---

School Board News Bulletin
October, 2005

---

ARTICLES

Efforts under way to get federal help for storm affected schools

Nominating panel slates officers to lead Association

Board adopts 5-year strategic plan for Illinois education

Sixteen notices filed; two district strikes settled

IASA board removes member under indictment

Proposed TRS pension changes now in legislative rules process

Investment reforms seek to remove conflicts for advisers

Governor denies any connections with TRS scandal

Ages-old 'study circles' see new applications with communities

Oswego, Morris, Mattoon and St. Louis winners of Cole Award

NSBA annual conference moves to Chicago next year

Joint Annual Conference offers TAG, board secretaries events

NEWS FROM ISBE

Financial reporting model for tutors announced

Preliminary state testing data holds out hope

Genocide education links available for curriculum

NEWS FROM IASB

90 percent of new members participate

Three new districts join Association membership

NEWS HEADLINES

RECENT IASB MAILINGS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Efforts under way to get federal help for storm affected schools

Facilities, operations must be balanced with existing school funding

With many details about Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damage, recovery and costs not yet fully known, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) has begun to formulate recommendations to Congress about the kind of aid needed.

It has been estimated that dozens of school districts and more than 372,000 students were disrupted temporarily or permanently by these devastating storms.

According to figures provided by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, this state spent more than $26 million to send manpower and supplies to Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. That amount does not include what this state is spending to help an estimated 8,600 evacuees, including more than 500 children now enrolled in Illinois schools in the wake of the gulf coast hurricanes.

It is not known precisely how much of the latter expenditures will be reimbursed by federal authorities. But in a recent letter sent to every member of Congress, NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael A. Resnick asked federal lawmakers to consider hurricane-related costs to local schools for capital needs, operating budgets, and support services such as counseling. Fuel shortages for student transportation were also mentioned.

In estimating capital needs, Resnick called for: "federal support to cover the expense of temporary facilities, renovation, and longer term construction … especially in instances where the costs are beyond the limits of school district insurance or self-insurance programs.

Resnick said this could be accomplished by expanding the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds program, which provides bond holders with federal tax credits for interest-free school bonds. He also suggested direct school construction grants and streamlining the construction grant approval process. Even under normal conditions, it can take 18 months to deliver a school once the funding is in place.

He cautioned that the reallocation of funds from existing funding sources — whether from state formula funds or federal programs — may not be sufficient in school districts where the influx of displaced students is high.

Resnick noted that precedence exists for federal assistance to help these schools through such programs as the Emergency Immigration Education Act and the McKinney Homeless Assistance Program.

Becky Watts, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education, reports that as of now, the federal government will provide a maximum grant of $7,500 to school districts to take in hurricane-displaced children, "but only if there are 10 or more evacuees in a district."

For more information about federal efforts, call Deborah Rigsby, NSBA Director of Federal Legislation, at 703/838-6208. For information about Illinois educational assistance to homeless families, call ISBE, toll free, at 1-800/215-6379.

Table of Contents

Nominating panel slates officers to lead Association

The IASB Delegate Assembly will elect new Association officers on Saturday, Nov. 19 during the Joint Annual Conference. IASB's nominating committee has endorsed the following slate of officers to be placed before the delegates at the annual assembly: Marie Slater, Wheaton Warrenville District 200, for president; and Mark C. Metzger, Indian Prairie CUSD 204, Naperville, as vice president.

Slater has been a member of the Wheaton Warrenville CUSD 200 Board of Education since 1986. The district has 14,500 students, pre-school – 12, in 20 buildings. She has served as president, vice president and secretary of her local board.

Slater joined the IASB Board of Directors in 1994 and has been a member of the executive committee since 2000. She has also served on the nominating, audit, ends ad hoc, and executive director search committees, along with being a co-chair of the Joint Annual Conference.

As a member of the DuPage Division executive committee, she served as program chair prior to being elected a director in 1994. Slater is serving her second term as vice president of IASB, having been elected in 2003 and 2004. She was the resolutions committee chair for the 2004 IASB Delegate Assembly and will return as chair in 2005. She has been a presenter at the NSBA Conference, which she has attended regularly during her school board tenure.

