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OP Taxpayer June 10, 2013 at 09:33 am
When are students parents going to start questioning COMMON CORE in our schools. This big government…Read More blight enacted on every state that excepted FED dollars from the 08 stimulus program must be addressed. Wake up people.
D181 Parent June 17, 2013 at 01:26 pm
I hope that D135 is bracing itself for the arrival of its new superintendent. D181 parents are…Read More relieved and elated that Dr. Stutz is leaving our district on June 30. She has left our curriculum department in a state of chaos after 4 years as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. Let's hope that the D135 Board will keep a close watch over her performance as a first time superintendent.
Carrie Frillman (Editor) October 24, 2011 at 02:14 pm
This is such a cool outlet for aspiring musicians. I love that they actually get to play shows!
Elizabeth G. June 1, 2013 at 11:02 am
Probably a smart decision for d135 to appoint a former board member because having so many new…Read More members is not ideal. I'm glad it was Okon, he only lost by about 300 votes and did not campaign in 2011. D135 board members making good common sense decisions? It's about time!
Sue Slansky May 7, 2013 at 05:17 pm
I would like to give a shout out to a few teachers. First, Mr. Komar at McAuliffe. He was the one…Read More that really got my son involved in school, and wanting to learn. Then there is Mra. Luttrell, Mrs. O'Keffe and Ms. Fitz at Grissom who are just wonderful. They are very involved with the children and each and every one of them go above and beyond for the kids. My son loves them all, and although he does not want to stay in his current grade he wishes he could have all three of them every year!! Thanks for doing what you do, all 4 of you are awesome!!!
Susan May 8, 2013 at 05:25 am
I would like to honor my niece, Maureen Oleskiewicz. She is the young, vibrant Independence Junior…Read More High Teacher who's life on earth ended today, May 7, 2013. She was a loving and thoughtful young woman with an infectious smile. She leaves a legacy of students who adored her, a community of educators who embraced her commitment to learning, and a family who treasured every moment of the 28 short years that God blessed them with her presence. Even in her passing, Maureen will continue to touch our lives: Her life's journey was always selfless, focusing on the importance of family, friends, love, and faith.
Off the top of my Head May 2, 2013 at 01:25 am
GENTILE quote: “We were going to talk about it as a board of six....I wish we could all…Read More convene as six members to discuss the matter we had on the agenda.”
Gentile, you know what they say about leopards and their spots? When in the past four years, have you (and your other three rude buddies), ever cared about a conversation with the full board's input? So.... did you get a consensus of all six members attending the meeting OR just enough for a quorum? You really expect the public to believe that you cared about ALL SIX people making it to the discussion?! And to clarify what I'm asking: you took a consensus on a date/time that all six people could work into their schedules to attend the meeting? Well, for some reason, I have a gut feeling that wasn't really what you planned. That is probably why all six never showed up. I am just taking a guess that you asked the first person to make the meeting and then were going to jam it down the other two board member's throats. You didn't need them so you didn't care if it worked out for them to attend. That sounds more like it, doesn't it? Wow, your plan backfired......THAT was embarrassing, huh?!
William Riley May 2, 2013 at 01:45 am
A lesson for the kiddies...Be careful - the toes you step on today may be connected to the a** you…Read More have to kiss tomorrow?
P.Y.T. May 2, 2013 at 10:47 am
What happens behind closed doors is supposed to stay behind closed doors. that said, I too put Mary…Read More with the others. However, that does that change my vote at this point. I also do not feel that she should be the new board member solely on this action. I think the process needs to go forth and if they "reward" her with the opening just for her actions, then we are back to square one. The new board must do what is best for the public. I am not so sure Mary (who did do the right thing) is still that person. Just not so confident.
Jane Founda April 28, 2013 at 02:06 pm
Congratulations to this young man and fine athlete. Goid news-- something we live yo hear. (For a…Read More change)
iceman63 April 17, 2013 at 03:29 am
So, about the questions posed above, it sounds like a lot of upcoming litigation funded by us the…Read More taxpayers! The Walsh case has to be at its estimated $100,000 mark by now. What about litigation from the superintndent search where Cunningham and a former 230 board member exposed confidential materials to the employers of candidates. And now these three paraprof who were used to boost the incumbents' images. WTH! Does anyone know if the taxpayers can sue school boards for stupidity? JP said it well, "ding dong the witch is gone!" We can also add, "Hit the road Rock, and don't you come back no more."
