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School Board News Bulletin
November 2000

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State Board OKS new school rating system

ISAT data shows progress in meeting state standards

Crow named Illinois Teacher of the Year

Referendum Results

Educators try to better serve boys

Fire marshals warn schools of flammable ink-jet printers

Helping students succeed: What states need to do

THE NATIONAL SCENE

Board-certified teachers are better

Three area school districts gear up for new Will County TIF

NEWS FROM IASB

Thanks go to CHSD 128, Libertyville

Consortium clarifies post-accident bus driver testing rules

Dan Prezell excels at Mundelein CHSD 120

Help IASB update membership records

WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS

Funds can help administrators, business officials attend risk management event

RESEARCH REPORTS

Study finds reducing class size improves reading scores

Illinois ranks in top five among states for teacher pay

States ranked by 1998-99 adjusted average teacher salary

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

Board self-assessment quiz is online

Online high school to be available nationwide

EIU's virtual career fair a success

Districts may save by opting out of federal tax for unemployment system

DEVELOPMENTS IN SCHOOL LAW

A new state rating system for Illinois schools will provide rewards for school districts that demonstrate excellence and improvement and extend state intervention to those that fail to meet state standards. The rating system-part of a suggested $58 million overhaul of the state's school accountability system-was approved by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) October 19. ISBE staff members are expected to come up with specific legislative proposals that would allow the state to implement the plan in 2002 and beyond.

The new rating system would assign one of the following six rating labels to every public school: 1) exceeds standards, 2) meets standards at a high level, 3) meets standards, 4) is approaching standards, 5) academic warning, and 6) academic watch. These ratings would be assigned based primarily on the ratio of student scores on state exams meeting or exceeding the learning standards established by the ISBE in 1997.

State intervention of some kind is proposed for those schools in which 50 percent or more of the students fail to meet state standards. A school would be placed on the academic warning list if 67 percent or more of its students fail to meet state standards.

"This is about continuous improvement and positive reinforcement for performance," explained Lynne Haeffele, ISBE's chief deputy superintendent, who said state sanctions are not the point.

State intervention would include everything from consulting with districts to a full state takeover of a school district in the most extreme cases. The state, meanwhile, would reward school districts that excel, providing special eligibility for certain grants and exemption from requirements for filling out certain state paperwork.

Another segment of the revised accountability system would require students in the fourth, sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth grades to take the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) for math and reading. Students in the third, fifth and eighth grades already are required to take the test (see latest results below and on page three in this issue). The purpose of expanding this requirement is to allow educators to follow students' academic progress from grades three through 10, Haeffele said.

But more testing is not the point, either, Haeffele said. The ISBE hopes school districts will eliminate other kinds of national standardized testing -such as the Stanford Achievement Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills -and rely solely on state tests. But critics said the state must first make its Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE) as credible as the national tests.

The PSAE, which will include an ACT college entrance exam, is to be administered for the first time next spring to all sophomores in Illinois high schools.

Under ISBE's existing accountability system, only 70 of the state's 3,700 schools appear on the academic watch list. But recent scores from the two-year-old ISAT indicate that about hundreds of schools-nearly one in 10-would land on the revised warning or watch lists if the state's proposed rating system were implemented today.

Sources: ISBE press release, and news accounts from the Chicago Tribune, and Springfield's State Journal-Register.

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The latest statewide ISAT exam results show progress-with minor exceptions-in students' abilities to meet and exceed the Illinois Learning Standards for reading, writing and mathematics. Specifically, the overall percentage of Illinois students who meet and exceed the standards is higher than last year.

Results were reported for the Illinois students in grades three, five, and eight who participated in the 2000 ISAT. The number of test takers increased substantially from 1999, with roughly 140,000 students tested at each grade level this year. Much of the increase in test taking was attributed to special education students.

For the second year in a row, students were tested to gauge their achievement in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics in relation to the Illinois Learning Standards. The largest improvement was found in eighth-grade writing and mathematics.

In writing, 70 percent of eighth graders met or exceeded standards in 2000, up 11 percentage points from the 1999 ISAT. Similarly, in mathematics the percentage of eighth graders who met or exceeded standards was up by four percentage points over 1999. Eighth-grade reading scores were stable.

The second-year test results mirrored those in other states that have developed standards-led education systems, according to ISBE. For further information about the 2000 ISAT results, visit the ISBE Web site at http://www.isbe.state.il.us/standards/results.html.