Slater is employed by a social service agency, which counsels birthmothers with unplanned pregnancies and provides adoption services for prospective adoptive parents. She is also a community volunteer in various organizations, and a member of the local chamber of commerce.

Metzger has been a member of the Indian Prairie CUSD 204 Board of Education since 1991. The district has more than 28,000 students housed in 32 buildings. He has served as president, secretary and committee chair of every committee of his local board.

Metzger joined the IASB Board of Directors in 2001 when he was elected statewide director-at-large. In 2003, he was elected director of the DuPage Division, and has been a member of the IASB executive committee since 2004. Metzger previously served on the IASB nominating committee and as an alternate delegate to the 2004 NSBA Delegate Assembly.

He is a six-time IASB Delegate, a seven-time presenter at the Illinois Joint Annual Conference, a three-time NSBA presenter and three-time AASA presenter. He is frequently an invited adjunct presenter at IASB LeaderShop offerings and holds both LeaderShop Academy membership and Master Board Member status, which he has maintained since 1997.

Metzger is a partner in a national law firm where he practices in the areas of school law, information technology and mediation. His community activities include being a member of the board of directors of Rush-Copley Medical Center, a church volunteer, and a member of the local Chamber of Commerce.

Table of Contents

Board adopts 5-year strategic plan for Illinois education

The Illinois State Board of Education has released a plan it says will make Illinois schools better. The First Comprehensive Strategic Plan focuses on improving literacy, educator quality and data-driven decision making.

A five-year road map for ISBE, it focuses on helping schools meet the needs of their students to prepare them for long-term success after high school. The state board developed the plan with input from education constituents in open forums held around the state in May, June and July.

The plan was required for the first time this year as part of a sweeping education reform law signed in September 2004.

While the goals in the plan are not intended to cover all the functions and priorities of ISBE, they aim to address those areas that will have the greatest impact on children in Illinois schools. The three goals in the plan are:

* Enhancing literacy, which includes fluency in reading, math, science and global awareness

* Improving educator quality for all children, spanning teacher preparation, recruitment, retention and professional development

* Expanding data-driven management and school support practices, for example, providing schools access to online educational research to help them develop school improvement plans, building on success achieved in other schools, districts and states

Within these goal areas, specific objectives address areas from early childhood and teacher recruitment to best teaching practices and shared service initiatives for schools. Each strategic objective directly relates to the topic areas set forth in Public Act 93-1036.

"This plan is the result of input from teachers, parents and others around the state bringing us their ideas for ways to make Illinois schools better," said state board chairman Jesse Ruiz."

Progress on meeting each initiative in the strategic plan will be tracked through a performance progress and metric template and reported to the state board on a quarterly basis. The board will evaluate the overall appropriateness of the plan on an annual basis.

The entire plan, as submitted to Governor Blagojevich and the Illinois General Assembly earlier this month, is available online at: http://www.isbe.net/pdf/strategic_plan_2005.pdf

Printed copies of the plan are available upon request by calling 217-782-4321 or toll-free at 1-866-262-6663; or by requesting it online at http://www.isbe.net/contactus.htm or by writing to ISBE at:

Information Center
Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street
Springfield, IL 62777

Table of Contents

Sixteen notices filed; two district strikes settled
Mendota, Farmington districts resume classes; Naperville averts threat

As of Sept. 27, 16 school districts had received intent-to-strike notices this year but just two strikes ensued and both were short-lived. Nine of the 16 districts that received strike notices have already settled their contract disputes, most of them within two weeks.

The latest settled strike was in Mendota District 289, where 85 teachers began walking picket lines on Sept. 8 and returned to class on Sept. 27. Mendota is located in the Starved Rock Division.

Teachers and school officials had been unable to reach an agreement on salaries and insurance issues. The terms of a tentative agreement were not yet available at press time.