John Paul April 17, 2013 at 04:24 am
I added some additional comments about last week's election on my latest blog under Local Voices.
Bob March 27, 2013 at 03:18 pm
It's really frustrating how 230 allocates money to these boondoggles. What the district does is…Read More establish how much money they want to spend on capital work every year (typically about $6-9 million), then ask the administration at each school how they want their "cut" of the money spent. Since often there really isn't that much need at most schools, they typically pick a low value, high cost project to use up their budget. The O&M manager then fattens the scope to meet the money made available for the work, and they come up with some truly wasteful and ridiculous work that's done far more inefficiently as possible. For a short time I was allowed to ask questions at the building committee meeting, and in the first month alone I came up with better ways of doing the work that resulted in about $70K in savings to accomplish the same goals. This infuriated the Board and administration, so I was not "invited back".
I'm always amazed by how much less burdened the taxpayers in our community would be if the $250k Supers and $150K Principals would be tasked by the Board to spend money as wisely as possible!
Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything from this year's candidates indicating that they have any interest in doing so.
Pat Cannon March 27, 2013 at 04:29 pm
question Bober....im now wondering if it's a use it or loose it deal ?
at my school we are tied in…Read More with 3 other schools,and every year we get asked ok , what do you need,(Im a building Engineer)anything we want'''they will get it... they burn up the budget, so they don't get shorted next year in theory...
again it not tax payers money at my schools, thank god...
Kathy Quilty March 24, 2013 at 07:26 pm
All personnel matters are only discussed in closed session. That is why we will never know the…Read More truth. Sometimes this is a good thing, and sometimes it is not.
As John Paul said, we may never know for a long time because it is a closed session discussion.
However, that being said, all voting is taken place in public session along with the motion. I would be very curious as to what the exact wording of the motion was. Does anyone know?
Julius Pepperwood March 27, 2013 at 03:07 am
I saw some print today from the Gentile campaign. It says, "Help me protect our kids"! I…Read More think this speaks volumes. Perhaps there is less than pure motives surrounding her recent decisions. In my opinion, the only protection our children need is from Ann's personal agenda.
P.Y.T. March 27, 2013 at 11:43 am
Well if you want to know what goes on in closed sessions, maybe we can ask Ann's kids. At the…Read More meeting I was at last they talked about the school promotion and she said how her child could not wait to get that tweet out. So, who else does she tell confidential stuff to besides her family? It's confidential... did anyone else catch that comment?
Sandy Olmsted April 29, 2013 at 03:04 pm
Beautiful young ladies and handsome young men!! Hope everyone had a wonderful time!!!
Jed Clampett April 30, 2013 at 03:47 am
Just curious- what'd prom cost this year for Field Museum ? Sounds cool, but pricey.
Kathy Quilty April 29, 2013 at 01:19 am
http://orlandpark.patch.com/blog_posts/district-135-just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe
PatrickJane April 30, 2013 at 02:11 am
"Bark all you want..." So Julius, it is safe to say that you PREFER disruption and chaos…Read More on the board? Who is the "community Mr. La Margo represents?" Is it the teachers? Is it the village hall politicians and a few other politically attached? Is it people who love to see a good fight? The reality is, that the Orland Park taxpaying community, which consists of over 80% people who do not have students in the district, do NOT want disruption and law suits caused by the board not working together. Given the information presented, and with your encouragement, it appears Mr. La Margo is speaking out "to" the community not "for" the community. PLEASE Mr. La Margo, consider leaving the barking to the dogs for now.
Gary April 20, 2013 at 03:44 pm
If you hold the grenade (the student picked it up and gave it to the driver, and the driver…Read More evidently gave it to the police) you can plainly see that they are hollowed out from the bottom. These things are sold as souvenirs at lots of places (Army/Navy Surplus, flea markets, airshows, etc). They are unique paperweights for many desks, and are also used as novelties such as "Complaint Department, please pull pin" signs and more. Not a big deal, but best to play it safe in a situation like this, especially after what's been going on in Boston.
Jane Founda April 24, 2013 at 02:45 am
It seemed obvious the school did not have a procedure in place. The kids were tweeting and texting…Read More parents, instead of getting to safety. The students said some teachers were in a panic and others were seen exiting the north building without a care and getting into their cars and leaving. Guess no bomb was going to ruin their plans though there were still kids in the school.