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Metamora Elementary School science teacher Jo Crow, a 19-year veteran teacher, is the 2000-2001 Illinois Teacher of the Year. She was picked from among 10 finalists in the ISBE's Those Who Excel awards program. Crow and about 280 other educators, school staff, parents and community volunteers were honored October 14 as part of the 27th-annual awards event.

"She not only teaches, but also lives with a commitment to helping us see the world as a wondrous learning experience to be investigated, not destroyed," according to Crow's superintendent, Metamora C.C. District 1 Superintendent Frank Rink.

Crow has created and sponsored several science-related clubs and activities for her students, such as a science club and young astronauts club.

Four school board members represented IASB in helping to select the winning teacher: Marie Doll, West Chicago District 33, and director-at- large, DuPage Division; Judy Lumpp, Lincoln Community High School District 404, and resolutions chair, Abe Lincoln Division; Thomas Neeley, Morton C.U. District 709, and chairman, Central Illinois Valley Division; and Lynda Sabani, Keeneyville District 20, and director-at-large, DuPage Division.

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Voters approved 36 of the 56 bond and tax referendums submitted by school districts at the November 7 general election, based on preliminary results reported by ISBE's research division. Just two of 15 tax increase proposals (13.3 percent) won voter approval, compared to 34 of 41 bond questions (82.9 percent).

ISBE also reports that tax-cap proposals (property tax extension limitations) were approved in Greene, Massac and Shelby counties and failed in Franklin County.

In addition, ISBE reports a proposed district consolidation was voted down for the Wilmington area in Grundy County. The proposal would have consolidated three elementary school districts and one high school district to establish a single unit school district.

Voters said yes, however, to four of seven proposals to elect school board members at large, and also approved a referendum in Clinton County to increase the number of members of a local school board.

Final referendum results and a list of district outcomes will be posted on the IASB website as soon as they become available, and will be included in the December News Bulletin.

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Many schools are striving to better serve boys, who some argue are "in crisis" in today's classrooms, notes the Chicago Tribune. Boys account for the "overwhelming majority of behavior problems and dominate special-education services," the paper reports. Meanwhile, boys generally fall behind girls in reading and writing, and their edge over girls in math is fading fast. The Tribune adds that many more boys than girls are medicated to perform or behave better in school.

Some schools and teachers have restructured their learning environments to better suit boys' needs by using more physical activities and hands-on learning, reports the paper. Others have added more class projects or more playground time. (See cover-story information on learning styles in The Illinois School Board Journal, September-October 2000.)

Part of the challenge for schools is shifting long-held beliefs that girls are the disadvantaged ones, according to the Tribune. Ever since 1992, when the American Association of University Women released a report called "How Schools Shortchange Girls," educators have worked feverishly to reverse an alleged classroom bias against girls.

For more information, visit the Chicago Tribune at http://chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-0010200342,FF.html. Source: Chicago Tribune, October 20, 2000.

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Hundreds of thousands of ink-jet printers with highly flammable plastic housings may have been sold for use in schools, according to a consumer fire hazard alert issued by the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM). "We are just beginning to receive reports of fires involving ink-jet printers," said Donald P. Bliss, Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Task Force. Full-scale combustion tests have shown that some popular ink-jet printer models ignite within seconds near a small open flame. Copies of reports and videos on equipment testing conducted on behalf of NASFM are available with an e-mail request to nasfmgovt@aol.comnasfmgovt@aol.com. Include your name, address and phone number. A small processing fee will be charged to cover shipping. Source: Michigan Association of School Boards.

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To help students succeed, states need to do more than mandate high-stakes tests, according to some educators attending the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) conference held in St. Louis in October. States must ensure alignment between standards and tests and see to it that teachers and business leaders, not just state policymakers, design the standards and tests, participants said.

States also should provide professional development opportunities for teachers who must teach to higher standards. Missouri state officials created several regional centers to provide appropriate professional development, writes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Hacker, October 13, 2000). Each year, about 40 Missouri teachers are trained to help other teachers in their schools.

For more information, visit the National Association of State Boards of Education Web site at http://www.nasbe.org. Source: NEGP Weekly, National Education Goals Panel, October 19, 2000.

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THE NATIONAL SCENE

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Board-certified teachers are better

Researchers have found teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) outperform their peers on 11 of 13 measurements of teaching expertise. The comparison group of teachers had sought but had not attained certification. Nearly 74 percent of the work samples of NBPTS-taught students demonstrated strong comprehension, compared with 29 percent of the samples of students taught by the teachers who did not attain certification. The NBPTS was launched in 1987 to make teaching a national standards-based profession. The board has certified 4,806 teachers nationwide, while 9,500 more are trying this year.

