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School Board News Bulletin
December 1996

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FCC panel approves e-rate for schools, gives discounts on Internet access, wiring

The proposed regulations for the Telecommunications Act, which will be valid after an initial comment period, call for the FCC to create a federal-state, nation-county, public-private partnership.

"Schools will be able to connect every single classroom to the Information Highway," said Reed Hundt, FCC chairman. "The ramp will be a high-speed, high-bandwidth, cutting edge connection. The discounts, tailored to each school's individual level of need, will make building and maintaining the ramp truly affordable for every school."

Available next school year to all schools to defray costs of Internet access, internal wiring and communication services, the deep discount will be formulated on the school lunch count in each district. For private/parochial schools, libraries and other institutions not utilizing the lunch count another formula will be used, yet to be determined. The $2.25 billion annual universal service fund will offset the cost of the e-rate for the telecommunications and other companies offering the discounts.

The e-rate discount for individual schools could well look like this:

Student participation rate, free and reduced lunches:	Discount offered:
0-1%	20%
2-20 %	40%
21-51%	50-70%
50-71%	80%
70-100%	90%

The benchmark for the discount will be the best competitive rate in the regional service area. Consortiums will be encouraged to participate. The annual fund can carry over if it is not depleted and schools will need to begin using this pool heavily from the beginning or risk cutbacks, according to insiders.

Conversely, if the money runs short it will be distributed on a first-come first-served basis. Schools will submit a short written plan to their communications company when requesting the discount, who in turn will pass it on Washington. Schools will get their money back from the universal service pool administrator.

Not covered by the discount will be computer hardware, software, training, and other support or maintenance costs. If schools have an existing contract with a communications provider, the e-rate discount can be taken from the contractual rate.

The e-rate could be a boon to schools in Illinois. A recent report from the State Board of Education, "Preliminary Findings of the Statewide Technology Survey," showed that "only a little over one-half of the schools have access to Internet and those connections are not robust because less than one in five schools have direct connections." What is more, only about a third of the schools indicate that students can use Internet as part of their instructional program.

Source: AASA "Legislative Alert" on AASA home page (http://www.aasa.org).

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Can board members break sunshine laws when using e-mail?

In fact, Colorado has already enacted such a law, specifying that meetings conducted via e-mail are subject to the state's open meetings or sunshine law. This means public notice must be given in advance of the meeting if a majority of board members is expected to be involved or if formal action is likely to result.

Such "meetings" must be open to the public unless the board goes into executive session. If formal action occurs or may occur, minutes must be kept and made available to the general public.

Any e-mail that involves three or more parties, like telephone conference calls, would be covered under the Colorado open meetings act. On the other hand, two-party e-mail communications would not be subject to Colorado's open meetings law, just as telephone calls between two parties would not be covered.

It is a "public meeting," however, if a board member sends the same message simultaneously to the rest of the school board and asks for a response. This is true even if the other board members are not on line at the time the message is transmitted.

The article cautions that this "does not mean that distributing information to board members via e-mail for which no response is required constitutes a public meeting any more than sending out the board's agenda packets would."

An appeals court in California has held that sequential telephone calls between board members constitutes a public meeting as defined by the state's open meetings act if the calls are conducted to obtain a collective commitment. The authors suggest e-mail exchanges would probably be treated the same way.

Nebraska law is even more restrictive. It forbids electronic meetings and bans school board members from even exchanging opinions outside a public meeting.

The authors conclude: "a meeting via e-mail is no less a meeting than convening in a board room." What is more, any materials produced from such an exchange "are no less records than memoranda on bond paper."

The Inquiry and Analysis article advises school boards to "continue to conduct their business openly and to limit their electronic communications to non-confidential informational matters."

Source: NSBA's School Board News.