Likewise, about 1,400 students returned to class in late September in downstate Farmington Central District 265, located in the Western Division. Teachers approved a new three-year contract there, ending a week-long strike.

Farmington negotiators said the deal will provide annual 3 percent raises for more than 100 staff members, including 86 teachers, and will boost retirement benefits for two years. Teachers had sought this benefit increase for three years.

District 265 Superintendent Mark Doan said the board of education is happy the contract has been settled and looks forward to working with teachers and support staff to "get past this unfortunate situation."

"Any time you go through a situation like this, there are things said and feelings hurt. We hope we can get past that, build bridges and get things where they need to be," he said.

Another work stoppage was narrowly avoided in Naperville District 203, where a tentative settlement was reached on Aug. 30 with over 1,300 staff members. That agreement came just hours before a strike and just as nearly 19,000 students were scheduled to resume classes for the fall.

Under the new three-year contract, teachers are to receive an annual salary increase of 5.2 percent. That represents a compromise between the 4.99 percent annual increase proposed by the district during the last round of talks and the 5.5 percent union officials sought.

In addition to those salary questions, the other key sticking points in the Naperville district were uncertainties surrounding retirement benefits arising because of changes to state funding of teachers' pensions.

Other contracts settled

Collinsville District 10, bargaining unit size - 416 IEA/NEA certified staff. Notice filed Aug. 16; Settled Sept. 14

Hinsdale CCSD 181, bargaining unit size: 290 IEA/NEA certified staff full-time and part-time. Notice filed Aug. 25; Settled Sept. 9

Highland CUSD 5, bargaining unit size - 219 IEA/NEA full-time certified staff. Notice filed Aug. 26; Settled Aug. 31

Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3; bargaining unit size - 300 IEA/NEA certified and non-certified staff. Notice filed Aug. 16; Settled Aug. 24

Massac District 1, bargaining unit size - 300 IEA/NEA certified and non-certified staff. Notice filed Aug. 8; Settled Aug. 22

Carrier Mills-Stonefort District 2, bargaining unit size - 43 IEA/NEA certified employees. Notice filed: Aug. 12; Settled Aug. 18

Rockford District 205, bargaining unit size - 2,000 IEA/NEA teachers, nurses and professional staff. Notice filed: Aug. 12; Settled Aug. 17

Source: IASA Web site at: http://www.iasaedu.org/publications/bargainsumry.htm.

Table of Contents

IASA board removes member under indictment

A membership change occurred on the board of the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) on Sept. 6 when IASA's Cook South Region membership voted unanimously to remove Thomas E. Ryan as the region's director.

At the time of the vote, Ryan was in Cook County Jail on multiple charges involving the alleged theft of more than $100,000 in school funds from CCSD 168, Sauk Village, where he has been district superintendent for 16 years. The board of education suspended Ryan without pay on Aug. 31.

Ryan was a prominent figure in Illinois education who served on the state's Education Accountability Task Force, a 38-member advisory group that reviews school legislation.

Additionally, IASA's governing board approved a statement on Sept. 2 regarding the directorship of the organization's Cook South Region, stating that the board "is outraged over those individuals who have allegedly embezzled school district funds and allegedly mistreated students in the Sauk Village Elementary School District."

The statement also called the suspected crimes "abominable" and "tantamount to stealing from children; stealing their futures."

Several board members also apologized publicly for the alleged financial misdoings at a Sept. 21 board meeting after petitions were submitted by the Concerned Citizens of Sauk Village calling for board members to resign. None of the board members indicated they would resign.

Former board president Louise Morales is also under indictment in the scandal, and the board is weighing a move to fund a five-year, independent audit of the district's finances.

Table of Contents

Proposed TRS pension changes now in legislative rules process

The Teachers Retirement System (TRS) covering downstate Illinois schools has been preparing to propose rules to implement changes in a new pension law approved in the spring (SB 27, Public Act 94-0004). This new law extends the Early Retirement Option for TRS members and increases the contribution rate schools must pay for employees who take early retirement.

