Continue reading “Jan’s Public Comment for DuPage Co 4/28/2020”
I sent the following Letter-to-the-Editor to the Daily Herald on 4/21 – They never published it. The Board passed the ordinance on 4/28/2020. I’m glad they did, but disappointed in the details.
Give Taxpayers a Break.
On 4/14/2020 Robert Sanchez wrote an article titled: “DuPage County Board members appear to support a proposal to waive late fees for residents unable to pay their property taxes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Then on 4/17/2020 a follow-up titled “DuPage schools concerned about impact of potential property tax delays.” According to the second one, “A letter signed by 34 [school] superintendents asks county board members to consider ‘important facts’… Educators are concerned that removing late penalties could lead to delayed revenue for districts and force several to do short-term borrowing just to make payroll.”
That statement comes across as greedy and tone-deaf. Worse yet, I believe it is FALSE. Continue reading “Give Taxpayers a Break”
I sent the following to (Wheaton-Warrenville, CUSD 200 board members today 11/1/2019)
To:board@cusd200.org
All of these “experts” were wrong.
[T]he class of 2019, the first to experience all four high school years under Common Core, is the worst-prepared for college in 15 years, according to a new report.
Common Core is a set of national instruction and testing mandates implemented starting in 2010 without approval from nearly any legislative body and over waves of bipartisan citizen protests. Continue reading “Test Scores Down – 1st all Common Core H.S.”
On 10/30/2019 The Daily Herald published an article about the per-pupil cost of schools, the following is a summary of some key facts from it:
“While the average per-pupil cost at a typical suburban preschool is $15,250 and median cost is $13,814, the top five suburban early childhood schools are spending roughly $30,000 or more.”
| Type (suburban) | Average per-pupil expense | Median per-pupil cost |
| Pre-schools | $15,250 | $13,814 |
| Elementary Schools | 14,545 | $13,986 |
| Middle schools | $14,377 | $13,991 |
| High Schools | $14,612 | $13,905 |
Top per-pupil pre-K
This is a follow up to a previous post on PR spending:
That was not the first time this type of spending has been brought to the board’s attention. See:
HB0246 101st General Assembly signed into law on 8/9/2019.
Effective July 1, 2020.
Synopsis “With regard to the textbook block grant program, provides that the textbooks authorized to be purchased must include the roles and contributions of all people protected under the Illinois Human Rights Act and must be non-discriminatory as to any of the characteristics under the Act. Provides that textbooks purchased with grant funds must be non-discriminatory. Provides that in public schools only, the teaching of history of the United States shall include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this State.” [highlighting added]
“The U.S. Supreme Court and virtually all state courts have recognized that the police powers of a government to impair contractual obligations for a higher public good, the health, safety and welfare of its citizens and its continued financial survival, cannot be waived, divested, surrendered, or bargained away.”
…
“Illinois was the last of the four states not permitting public pension reforms. In a series of Illinois Supreme Court decisions in 2014, 2015 and 2016, Illinois stood singularly against any modification of public pension benefits that would diminish or impair benefits of current employees and retirees. == we need to change that! Illinois must reform to remain a functioning state.”
