How are your local school disricts doing financially? (Chicago, Carpentersville: health insurance, how much)

[cubssoxfan]

Many school districts are facing serious budget cuts due to lower tax revenues and woeful state finances. How are your local schools doing and what are they doing to balance their budgets?

[urza216]

Don't forget about (No) Child Left Behind.

[cohdane]

Fewer field trips, less library staff, rumors of school closings, parent costs up and just generally a sense that if it costs money, the answer is "no."

It hasn't even begun to get as ugly as it's going to get.

[chicagojlo]

Ours has stopped allowing teachers to have their kids on their health insurance. The average home price in our village is not too far off the $1million mark, and our teachers have to get AllKids for their own children. I'm sorry but I'm sick of hearing the ladies who lunch whining on about their property taxes while they are picking up their 3rd $6 coffee of the day in Starbucks.

[cubssoxfan]

As home prices went up and tax revenues went up, the district added programs. Some of the programs had been offered in the past but were rolled back or cut in early 2000's during last recession.
District is looking at possibly eliminating choir band and orchestra programs, art, PE and gifted program, looking at increasing classes to around 28 kids and going to GLC, grade level centers where all kids in the district go to a single building for PK-1, 2-3, 4-5 and then go to current building for 6-8. Also discussing referendum to raise tax rate to save most or all the programs that would be cut, keep current smaller class sizes and perhaps not reorganize into GLC's. Compared to surrounding districts our tax rate is low. We also have very little commercial and industrial in our tax base.
I still don't understand the details of how State money plays into this; if it is delays in payments from the state and/or reductions in the amount we receive.
It will be VERY interesting to see how referendum shapes up and plays out during next few months. I'm still trying to figure out the tax rate district is allowed to levy and how it changes with re-assesments. I was shocked at how much my property tax bill went down. $800 less to the school district.

[urza216]

No Child Left behind is the phony name of act given to us by trust fund kid George W. Bush. The purpose of the program is to cut funding from the schools that clearly need it and give this funding to the schools who are already doing well. If poor people remain uneducated, they're less likely to revolt.

A lot of the schools in my area have students who didn't have good enough test scores. So now BECAUSE the test scores are low, the school's federal funding has been cut. No Child Left Behind.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by urza216

No Child Left behind is the phony name of act given to us by trust fund kid George W. Bush. The purpose of the program is to cut funding from the schools that clearly need it and give this funding to the schools who are already doing well. If poor people remain uneducated, they're less likely to revolt.

A lot of the schools in my area have students who didn't have good enough test scores. So now BECAUSE the test scores are low, the school's federal funding has been cut. No Child Left Behind.

It's funny because my old high school made Chicago Tribune headlines last year. Because the Rich East High School administrators didn't want their funding cut as a result of No Child Left Behind, many low-performing students didn't even take the test.

Case of the missing juniors - Chicago Tribune

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by urza216

No Child Left behind is the phony name of act given to us by trust fund kid George W. Bush. The purpose of the program is to cut funding from the schools that clearly need it and give this funding to the schools who are already doing well. If poor people remain uneducated, they're less likely to revolt.

A lot of the schools in my area have students who didn't have good enough test scores. So now BECAUSE the test scores are low, the school's federal funding has been cut. No Child Left Behind.

One could also argue that No Child Left Behind has pushed schools into "bringing up the bottom" as they pump funding into services that improve test scores/offer remediation to the lowest performing student groups. This diverts money earmarked for programs (e.g. academic enrichment/advanced) for higher performing students which may reduce academic gains in that group. Personally, I think the program is a mess all around.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by GoCUBS1

One could also argue that No Child Left Behind has pushed schools into "bringing up the bottom" as they pump funding into services that improve test scores/offer remediation to the lowest performing student groups.

One could argue it from a philosophical standpoint but it would be hard to find a real life example to back up the argument. You can't "pump funding into services" when there's no unallocated money in the first place.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by urza216

One could argue it from a philosophical standpoint but it would be hard to find a real life example to back up the argument. You can't "pump funding into services" when there's no unallocated money in the first place.

Right... There's no unallocated money... Just funding allocated differently with NCLB..

Carpentersville District 300 -
Funds allocated to bilingual, reading remediation, special ed, new vocational program H.S.