A draft of the rules was agreed to in late September by the TRS Rules and Personnel Committee and the Ad Hoc group. But the full TRS board will have to approve the proposed rules before their official submission to the legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).

The TRS board has not approved any rule proposal for submission to the legislature, and the JCAR procedure has yet to begin.

An article on this subject will appear in the November-December issue of The Illinois School Board Journal (see "TRS Solvency Depends on School Boards' Help," by Don D'Amico).

More information on the new pension law can be found in Alliance Legislative Reports 94-27 and 94-23, available online at: http://www.iasb.com/files/alr_menu.htm .

A letter summarizing the law was sent from IASB to all school board members and superintendents in June. Information from TRS about the law can be found at: http://www.trs.state.il.us .

Table of Contents

Investment reforms seek to remove conflicts for advisers

The governor recently proposed sweeping reforms in the way the state's pension boards invest public retirement funds after Teachers Retirement Systems (TRS) business practices became the subject of federal indictments and numerous media reports.

The proposed reforms would:

1. Eliminate contingency fees to placement agents. The reforms would prohibit any contingency fees paid by money managers to placement agents for helping them gain access to pension investment boards. Placement agents will also be required to register as investment advisors and would be subject to SEC oversight. This addresses concerns raised in reports involving a placement agent who reportedly made $4.5 million in fees.

2. Increase professional standards for investment advisors and eliminate conflicts of interest. This would create stricter standards for investment advisors and money management firms by prohibiting pension boards from using firms that have either had their professional licenses revoked or violated ethical standards.

3. Increase penalties for fraud and ethical violations. These proposals would significantly increase financial penalties (in some cases from $1,000 to $25,000 fines) and time served in prison for such violations (from 6 months probation to 2 – 5 years).

4. Make the pension investment process 100 percent open. This proposal would require that each public pension board adopt a competitive solicitation process no less restrictive than the state's procurement code.

5. Enact stronger ethics rules. This would require that public pension systems be subject to all ethics reforms enacted by the General Assembly in 2003, so they are bound to follow the same rules as their governmental counterparts.

Table of Contents

Governor denies any connections with TRS scandal

Gov. Rod Blagojevich insisted in a news conference on Sept. 16 that he is not connected to alleged corruption at the downstate Teachers Retirement System (TRS) pension fund and that he does not tolerate lawbreaking in his administration. TRS handles a $34 billion portfolio for 330,000 current and retired downstate teachers, but TRS officials say they are confident the system suffered no financial loss due to the matters under federal investigation.

"I have no involvement whatsoever in anything surrounding the alleged corruption at the teachers retirement system, and nobody close to me does either," Blagojevich said.

Two people pleaded guilty on Sept. 15 to taking part in a scheme to demand consulting fees from investment firms wanting to do business with the pension fund.

Steven Loren, the Chicago-based former outside attorney for the pension fund, pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service. Joseph A. Cari, former finance director of the Democratic National Committee, admitted attempting to extort money from an investment firm seeking business with the fund.

They said in their plea agreements that they were told the payments were used to reward campaign donors for the benefit of a "high-ranking public official."

Blagojevich said he did not know the identity of the public official cited in the plea agreements.

Table of Contents

Ages-old 'study circles' see new applications with communities

School boards often struggle with community engagement, usually with finding the right way to go about it. "Study Circles" can provide both a framework for engaging the community in a dialogue and for determining what actions need to be taken after that conversation.

The study circles process traces its roots to the late 1800s as an adult education movement in New York also known as the "Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle." The framework resurfaced in 1989 with the creation of the Study Circles Resource Center. A more detailed explanation of the process will be found as the cover story in the November/December 2005 issue of The Illinois School Board Journal.

Three SCRS representatives — Amy Malik, William T. Lewis and Jon Abercrombie — will lead a participatory session as an introduction to the study circles process during a full-day workshop on Friday, Nov. 18, at the Joint Annual Conference. Conference registration is required and the additional workshop cost of $190 includes continental breakfast, lunch, breaks and workshop materials.

For more information on the workshop, contact Judy Williams at 217/528-9688, ext. 1103.

Oswego, Morris, Mattoon and St. Louis winners of Cole Award

Twelve newspapers received awards in the 25th annual Robert M. Cole Awards competition for 2005, including the Morris Daily Herald, which repeated as first-place winner in the small daily newspaper category for the fourth consecutive year.

The Journal Gazette, Mattoon, won top prize in the medium-size daily category, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch won first prize in the large daily newspaper category, and the Ledger-Sentinel, Oswego, took home first-place honors in the non-daily newspaper category.

The awards are sponsored by IASB and conducted by the Illinois Press Association to recognize newspapers that are doing an outstanding job of covering local school boards and emphasizing the community's connection with local public school districts.

The Morris Daily Herald won three prizes — first, second, and third — in the category for small newspapers. The paper also took home multiple prizes last year. No other paper has earned more Cole Awards through the competition's 20-year history, although the Rockford Register Star has earned as many, with 14.

Fourteen was the total after the Rockford paper earned 2nd place this year in the large daily newspaper category, followed by The Naperville Sun, 3rd place; and The State Journal-Register, Springfield, Honorable Mention.

Other prizes in the medium daily newspaper category went to: the Pekin Daily Times, 2nd place; and The Daily Times, Ottawa, 3rd place.

Second prize in the non-daily category went to the Coal City Courant, and third prize went to the St. Louis American. Honorable mention was awarded to the Wednesday Journal, Oak Park.

Winning papers' reporters (and judges' comments) are:

* Roger Matile, Ledger-Sentinel, Oswego. "Teachers turn down contract: This coverage goes beyond the board meetings to the topics behind the board meetings …"

* Vickie Speek, Morris Daily Herald. "Failure to agree on salaries, benefits stalls negotiations: It's tense times in this school district and this reporter is helping her readers find out why."

* Krista Lewin, Journal Gazette, Mattoon. "Making the grade: This reporter goes beyond the school board meeting to see what it all means …"

* Alexa Aguilar, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Former Venice student body is gone: These stories do an excellent job of following through on a complex topic."

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

Table of Contents

NSBA annual conference moves to Chicago next year

The National School Boards Association announced on Oct. 4 that its 66th Annual Conference will be held in Chicago, April 8-11, 2006, rather than in New Orleans as originally scheduled. Conference registration will open on Tuesday, Nov. 1, and housing reservations will open on Tuesday, Nov. 29, for attendees and exhibitors.

"We regret having to move our conference from such a great city as New Orleans, but feel it is in the best interests of our attendees and exhibitors," said Anne L. Bryant, NSBA executive director. "We look forward to New Orleans remaining in our conference rotation and NSBA returning there in 2010."

The 2006 conference will be headquartered at McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive. The three-building complex is the nation's largest convention center, with a combined 2.2 million square feet of exhibit space. It has 112 meeting rooms, four theaters and 8,000 parking spaces.

This is the first time Chicago has hosted the event, which currently rotates among four cities – New Orleans, San Francisco, Orlando, and San Diego.

"IASB worked with NSBA and the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, and the hotels we have contracts with, to encourage the national association in coming to Chicago," said IASB Executive Director Michael Johnson. "We are looking forward to having many more board members from Illinois and the surrounding states attend an NSBA conference for the first time, now that they can drive or take the train to attend."

In fact, Johnson had brought NSBA staff to IASB's Joint Annual Conference for each of the past three years to see what Chicago had to offer.

On average, NSBA draws approximately 13,000 people to its annual conference. In a typical year, Illinois sends more than 500 school leaders to the event, the third most of any state.

Table of Contents

Joint Annual Conference offers TAG, board secretaries events

The upcoming Joint Annual Conference, Nov. 18-20 in Chicago, will feature loads of new information and sessions about what is now available from IASB.

One highlight will be an all-day workshop on Saturday for those who serve as secretary to the board of education. It is being offered to help develop professional skills and clarify roles for the individual who performs the duties of the board secretary, whether elected or appointed to the job.