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Available for search: Illinois School Laws online

The Illinois Association of School Boards has made arrangements with a legal publisher to maintain its 1996 edition of Illinois School Laws on the World Wide Web. The online document is presented in a user-friendly search engine that makes it easy to quickly find all the statutes related to a particular topic. Statutes can be downloaded to a file or printed. The engine can search the entire text for various combinations of words and phrases.

Illinois School Laws is now listed with a direct hyperlink on the IASB homepage (http://www.iasb.com). Just click on the appropriate listing to reach the school law website. Use the Help button to learn how to navigate and use the query procedure.

The IASB website includes a wide variety of publications, directories, calendars and other information designed to help school board members and administrators.

The Illinois school statutes are current through the 1995 session of the General Assembly and include the same statutes as those included in the printed version of the Illinois School Code distributed by IASB. These include the Illinois School Code and Related Acts, the Educational Labor Relations Act, Open Meetings Act and more than 20 other important Acts.

The printed version of the publication is available from the Illinois Association of School Boards for $18 ($14 for member school districts).

The electronic edition, complete with FOLIO VIEWS search engine and an installation program, is available on computer diskettes for loading to your local hard drive. Cost: $65.

For more information, get in touch with IASB PUBLICATIONS at extension 1108, or FAX your order to 217/528-2831.

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Referendum results

Bond issues consistently enjoy a far greater success ratio than tax rate propositions. For example, voters approved 63 percent of the bond issues on the ballot in March, far exceeding the success rate for tax increases at any election in memory.

While tax rate increase propositions typically have encountered a low success rate in general elections in the 1990s, the 11 percent figure was the lowest for any November election since 1971.

This record low rate of approval for proposals to raise property taxes is a sign that "voters want to change the way education is funded," according to a November 11 Chicago Sun-Times editorial.

Tax increase questions have fared particularly badly in the past three Presidential election years-when the most voters typically come out to the polls. In November 1988, 31 of 121 tax questions were approved (26 percent). In November 1992, only 11 of 52 school tax rate increases were approved (21 percent).

This dwindling success rate contrasts with a success rate of roughly 40 percent for tax propositions put forward in November of non-Presidential years. The modern high in such elections was 50 percent in 1977, and since 1977 the success quotient of similarly timed tax propositions has twice approached that rate. In November 1989, voters approved 32 tax increase propositions, and in November 1993, voters approved 26 tax increases-both attaining a 45 percent success rate.

The only districts winning tax rate increases this time were: Woodstock C.U. District 200 (McHenry County), Dunlap C.U. District 323 (Peoria County), and Prairie du Rocher C.C. District 134 (Randolph County). The Woodstock and Dunlap districts also won voter approval to issue building bonds.

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Illinois school districts show "commitment to excellence"

"The recipients of the 1996 Lincoln Awards for Commitment to Excellence reflect a very positive trend toward continuous improvement in our schools," said Frederick Coggin, CEO of the Lincoln Foundation. "We encourage them in their quest for excellence."

The Award recipients were selected from applicants from across Illinois by a panel of judges who are leading experts in organizational excellence. The honorees: Charles G. Hammond Elementary School, Chicago; Community Unit District 300, Carpentersville; Davea Career Center, Addison; Lake County High Schools Technology Campus, Grayslake; Louisa May Alcott Elementary School, Chicago; Valley View C.U. District 365-U, Romeoville; and Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove.

In addition, Thomas Kelly High School and the Community Unit School District 300 will receive Lincoln Awards for Exemplary Practice. The two were singled out for developing and implementing noteworthy processes into daily school activities.

"At a time when too many of our school systems are receiving bad marks for educational practices, the Lincoln Foundation's criteria and Award process provides a comprehensive model for measuring and achieving excellence." So said Homer Johnson, co-chairman of the Lincoln Foundation's education sector. "These eight institutions have taken the lead in applying the continuous improvement concepts and practices necessary to better our schools."

The Illinois State Board of Education recently endorsed the use of the Lincoln Foundation for Business Excellence criteria and award process as acceptable to fulfill the requirements of the new learning-focused "accountability and quality assurance system."

