TOWN
is a proud recipient of the Points of Light presidential citation
Where the Money Comes From, and Where the Money Goes
- Community Forum #1 on Public Education - August 12, 2001
Summary of first TOWN-sponsored public education
forum, August 12, 2001
Panelists: Robert Taylor, President, Waukegan Board of Education
Senator Adeline Geo-Karis
Representative Susan Garrett
Handouts (budget summaries
and pie charts) were provided by Mr. Taylor.
Mr. Taylor walked through the handouts with the audience,
highlighting that nearly 85% of the budget goes to salaries, benefits,
etc.- "people costs."
Only 37 % of the education funds are applied to regular education.
Questions were raised about the return to neighborhood
schools. Mr. Taylor assured us that the board was still very much in favor
of the concept, but that implementation has been postponed and contingient
upon building a new elementary school. An audience member was under the
impression that there was currently grant money available to help with
transitions back to neighborhood schools, and asked if we would lose these
opportunities if we delayed. Mr. Taylor was not aware of any such programs.
Mr. Taylor went on to say that we need growth of revenues
to match the growth of students, teachers and support services.
Rep. Garrett said we need to find a new way to fund schools.
We must get away from the reliance upon property taxes.
Sen. Geo-Karis pointed out (to several questions raised
during the evening) that there is a limit to how much you can tax people.
The next questions related to the bilingual program (mostly
transition from Spanish to English). Why do we spend such a large proportion
of our money on this? We are required to offer transitional programs for
kids who are not yet proficient in English. We do apply for grant money
to the federal and Illinois governments to offset some of this added cost.
We have quite a bit of discretion in how to spend the bilingual grant
money.
Rep. Garrett suggested that native English speakers should
also be learning Spanish to better compete for jobs.
Mr. Taylor explained that the current transition program
is shorter than in previous years, and he feels it is basically successful,
though it can still be improved.
Bilingual and other special ed programs are only partially-funded
mandates, and everyone was in agreement that state and federal funding
should cover more of the costs.
Questions were raised that many parents feel that school
principals and staff discourage parental participation in their childrens'
education. They complained that calls to prinicipals were not returned,
parents feel "out of the loop" and want to air concerns and work with
the schools. Mr. Taylor insisted that all schools are very open to any
parents and volunteers, and that if anyone ever has a problem, they should
contact him. Sen. Geo Karis felt that we should actively tap citizens
in the community (esp. seniors) to volunteer as tutors in the schools.
Often, kids just need a little help. Mr. Taylor emphasised that it is
of primary importance to get parents involved in education.
The next questions were regarding low income programs.
We were assured that the free breakfast and lunch programs were fully
funded by federal grants.
Families having income below the federal poverty level
have all school fees waived. This is done for 60 to 65% of the nearly
16,000 kids in our public schools. Furthermore, other parents should pay,
but don't. So District 60 absorbs all these costs, reducing monies available
for education. It was suggested that we investigate possible grant money
for each low income child to try to offset these costs. Also suggested
was to try to verify income on families scheduled to pay fees, who don't.
District 60 spend $5.2 million on busing.
The Illinois State Lottery was originally designed to benefit
the public schools, but the state government has redirected the money
to the general fund for spending on whatever it wants. Sen. Geo-Karis
expressed outrage, and promised to look into this.
The topic of overcrowding was brought up. Sen. Geo-Karis
said that you could let anyone live in your house. Everyone agreed that
the public schools cannot turn away any child living in the city limits.
We must educate all kids to the best of our ability.
Rep. Garrett said that with a state budget of $53.4 billion,
that we can do a better job funding public schools. We need to redistribute
existing funds, not raise taxes. We need to "tighten other belts in Springfield."
The State of Illinois is still using the old 1990 census
to determine school funding. The new census figures won't be used until
fall of 2002. Why is this occurring with modern technology available?
Finally, each panelist was given time for concluding thoughts:
Mr. Taylor once again promised to promptly provide answers to all the
questions he was unable to answer this evening, so that we could share
this information through the website, www.waukegan.org. Rep. Garrett emphasized
that she really cares what we have to say. She sits on the State Elementary
and Secondary Education Committee, and that she will work to equalize
the funding of schools throughout Illinois. Sen. Geo-Karis told us that
her heart is in the Waukegan schools, but that not everything is possible.
If you would like to view the complete video of this forum,
please contact the TOWN office at 847-599-1531.
Robert Taylor Handouts - distributed at Community
Forum #1 - August 12, 2001
Click on the associated link below to view the handout in a new window:
