. badges. Registration fees are $300. Conference registration packets and badges, for registrations received before the Oct. 15 deadline, will be mailed on Nov. 5.

Finally, the conference housing exchange is not being offered this year because it did not prove cost effective.

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Alliance PAC cancels auction & raffle

The Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance's political action committee (Alliance PAC) has cancelled its annual silent auction and 50/50 raffle planned for the IASB's Annual Conference in November. Information about the activities were included in a conference publicity brochure mailed in early October. Bidding was scheduled to begin on Friday, Nov. 19 and conclude on Sunday, Nov. 21. For more information, contact the Alliance PAC, P.O. Box 132, Springfield, IL 62705. Alliance PAC leadership is exploring new ways to take political action. Consequently, there will be no Alliance PAC activities at the conference this year.

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ELECTION NEWS

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Sixty finance referenda on November ballot

The November 2 ballot will include 60 school district finance referenda in Illinois, according to unofficial figures from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Of the 44 tax propositions, 38 are education fund increases, five are operations and maintenance fund increases, and one is a transportation fund tax increase. Of the 16 bond issues before local voters, all but two seek bonds for new construction. One is for working cash, one to pay claims.

Bond proposals range in size from a high of $44 million in East Aurora District 131 to a low of $696,000 in Harrisburg C.U.S.D. 3. Proposed tax rate increases range from a high of 1.11 percent, proposed in Gallatin County C.U.S.D. 7, Junction, to a low of .20 percent in Barrington C.U.S.D. 220.

Voters in four districts also will decide the fate of two school district consolidation plans: to combine Monmouth District 38 and Roseville C.U.S.D. 200; and to combine Southern C.U.S.D. 120, Stronghurst, with Union C.U.S.D. 115, Biggsville.

A summary of election results will be reported in an upcoming edition of the Illinois School Board Newsbulletin.

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2005 school board election will not be routine

School board members will be among the officers elected at the April 5, 2005 Consolidated Election. Each Illinois school district will have three or four full terms to fill at that election, as well as any partial terms that may need to be filled.

Next April's election brings a couple of variations from the routine that school leaders need to be aware of:

Filing date - Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday observance falls on Monday, January 17, 2005, which is the first day for candidates to file their nominating papers with the board secretary. The State Board of Elections advises that, in keeping with provisions in the Election Code (10 ILCS 5/1-6), the first day for filing nominating papers will be:

• Monday, January 17, in districts that are open for business on that day under a waiver of the school holiday requirement, or
• Tuesday, January 18, in districts that are closed January 17 in observance of the holiday.

In either case, the last day for filing will be Tuesday, January 25, regardless of whether the first day for filing is January 17 or 18.

Canvassing votes - New legislation has extended the time that the school board has available to canvass election results and to seat new members. Under the provisions of H.B. 629 (P.A. 93-0847) the school board has 21 days following the election to canvass returns and declare winners. The board also has 28 days to seat new board members and reorganize. Previously, the board had seven days to accomplish both tasks. At this point, there appears to be no reason why a school board cannot canvass results and seat new members at the same meeting within 21 days after the election.

Worthy of special note: School board members typically file their Statements of Economic Interests with the county clerk each year in the spring (prior to May 1). Any member seeking re-election at the April 5 election will need to file the calendar-year statement sometime between January 1 and January 25, the last day for filing nominating petitions.

In addition, board members who plan to attend the 2005 NSBA Convention, April 16-19, note that it is during the time period for canvassing election returns and organizing the new school board. Boards may want to schedule their meeting accordingly.

Finally, in September, IASB mailed a packet of materials to the board president, board secretary and superintendent in each member school district. The packet contained items of particular interest for the board secretary, including a 2005 Election Calendar, a checklist of the board secretary's duties and some other useful tools and information. Much of this material is available on the IASB Web site: www.iasb.com. If needed, feel free to request another packet - contact Tammy Call at 217/528-9688, ext. 1108, or e-mail tcall@iasb.com.

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IASB to offer new board member workshops in 2005

While IASB has not yet announced its 2005 schedule of workshops for new board members, planning is underway for workshops following the April 2005 election.

One workshop will cover Basics of School District Governance; another will cover Basics of School Law and Finance. In the past, IASB has also offered a combined workshop lasting two and one-half days.