This workshop is open to board secretaries and district or board personnel at no extra charge. Participants must, however, be registered for the conference in order to attend. Registration will also entitle participants to attend any and all of the general sessions, and any panel sessions of interest, during the 2005 Joint Annual Conference.

Another conference highlight will be discussion panel sessions exploring the Targeting Achievement Through Governance program. This 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 of 2001.

Panel sessions about the program are titled: School Boards, AYP & Targeting Achievement, which starts at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, and Networking Session—Targeting Achievement Through Governance Program, which begins at 3:30 p.m., Saturday.

Conference reminder

Conference payments, registration and housing forms, as well as any changes in existing registrations that are postmarked and received after Oct. 14 will be taken to the conference, where registrants will need to pick up their materials and name badges. Registration fees are $300. Conference registration packets and badges will be mailed on Nov. 4 for all registrations received before the Oct. 14 deadline.

For more information about the 2005 Joint Annual Conference, call IASB or visit the Association's Web site at: http://www.iasb.com/jac05/.

Table of Contents

---

NEWS FROM IASB

---

90 percent of new members participate

Member participation counts at IASB workshops, conferences and other events shows that 90 percent of all board members first elected to a board of education in 2001 have since participated in Association activities.

Newly compiled figures show that 66 percent, or 783, of the 1,187 individuals newly elected to a school board in 2001, were still on board in August 2005. Of these 783 IASB members, 81 percent, or 636, have attended one or more Joint Annual Conferences, 51 percent, or 396, have attended an Association workshop, and 62 percent, or 485, have attended an IASB division meeting or other division event.

Another 34 percent, or 269, have attended all three events: an Annual Conference, a workshop and a division event. Only 10 percent of the 1,187 individuals newly elected to a school board in 2001 have not participated in IASB activities.

Table of Contents

Three new districts join Association membership

IASB has recently acquired three new member districts, which means more than 97 percent of the 873 Illinois school boards are Association members. The three new member districts are:

* Damiansville District 62, in the Association's Kaskaskia Division

* Steeleville District 138, in IASB's Southwestern Division

* Lisbon District 90, in IASB's Three Rivers Division

Table of Contents

---

NEWS FROM ISBE

---

Financial reporting model for tutors announced

ISBE has put in place the nation's first financial reporting requirements for tutoring providers under the No Child Left Behind Act. ISBE put the new requirements in place in mid September to help Illinois districts choose the best tutoring providers.

ISBE also released the results of its financial reporting requirements for all approved Supplemental Education Services (SES) providers.

The financial information for each approved SES provider is available in Adobe Acrobat format at: http://www.isbe.net/nclb/htmls/sesp_isbe_resources.htm.

An overview of ISBE's SES financial reporting requirements is available at: http://www.isbe.net/nclb/ htmls/sesp.htm .

Table of Contents

Preliminary state testing data holds out hope

Scores in numerous areas went up according to the 2005 preliminary statewide testing results announced on Sept. 13.

An initial analysis shows good ongoing progress in several areas, but with continued need for improvement to narrow the achievement gap between student groups.

The preliminary data from 2005 testing is available online at: http://www.isbe.net/research/Default.htm#data .

Table of Contents

Genocide education links available for curriculum

In compliance with a new law that expanded genocide education, ISBE has recently added to its Web site a suggested list of links to Web sites containing information on the subject of genocide. The list, aimed at curriculum development, can be accessed at: http://www.isbe.net/ils/social_science/resources.htm .

Table of Contents

---

NEWS HEADLINES

---

Carpentersville (September 27, Northwest Herald) The District 300 school board voted to grant the charter for a developer-backed charter school. But the agreement is tentative, conditional, and places the charter applicant in the financial hot seat.

Chicago (September 20, The Associated Press) Chicago District 299 unveiled a 10-year plan to improve high schools and better prepare Chicago's high school students for college and the work force. The plan will be launched in 15 volunteer high schools in fall 2006, and will include a standardized curriculum.