The awards criteria are patterned after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, but are adapted to the needs of Illinois. The three-tiered awards program is part of the Foundation's efforts to help Illinois organizations understand and implement a continuous improvement process.

The Lincoln Foundation for Business Excellence is a privately-funded nonprofit organization, established to help Illinois organizations better compete in today's global economy. Education and training are the primary goals of the Foundation, according to the organization. Outreach initiatives are available to all Illinois organizations and will include workshops, self-assessment tools and starter guides-all focused on helping organizations understand and implement a continuous improvement process.

Originators of the Foundation are: Advocate Health Care; Amoco Corporation; ArcVentures; L.L.C.; BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois; Caterpillar, Inc.; Citibank; Commonwealth Edison; Deere & Company; Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group; First Chicago NBD Corporation; Northwestern Health Care; Price Waterhouse LLP and the Grainger Foundation.

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FEDERAL UPDATE

Some progress on national goals, but not enough, panel finds

The sixth annual NEGP report assessed national performance by examining 25 benchmarks selected to gauge progress toward meeting eight national goals for education. The report said performance has improved in five areas, but it has fallen in eight areas, while remaining unchanged in the others.

The 18-member bipartisan panel released its report in November, entitled "Goals Report: Building a Nation of Learners."

The five areas showing improvement were family reading; infant health; math achievement in grades 4 and 8; degrees earned in mathematics and science by all students and by females; and threats and injuries to students at school. Performance fell, however, in areas such as reading achievement in grade 12; teacher preparation; participation in adult education and in closing the gap in college completion rates between whites and Hispanics.

Governor John Engler (R., Michigan), the 1996 chairman of the NEGP, said the panel is encouraged by the improvements in individual states.

"A number of states are demonstrating significant, measurable progress toward the goals," Engler said. "And many other states are steadily making improvements. Our National Education Goals are very ambitious, and that is why it is particularly heartening to see progress."

Rising student drug abuse and violence are major obstacles in reaching the national education goals, the report stated. "These rising trends are disturbing not only because they pose health and safety dangers to teachers and students, but also because drug use and discipline issues clearly inhibit learning," said Ken Nelson, executive director of NEGP.

The report also contained a review of progress toward the goals in each state. NEGP uses 21 state core indicators selected to measure progress toward the goals.

Findings from the state-by-state section: Twelve states-Alabama, Arizona, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont-have made significant improvement in five of the key performance areas.

Twenty states have achieved the 90 percent or higher high school graduation rate called for by goal two-Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Also, 46 states have increased the percentage of mathematics and science degrees awarded to all students, while 30 states have increased the percentage of math and science degree awarded to minorities and 48 have increased the percentage awarded to female students.

Copies of the 1996 National Education Goals Report and Executive Summary are available free-of-charge from the NEGP by faxing a request to the panel at 202/632-0957. Or send an e-mail message to NEGP@goalline.org; or visit the panel's website at http://www.negp.gov

Bus driver testing labs must be certified

Eight labs have been removed from this certified list in less than a year and one-half. School districts that are unsure about which lab is being used for their program, particularly those that are not members of a reputable consortium, should seek an answer immediately. Answers about whether a particular lab is certified may be obtained by calling the Midwest Truckers Association Drug & Alcohol Testing Consortium at 217/525-0310.

Education Department suspends civil rights survey

Due to budget constraints, however, the department plans to revamp the survey. In the meantime, the survey is being suspended for 1996.

Collected annually for six years, and every two years since 1974, it has been criticized at times on its accuracy and timeliness. But civil rights experts say the survey is an essential tool in federal efforts to protect minority and female students-as well as disabled, and limited-English-proficient students-from discrimination at school.

In a recent year, the survey sought data from nearly one-third of the nation's 14,881 public school districts-roughly 50,000 schools. Most of the districts surveyed are chosen through a random sampling method, but schools suspected of civil rights violations and large districts (25,000 or more students) are routinely added to the list. Schools are mandated to answer the survey questions or risk losing federal aid.

Source: Education Week on the Web, December 11, 1996.

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NEWS FROM IASB

WCSIT board wins risk management team award

Eight people from the WCSIT Board of Trustees received the 1996 Risk Management TEAM Award, including: IASB Immediate Past President Stanton Morgan, Board Vice President of Bismarck-Henning C.U. District 1, WCSIT Chairperson; IASB Director-at-Large Gerri Long, Board President of Lombard Elementary District 44, WCSIT Vice Chairperson; James Hendren, Director of Business Affairs at Decatur District 61, WCSIT Treasurer; IASB President Jay Tovian, Board Member of Villa Park District 45, WCSIT Secretary; Edward Armstrong, Superintendent of East Richland C.U. District 1, Olney; Elise Grimes, Superintendent of LaGrange-Highlands District 106; Michael Oberhaus, Comptroller of Rock Island District 41; and Wayne Sampson, Executive Director of IASB and WCSIT Trustee.

The WCSIT, endorsed by both the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) and the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), is the largest self-insured pool providing workers' compensation coverage to school districts across Illinois. Because the pool is self funded, financial planning is one of the most crucial elements of managing the WCSIT. Due to investment decisions of the WCSIT board, a healthy surplus has been built for the pool and in turn for its members. This has led WCSIT's board to announce a guaranteed dividend plan as an additional benefit of membership to its qualified members until the year 2000.

Qualified WCSIT participants who are members of record on September 15 of the following year will be guaranteed dividends of at least 20 percent of their annual audited paid contribution amounts for the 1995-96 program year and the following three years. In the 1999-2000 program year, the WCSIT Board of Trustees will review and determine the dividend amount based on the available surplus at the time.

Such a plan, sponsors say, is unprecedented in the current self-insurance workers' compensation marketplace. Qualified WCSIT member school districts will reap the benefits of the guaranteed dividend plan by sharing in nearly $9 million in dividends during the next four years. By the year 2000, qualified WCSIT members will have received approximately $16 million in dividends and distributions since the WCSIT's inception in 1982.

The WCSIT Board of Trustees received oak and mahogany abacuses as a token in appreciation of their financial management practices. Approximately 2,000 district superintendents, business officials and school board members attended the breakfast session. Four WCSIT charter members represented the WCSIT's membership and presented the awards.

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Superintendent evaluation books acquired

Superintendent Performance Evaluation: Current Practice and Directions for Improvement

Handbook for Improving Superintendent Performance Evaluation

A Portfolio for Evaluation of School Superintendents

The Evaluation Role of School Boards: a Superintendent's Perspective

Contact Ellen Murray in the Springfield office at 217/528-9688, ext. 1105, to arrange loans of Resource Center materials.

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Website of the month

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Merv Roberts wins Burroughs Award

The award is presented annually to the local school board president who has shown outstanding leadership on behalf of improved student learning, educational excellence, equal opportunity, and crisis resolution. The award is named in honor of former State Board Chairman Thomas Lay Burroughs, of Collinsville, who died at age 40 in 1991.