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

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ILLINOIS SCHOOL DISTRICTS

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Assessment data errors delay report cards again

The Illinois State Board of Education will be late in releasing local school districts' school report cards for the second consecutive year, according to new interim State Superintendent Randy Dunn. And the state board was asking school administrators to help correct errors in student assessment data that had held up the school report cards.

The school report cards are meant to let parents know how well their local schools are performing. Information about any particular school's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under NCLB is one of the things contained on its school report card.

Last year the information released was rife with errors. More than 450 schools were wrongly informed they had failed to meet standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind law and it took months to correct the data.

"Accurate reporting is our top priority," Dunn said. "While this process will delay production of School Report Cards beyond the October 31 deadline, ISBE will take every measure to complete School Report Card production upon receipt of a final data file," Dunn said. The data is being collected by an ISBE contract firm called Pearson Educational Measurement.

Questions about the process were being referred to a toll-free phone number at the Pearson firm: 1/800-627-7990, ext. 814.

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Two strikes end quickly

Two Illinois school districts have encountered teacher strikes this year - with one ending after two days and another ending after nine days. Another 14 districts have received intent-to-strike notices from teachers' organizations, and eight of those notices are still active.

Teachers tentatively settled after just two days at Channahon District 17, in Will County, where a strike involving more than 79 employees was launched on October 4.

In contrast, an employee strike remained underway from Aug. 24-Sept. 2 in the much-larger Harlem District 122, Loves Park, located in rural Winnebago County on the outskirts of Rockford. The strike involved 515 certified teachers and 350 support staff.

Source: Illinois strike data compiled by the Illinois Association of School Administrators; figures were current as of Oct. 20.

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Eight districts win federal physical education grants

Eight Illinois school districts recently received federal grant money to expand or improve their physical education programs to help students progress toward meeting state standards.

The 2004 annual Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grants were announced in September for: Carbondale Community High School, $150,075; Chicago District 299, $614,560; Litchfield C.U.S.D. 12, $123,612; Fremont District 79, $64,700; Rantoul District 137, $155,986; Riverside Brookfield T.H.S.D. 208, $194,670; DuPage District 45, Villa Park, $347,837; and C.H.D.S. 94, West Chicago, $252,648.

The grant application deadline each year is in March. For more information, visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/index.html.

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NEWS HEADLINES

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A new report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education finds college is less affordable than 10 years ago, according to the "Measuring Up 2004" report (Public Agenda, Sept. 16)...Nineteen Illinois school districts recently received grants to cut pollution from school buses (The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Sept. 16)...The new grade school in Farmington Central District 265 boasts lunch-money fingerprint scanners that instantly check student IDs and deduct money from a special account (Peoria Journal Star, Sept. 27)...The board recently approved a budget that should result in a surplus in all Round Lake District 116 accounts for the first time in many years (The Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Sept. 17)...Adlai Stevenson High School District 125, following a growing national trend, recently opened a pilot program to phase out numerical class rank usage in transcripts sent to some universities (The Associated Press, Sept. 20)...Schools could need more funding to help kids avoid obesity, experts told Congress on Oct. 5 (Reuters, Oct. 6)...The Geneva District 304 school board unanimously passed a revised records policy that now spells out that the district will comply with the USA Patriot Act (Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Oct. 4)...School officials in District 300, Carpentersville, are looking for a solution to the district's parochial school busing concerns. But despite some problems, administrators say most buses now are picking up and dropping off parochial students on time (Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Oct. 2)...The Gavin District 37 school board voted on Sept. 14 to raze a structurally unsafe eight-year-old building, now shuttered, and build a new school. (Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Sept. 15) ...The Education Department recently alerted school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on school buildings as a possible sign of a terrorist threat (The Associated Press, Oct. 7)...Bureau Valley C.U.S.D. 340, Manlius, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 3 for its "one-of-a-kind" wind-turbine generator project (La Salle News Tribune, Oct. 4).

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE -- This document is copyrighted © by the Illinois Association of School Boards. IASB hereby grants to school districts and other Internet users the right to download, print and reproduce this document provided that (a) the Illinois Association of School Boards is prominently noted as publisher and copyright holder of the document and (b) any reproductions of this document are disseminated without charge and not used for any commercial purpose.

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