Illinois and thirty-eight other states offer financial incentives for board certification. Illinois gives NBPTS-certified teachers the state's new Master Certificate, which carries a monetary award and an extended certification-renewal period (renewal is required within 10 years, rather than five). A state law signed in 1999 rewards Master Teachers with a one-time $3,000 stipend. The certification process now costs $2,000 per teacher, although the State Board of Education pays this $2,000 fee for most teachers.

The study, called "The Certification System of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards," can be found online at http://www.nbpts.org or can be ordered from the NBPTS for $15 by calling 703/465-2700. Sources: USA Today, "Board-certified teachers are better," October 19, 2000; and various ISBE reports.

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Three area school districts gear up for new Will County TIF

With a local population of less than 2,500, the village of Elwood was a hub of excitement when it was announced that a 2,000-acre tract of nearby land was being developed into a giant industrial park and railroad transportation hub.

The decade-long project in Will County-which could cost $2 billion to $3 billion-is expected to create as many as 12,000 new jobs.

But with a big jump in enrollment anticipated for the area's three school districts, how are schools going to pay for all the new teachers and classrooms they will need? Such financial concerns arise because the new development is being built in Deer Run Industrial Park, a tax increment financing (TIF) district. Local officials will provide $100 million to $200 million in tax breaks to help finance the massive project.

Although the new complex could earn the village of Elwood $27 million annually in future property taxes, some school leaders say the deal comes at the immediate expense of local schools.

Over the past two years, local officials have negotiated with the industrial park's developer, CenterPoint Properties, for payments in lieu of property taxes that won't be paid during the 23-year life of the TIF district. These payments are intended to fund an expansion of municipal and school district services to handle new growth.

Elwood C.C. District 203 Superintendent Ron Kanzulak says he's hopeful that his small, 308-student school district will have the funding needed to handle such growth. Working closely with village officials during the lengthy negotiations, the K-8 district obtained an immediate $2.4 million payment and an undetermined amount of funding in future years depending on the area's economic growth.

Officials in Joliet Township High School District 204 are less confident with the results of the negotiations. Their district will receive $2 million after five years and a total of $8.7 million over 23 years.

Opting to negotiate independently with CenterPoint, district officials say talks were difficult because, under the TIF deal, they had no legal bargaining chips to persuade the developer to agree to their funding requests.

"We had to assert ourselves strictly on ethical arguments ... our request that the developer be a responsible corporate sponsor," says David Sellers, Joliet District 204 assistant superintendent for business and personnel.

School officials walked away with less than they had hoped. And if new enrollment grows significantly (worst-case estimates suggest as many as 700 to 800 new students), the 4,400-student district faces difficult fiscal times ahead, says Superintendent James Clark. Even if enrollment only climbs by 150 students, "if we can maintain our curriculum, we'll be lucky." Officials in Joliet District 204 take pains to emphasize CenterPoint's willingness to provide funding.

But school districts were left "without a real voice at the table," Sellers says. "The tax rate is based on 60 percent residential and 40 percent commercial taxes. When you throw in development that doesn't pay taxes, it upsets the balance."

All the more reason why school officials need to track industrial development, says Russ White, superintendent of Wilmington C.U. District 209, which encompasses a small portion of the industrial park. A former member of a development authority that played a key role in creating the Deer Run site, White says he enlisted his teachers' union, parent-teachers organization, and civic groups to lobby policymakers about the school district's funding needs. He says educators need to make political contacts long before any deal is signed.

Source: NSBA News Service, October 24, 2000.

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NEWS FROM IASB

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Thanks go to CHSD 128, Libertyville

IASB offers sincerest thanks to fall Lake Division meeting host C.H.S.D. 128, Libertyville, Board President Dennis Ryan, and District Superintendent David Clough. District 128 and its school leaders and staff hosted the September 14 meeting at Vernon Hills High School, but they were left off the list of host districts that appeared in the October News Bulletin.

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Consortium clarifies post-accident bus driver testing rules

There is some confusion about when a school bus driver or other sanctioned driver is required to take a post-accident drug and alcohol test under federal law, according to Mid-West Truckers Association. The truckers' organization administers an IASB-sponsored consortium providing drug and alcohol testing for school bus drivers. To trigger a post-accident test a bus driver must receive a citation for a moving traffic violation and someone must be transported away from the accident scene for emergency medical attention. Or the driver must receive a citation for a moving traffic violation and a vehicle must be towed away. "The only other time a post-accident drug and alcohol test must be conducted is when there is a fatality," the Mid-West Truckers Association newsletter advises. For more information or to join the testing consortium, contact the Mid-West Truckers Association at 217/525-0310.