IASB Southwestern Division Director Bill Jenner was among 22 other Burroughs Award finalists. Bill is president of the school board in O'Fallon Township High School District 203. Other school board presidents who were nominated were: Dennis Baker, of Auburn C.U. District 10; Charles Bartoli, of Lostant C.U. District 425; Duane Blacker, of Bureau Valley C.U. District 340; Ronald Blackstone, of Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School District 233; Ronald J. Cap, of Hoover-Schrum District 157; Joseph Donnely, of Rosemont District 78; James J. Dougherty, of Brookfield-LaGrange Park District 95; F. Daniel Fletcher, of Des Plaines C.C. District 62; David K. Harvey, of Marseilles Elementary District 150; Gary W. Havenar, of Riverton C.U. District 14; Thomas Huddleston, of Kings C.C. District 144; Kristine Johnson, of Gavin District 37; Theodore T. Kato, of Addison District 4; Michael Kiss, of Highland Park Township High School District 113; Robert Meinershagen, of Lincoln Community High School District 404; Michael G. Minger, of Metamora C.C. District 1; Georgia Ramsey, of North Pekin-Marquettte Heights District 102; John A. Relias, of Wilmette District 39; Andrew T. Rieder, of Fremont District 79; Bob Schafer, of Winchester C.U. District 1; Catherine Usborne, of Woodland C.C. District 50; Nancy Vanzandt, of DuQuoin C.U. District 300, and Craig Williamson of Minooka C.C. District 201. Special awards went to Ronald Cap, of Hoover-Schrum, who died last spring at age 40, and to Charles Bartoli, of Lostant.

Downlink sites sought for workshop on reconnecting public with its schools

The featured speaker is Patrick Jackson, a nationally renowned public relations consultant who has done extensive work with the NSBA and IASB. Jackson believes that the future of public education is very much in jeopardy. He says public schools need to make an immediate, strong, concerted effort at the local level to win back the full support of an alienated public, and he has good ideas about how this can be accomplished.

Downlink site participants will be encouraged to remain after the telecast portion of the program to begin developing local public engagement action plans. For information on becoming a downlink site, contact the IASB Field Services Department at 217/528-9679, ext. 1118.

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TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

Book explores the role of money in politics

Part III features the possibilities for changing Illinois' campaign finance law. It also shows you how to obtain and interpret campaign finance records for Illinois executive and legislative campaigns, and connects you to more information about campaign finance issues in other states and at the federal level.

Campaign finance practices in Illinois go virtually unchecked by the weakest set of regulations in the country: Illinois for Sale serves as a call to action and a guide for coordinated effort toward campaign finance reform.

Illinois for Sale is available for $9.95 plus $3 shipping and handling-from the Institute for Public Affairs, Publication Unit, PAC 478, University of Illinois at Springfield, Springfield, IL 62794-9243. For faster delivery or more information, call Jackie Wright at 217/786-6502; fax orders to 217/786-6246.

Violence prevention tapes offered

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Competition rewards achievement of disabled kids

The awards, to be presented by the Foundation for Exceptional Children, are part of the "Yes I Can" recognition program for special needs children. The awards will be presented at the Foundation's annual conference in Salt Lake City this spring.

Nominees must be between ages 2 and 21. Categories are academics, arts, athletics, community service, employment, extracurricular activities and independent living. Applications are being accepted through January 6, 1997.

To obtain an application form, call the Information and Reception Center at 217/782-4321 or from the Foundation's Internet website at http://www.CEC.SPED.ORG. (Minigrant and scholarship application forms are also available at the website.)

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Web employment resource listed

RESEARCH REPORTS: facts and figures for school leaders

Citizens want schools online

Most people, in fact, are willing to put their own money towards just thatCwith an average monthly fee of $18, the poll found.

NSBA released the study at its annual Technology + Learning Conference.

"I'm actually kind of overwhelmed that a majority of the country would support paying extra for computers," said FCC Chairman Reed Hunt, in response to the new polling information. "I think people have sent a message to . . . fulfill the mandates of the Telecommunications Act."

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Chicago students' mobility hinders education

A new study shows that constant mobility adversely affects more than just the students who actually make the moves. In schools with high rates of student mobility, the study says, the pace of instruction decreases for all students.

So says David Kerbow, a researcher at the University of Chicago, who surveyed 13,000 sixth graders in Chicago public schools, where student-mobility rates are notoriously high. In a typical Chicago elementary school at any given point in time, Kerbow says, only half of the students are enrolled in the same school after a three-year period.