East Peoria (September 21, The Journal Star) The board for East Peoria High School decided the district will not enroll Peoria Manual High School students. Peoria administrators felt obliged by federal NCLB requirements to ask neighboring districts if they would take some Manual students under "school choice" provisions.

Elgin (October 4, The Daily Herald) Latino leaders try to bring together District U-46 leaders and the families who accuse them of racial discrimination. They worry that if the case gains class-action status, local control might be lost — and no one would win.

Gavin (September 15, The News Sun) Talks are continuing between the school board and representatives of construction and architectural firms on repairs to correct alleged structural problems in some roof trusses in the shuttered Central School facility. The aim is to open the new school, which had once been the subject of demolition talks, for classes by mid-December.

Gavin (October 7, Suburban Chicago News) A construction firm has dropped its multimillion-dollar libel lawsuit against two local editors over articles they published about construction results at Central School.

Huntley (September 29, The Northwest Herald) A Huntley District 158 school board member says the fast-growing and financially troubled district could have saved about $500,000 by delaying the opening of a new elementary school.

Park Ridge (September 13, The Daily Herald) The board of Maine Township High School District 207 shot down a plan to allow brand advertising on scoreboards and other district property.

Schaumburg (September 20, Chicago Tribune) As many as 40 student athletes were caught drinking in a series of candid photos taken at a party, school officials say.

Urbana (September 15, University of Illinois) The U of I launches a Web site on evaluation of the implementation of the Illinois learning standards. Visit the Web site (http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/ils/) to peruse information about current ongoing evaluation, reports from previous studies, and links to resources.

Various locales (September 20, U.S. Department of Education) Nine schools in Illinois are named winners of the No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools awards for 2005. Winners are in: Belleville, Glen Ellyn, Oak Forest, Palatine, Palos Heights, Pekin, Peoria, Schaumburg, and Sterling.

Washington, DC (September 1, U.S. Department of Education) The United States Department of Education (USDE) notifies ISBE that the state agency's application has been approved for a 5-year, $1.85 million per-year state personnel development grant.

West Harvey (September 30, Chicago Tribune) Prompted by newspaper reports alleging financial irregularities, ISBE says it will send auditors to West Harvey-Dixmoor Elementary District 147 for a detailed probe of the district's finances.

Table of Contents

---

RECENT IASB MAILINGS

---

Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education school law book announcement, Sept. 14, sent to school district superintendents.

2005 Report to the Membership, for the 2005 Delegate Assembly Meeting, Sept. 30, sent to district superintendents.

Table of Contents

---

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

---

November 4 – Ill. Public Sector Labor Relations Law Program, Chicago-Kent College of Law, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

November 11 – Veterans Day, IASB offices closed

November 17 – IASB Board of Directors meeting, Hyatt Regency Chicago

November 18 - ICSA Nineteenth Annual Seminar on School Law, Hyatt Regency Chicago, for attorneys only, fee required.

November 18 – Pre-Conference Workshops, Sheraton Chicago, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

November 18-20 – Joint Annual Conference, IASB, IASA, IASBO, Chicago

November 18 – Chicago Schools Tour, Hyatt Regency Chicago, Advance registration and fee required.

November 19 – Secretary's Workshop, Swissotel, Chicago, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

November 19 – DuPage Division lunch at Conference, Hyatt Regency Chicago, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

November 20 – IASB Board of Directors meeting, Hyatt Regency Chicago

November 24 – Thanksgiving Day, IASB offices closed

December 1 – Blackhawk Division Winter Governing Meeting, The Cellar, Geneseo, 6:30 p.m. Dinner

December 1 – Two Rivers Division Winter Governing Meeting, Lonzerotti's, Jacksonville, 6 p.m.

December 6 – Abe Lincoln Division Winter Governing Meeting, La Sorella, Springfield, 6 p.m.

For more information about coming events, see the IASB Web site at www.iasb.com/calendar/

Table of Contents

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.

One Imperial Place
1 East 22nd Street, Suite 20
Lombard, Illinois 60148