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Dan Prezell excels at Mundelein CHSD 120

The October 23 News Bulletin inadvertently listed Those Who Excel award-winner Dan Prezell as a board member in Oak Park Elementary District 97. In fact, Dan Prezell is a member of the Mundelein Community High School District 120 Board of Education.

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Help IASB update membership records

Superintendents recently received copies of IASB membership records for their district, along with a form for reporting new board members. Once the Association receives the names of a district's new members, IASB will send each new member a packet of information and materials.

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RESEARCH REPORTS

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Study finds reducing class size improves reading scores

Elementary school students showed significant improvement in reading achievement after class sizes were reduced in Philadelphia and in Forth Worth, Texas, according to a report issued by the Council of the Great City Schools. "Reducing Class Size: A Smart Way to Improve America's Urban Schools" also reported that 32 urban districts responding to a national survey received more than $242 million in federal class-size funds for the 2000-2001 school year. The bulk of the funds go toward hiring new teachers. About 77 percent of those funds are being spent this year by the 32 school systems on salaries and benefits for new teachers, primarily in grades one through three. The rest of the funds are targeted to professional development, teacher recruitment and administration. For more information or a copy of the report visit the Council of the Great City Schools at http://www.cgcs.org. Source: NEGP Weekly, National Education Goals Panel, October 19, 2000.

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Illinois ranks in top five among states for teacher pay

A survey by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) shows Illinois ranked among the top 10 states in 1999 in terms of teacher salaries and among the top five when adjusted for cost-of-living factors. The average teacher salary nationwide was $40,574, while the average in Illinois was $45,286. AFT affiliates reportedly use salary data to consider trends, establish the position of members relative to other professionals and make comparisons among states. The report is available online at http://www.aft.org/research/survey99/index.html.

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WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS

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Funds can help administrators, business officials attend risk management event

A large risk management institute is offering scholarships to help employees of small local governments and nonprofit organizations-such as school districts and school foundations-attend the annual conference of the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA). The PRIMA conference is June 10-13 in Chicago. Scholarship recipients will receive $1,000, to be applied to any costs related to attending. The deadline for applications is February 19, 2001, and an application form can be obtained from the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) on their Web site, http://www.riskinstitute.org, or by calling PERI at 703/352-1846.

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TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

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Board self-assessment quiz is online

An online school board self-assessment tool from NSBA is designed to help boards determine their level of effectiveness. Boards are encouraged to take a short quiz in order to get an instant analysis of their school board's strengths and areas for improvement. (If problems are indicated, call your IASB field services representative to make use of the IASB board self-assessment service.) The online school board quiz is available at http://www.nsba.org/smoley/quiz.cfm.

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Online high school to be available nationwide

Starting in November 2000 an online public high school that provides virtual classes, the Florida High School (FHS), will offer live conversations. Plans are afoot to make FHS courses available to school districts nationwide. Meanwhile, commercial curricula for virtual high schools have become so commonplace that a symposium was held last month to allow commercial sites and technology developers to mingle with educators seeking to build online programs ("Web-based high school ready to reach nationwide," USA Today, October 25, 2000). Source: Ed.Net Briefs news service, October 30, 2000.

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EIU's virtual career fair a success

A two-week career fair sponsored by Eastern Illinois University (EIU) recently brought together roughly 100 employers and more than 400 students without anyone needing to travel. During this event, employers-including various school districts-and students shared career information online. Nearly 170 jobs were posted.

For more information contact Bill Liu (wliu@collegecentral.com), Director of Operations, 212/967-0230, NYC. Source: Steven W. Simpson, Simpson Communications, "Ed.Net Briefs," October 23, 2000.

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Districts may save by opting out of federal tax for unemployment system

Many local school districts might save money by opting out of the federal unemployment tax-paying system in order to provide unemployment insurance to employees through a third-party system. The opt-out deadline is December 31 each year.

An unemployment insurance program sponsored by IASB is now entering its sixteenth year under management of GatesMcDonald Company. The firm processed 1,053 claims in 1999 on behalf of 300 program participants. Favorable decisions were reached in roughly 80 percent of the cases, resulting in savings of $3,632,604 to IASB member districts. The average savings per claim was $3,450.

For more information, phone Jane Grubnich of GatesMcDonald toll free at 800/350-4315 or phone direct at 847/292-5900, ext. 124.

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DEVELOPMENTS IN SCHOOL LAW
by Melinda Selbee, IASB’s General Counsel

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Active farmland is "vacant" land, at least when it comes to what may be considered an "industrial park conservation area." Thus, approximately 1,350 acres of active farmland was properly included in a TIF, contrary to the arguments of the IASA, IEA, and IASB. The Illinois Supreme Court denied review of the lower appellate court's ruling. Fortunately, the Fifth District's ruling is unpublished and not precedential.

The Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act (TIF Act) allows municipalities to encourage redevelopment of blighted conditions within its borders by diverting property tax revenues from taxing districts (e.g., schools) to fund public improvement. State law requires a proposed TIF district to contain conditions allowing it to be classified as an "industrial park conservation area or a blighted area or a conservation area, or a combination of both blighted and conservation areas." An "industrial park conservation area" must include, among other things, vacant land. This qualifier was met, according to the court of appeals, by the city's inclusion of farmland in its TIF ordinance. Mascoutah Community Unit School District 19 v. City of Mascoutah, No. 96-MR-443, (2000, Ill. App. 5th Dist.).

Offering students electric zaps in lieu of detentions was irremediable conduct supporting a tenured teacher's dismissal. The teacher's practice of allowing students to trade a shock from a small engine for a detention was discovered when a student told his mother. The school board's subsequent dismissal of the teacher survived scrutiny under the judicially derived two-part test: a tenured teacher's dismissal is proper only (1) if damage was done to the students, faculty or the school, and (2) if so, the damage could not have been corrected by warning the teacher."

The test's first prong was satisfied by the students' testimony that they suffered physical pain when they were shocked. Of course, the district also suffered negative publicity. The court found the damage caused by Rush's conduct could not have been corrected by a warning. His shock-for-a-detention trade was a form of corporal punishment. The teacher had been repeatedly notified corporal punishment was forbidden in the district. Rush v. Crete-Monee Community Unit School District No. 201-U, No. 98-MR-993 (2000, Ill. App. 3rd Dist.).

Whose insurance is primary when a teacher, in the course of her employment, has an automobile accident: the teacher's insurer or the district's? The district's insurance policy specifically stated its coverage was in excess over the driver's own coverage. State law, however, imposes on school districts the obligation to indemnify and defend an employee acting in the course of employment. Thus, regardless of the contract's excess-only language, the district's insurer was obligated to defend the teacher.

This opinion contains an interesting discussion of the 1996 legislation substituting the word "powers" for the word "duties" in the pertinent School Code provision. Before the 1996 amendment, the indemnification provision was construed as a mandatory duty on school districts to indemnify and defend their employees against claims for damages due to negligence. The legislature created some confusion by changing "duty," which connotes a mandate, to "power," which is usually interpreted as permissive. The appellate court refused to put any meaning into the legislative change from "duty" to "power" finding the 1996 amendment's purpose was to expand school boards' power, not to eliminate their duties. Country Mutual Insurance Co. v. Teachers Insurance Co., No. 5-99-0418 (2000, Ill. App. 5th Dist.).

Imagine sitting at your board table during an open meeting when an audience member arises and, reaching into her blouse, removes a gun. Then she retrieves a two-to-three inch knife from her pocket. How would you feel? Board members who actually experienced this scenario testified they were "terrified … extremely frightened," "scared stiff," "frozen," and "petrified."

The audience member, as it turned out, was only brandishing a toy gun. Her conduct was intended to demonstrate that the school's dress code would not guarantee student safety. The board, using its policy regulating public conduct at school functions, banned the toy-gun slinger from all school functions for a year. She challenged the board's action saying she was being punished for exercising her constitutional free speech rights. Public school districts may, however, impose time, place, and manner restriction on free speech. Thus, her constitutional challenge failed. She also contended that the school board exceeded its statutory authority. This argument likewise failed. School boards are authorized to "adopt and enforce all necessary rules for the management and government of the public school of [its] district." This statute grants boards a broad spectrum of implied and incidental powers, including the power to promulgate conduct rules for spectators at board meetings. Nuding v. Board of Education of Cerro Gordo Community Unit School District No. 100, No. 99L10 (2000, Ill. App.4th Dist.).

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Springfield, Illinois 62703