The more often a student moves in elementary school, Kerbow found, the further behind that student falls academically. By the sixth grade, students who have changed schools four or more times are about a year behind their counterparts who have had more stable school careers.

What is more, in schools with high mobility rates, the pace of instruction for all children begins to slow after first grade as teachers increase the amount of time they spend reviewing material for new students, Kerbow said. By fifth grade, these schools are offering their students a curriculum that's a full year behind that of schools with more stable populations.

Students who leave rarely end up in better environments, however. Kerbow says they often wind up in nearby schools with similar burgeoning mobility rates.

Yet, Kerbow says, the problem of student mobility rarely gets serious consideration when schools embrace new reform ideas.

"Without a certain level of stability," he writes, "it is unclear how school-based educational programs, no matter how innovative, could successfully develop and show long-term impact." Kerbow's report was published in the June 1996, issue of the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk.

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WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS

A woman's place . . . is in the curriculum

The registration fee is $395, and sponsors say it includes a 300-plus page participant notebook of copymasters, numerous resource materials, and four lunches.

For more information, contact the National Women's History Project, 7738 Bell Road, Dept. P., Windsor, CA 95492-8518, or 707/838-6000, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., Central Daylight Time. Or e-mail nwhp@aol.com

Celebrate black women's history!

"Famous African-American Women Paper Dolls" can introduce youngsters to Barbara Jordan, Phillis Wheatley, Sojourner Truth and thirteen others. Each comes with two full-color costumes and a biographical paragraph. They can be used for creative play or as the basis for bulletin board displays. Each set is $4.95, plus $4 shipping and handling.

To order these items, or a set of 12 full-color posters-or to request a free Women's History CatalogCcontact the National Women's History Project, 7738 Bell Road, Dept. P., Windsor, CA 95492, or call 707/838-6000.

THE NATIONAL SCENE

Specialized programming for board members touted at NSBA conference

A special workshop curriculum designed to help new school board members face the challenges of school board service will be taught by several of the best board development facilitators in the country. Pat Fitzwater, consultant and long-time board development director for the Oregon School Boards Association, will lead the workshops.

New school board members will have numerous opportunities to meet and talk with NSBA's new board member mentors-individuals who attended one of these workshops just a year or two ago and are back to share what they have learned.

Veteran school board members can enhance their boardsmanship skills by getting a jump on their NSBA Annual Conference experience at Early Bird Workshops. These half-day or full-day workshops allow substantial time to thoroughly explore key board challenges. Registration is first-come, first-served.

In addition, a variety of pre-conference meetings, covering topics from school health to technology planning, will convene in conjunction with the NSBA Annual Conference.

Detailed information on registration, housing, speaker biographies, seminar descriptions, and Anaheim dining and attractions can be found in the NSBA Annual Conference fax-on-demand system. Dial 1-800/934-3967 for a complete listing of Conference documents.

Information on the conference can also be found on the NSBA Website at http://www.nsba. org/conference. The site allows interested parties to tailor their conference schedule to their needs in advance and improve their conference experience.

NSBA, which represents the nation's 95,000 school board members, is a not-for-profit federation of state associations of school boards across the United States.

For additional NSBA Conference information, or to register by telephone, call NSBA toll-free at 1-800/950-6722.

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Gun penalty now law in Ohio

New legislation approved overwhelmingly by state lawmakers in November, and awaiting the governor's signature, would punish weapon-toting youths by suspending their license or temporary permit for 12 to 36 months.

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Recent mailings from IASB

December 9: Announcement of upcoming collective bargaining clinics, to board presidents and district superintendents.

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Illinois School District Liquid Asset Fund Plus

More than $624 million was invested in the Fixed Rate program (including Certificates of Deposit), at rates of 5.12 percent for a 30-day certificate to 5.65 percent for a one-year certificate. For more information about ISDLAF+, call, toll-free, 1-800/221-4524.

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IASB School Board News Bulletin
Illinois Association of School Boards