Nancy McWilliams April 24, 2013 at 09:15 pm
Agreed. What has this world come to ? Zero common sense.
just a joe April 19, 2013 at 02:06 am
Go Andy Go!!! Glad to see a fresh face joining an outstanding board!!! District 140 is gonna love…Read More this guy!!!
Thunderstorm March 17, 2013 at 12:45 am
Actually the referendum was passed in 2005. It was when Cunningham, Cachey, Sutherland, and Bragg…Read More were all elected to the board. There was no municipal election in 2004. Municipal elections are in odd years. Neither had anything to do with the referendum.
http://www.elections.il.gov/referendaprofile/ReferendaSearch.aspx?txtGovUnitName=orl
Kathie March 19, 2013 at 03:04 pm
Thunderstorm you are correct! I believe all of the people you mentioned worked on the passing of the…Read More referendum except Tom Cunningham. Technically, all the WORk was done in 2004 and up to the election in 2005 (Sutherland was an incumbent), but the elections are as you said, in odd years.
Harry Callahan March 20, 2013 at 07:45 pm
By the way,what was the cause of the accident,it seems this was left out of many articles of this…Read More man that have been written,just curious since other tragic incidents there is some detail of what really happen.
Bob March 7, 2013 at 05:46 pm
Actually, Dr Gay is being something less than honest when he says," In an increasingly global…Read More economy, short changing education is not a viable option" Notice that he referred to "education" meaning HIS bureaucracy, NOT the STUDENT'S education!
Funny thing. When district 230 experienced a drop of over 800 students in enrollment, he just let the class size go down to a ridiculous 15.9 students. How much did it improve the outcomes for students? The ACTs didn't gain even a fraction of a point. Apparently raising costs without accomplishing improvement in education IS a viable option for Dr Gay.
The ones this WILL, or at least SHOULD, impact, are the teachers and adminstrators whose compensation is FAR above any metric for services provided.
Take, for example, Dr Gay's district 230 current teacher contract. Check it out at
https://district.d230.org/Publications/Teacher%20Contract%202010-2013.pdf
Page 58 is the current teacher pay schedule, and includes the teacher "pension contribution sheltering" provided by the taxpayers.
This year a teacher with 21 years experience and a Masters + hours makes over $120,000 for the 170-180 day school year. Bear in mind that there is no requirement that such a teacher provide evidence of "excellence", have a higher student or class load than a rookie teacher, or in any way prove worth over that of a teacher making a third as much. You HAVE the money, DR, if you cut waste and put the student's first!
Bob March 7, 2013 at 05:54 pm
Over the years I've found that 230 is one of the most politically and patronage driven districts…Read More around. They have so much administrative fat that they have one administrator for every 160 students, about 27% above state average for ALL schools. Large school districts like 230 have about one admin for every 240 students, about 50% LESS THAN 230!
There's plenty of waste in salary and operations to be cut without impacting students, Dr Gay and 230 School Board. The question is whether you serve the bureaucracy or the students and community. We'll see if they try to protect themselves and hurt the community by raising taxes and fees instead of correcting excesses in the system.
With Nogal and Quilty soon to be in charge, better hold on to your pocketbook, taxpayers!
Bob March 7, 2013 at 05:58 pm
One place to look for savings is our "instructional improvement" budget. Every year we…Read More have to pay between $1.6 million and $1.9 million for this ineffective boondoggle.
Check out the school report cards. District 230 average ACT scores haven't improved since 2006, and we've lagged behind the state in increases overall since then.
Gee, they didn't get the job they were paid to do done. Is there some way we can get our money back?LOL
Bryan Sampson February 11, 2013 at 11:31 pm
When your children love and respect you as a father and your wife of almost 30 years calls you…Read More "my best friend", you have accomplished much. Well done Bruce! We will miss you.
Daniel McMillan February 12, 2013 at 08:15 pm
Bruce will be truly missed. He was always very honest and genuine in dealing with students, coaches,…Read More parents and teachers both at school and away from school. Bruce always exhibited integrity and professionalism wherever he was. This is a tragic loss for his family as well as the Orland and Sandburg Community. He was one of the good ones. This One Hurts. It Really Hurts. God Bless You Bruce.
CHSD 230 Previews Upcoming Revamped Website
Comment Recommend Ryan Fitzpatrick (Editor)