My sources were the US Census, the US Dept. of Ed., the Il Dept. of Ed., local school and district web sites, and Wikipedia. Some data provided by these agencies is 2-4 years old. I examined just the top ten states by population, because IL ranks fifth at about 12.8m. It is third in the number of public school districts, with a whopping 863, behind only CA and TX, and serves just over 2m students, ranking it fifth. It is fourth in the number of public schools, with 3,862. Its high school graduation rate, an abysmal 84% puts it behind only TX. Its required number of instructional days is second lowest at 176, ahead of only MI, and way behind NY, at 190.
863 school districts! Think about that. Most probably have a superintendent position, and most likely an office and a staff, including associate supts. These districts need personnel benefit packages including retirement; lawyers; insurance coverage; possibly separate buildings that need HVAC, equipment, parking, fences, maintenance; contracts, and other needs.
Focusing within Clinton Co. we find 12 districts for just 20 public schools! The vast majority of these districts consist of just one school. This might be the real financial drain on state resources. I did not visit each district office, but I believe (and hope) many of these folks in charge have offices within a school of their district. The lowest salary I could find was $74k, and the highest was $115k.
No one should ever complain without having their own recommendations. Here are mine. One: consolidating to four districts eliminates eight supt. positions at, say, an average salary of about $80k, for an instant savings of $640k. That can be put back directly into classrooms. The four districts could be: District A: Albers, one school/175 students; Aviston, 1/389; Bartelso, 1/142; Breese ESD, 2/634 = 5/1340. District B: Carlyle with its three schools. District C: Central USD, 1/594; Damiansville, 1/117; Germantown, 1/273; N. Womac, 1/117; St. Rose, 1/170; Willow Grove, 1/172, = 5/1271; and District D: Wesclin, 6/1369. The precise make-up is not important. It’s eight fewer districts, and that much less overhead, and fewer school boards, to fund and manage. Fewer districts should mean, as an incentive, that money “saved” can be given to schools within the counties that consolidate, not to a general state fund.
Two: consolidate Special Ed. classes at one school within each new district. Three: move away from expensively-lighted Friday night football games to Saturday afternoons, giving teams another practice day and cutting that light bill. Four: eliminate junior high traveling sports teams. Instituting mandatory intramural sports through 8th grade at least, would benefit the entire student body, pun intended. Five: unless mandated by state law, school bus service is a necessary luxury. Families can pay for their students’ five round trips per week for 36 weeks. $360 for 360 trips seems appropriate to cover driver, gas oil, maintenance, etc. If 700 students in one 1300-student district ride, that is $252k in gross revenue. For four districts that is $1,008,000. Or, eliminate the busses and that pesky parking problem. Or, sell advertising to put on their sides. Six: eliminate school libraries, their expensive inventory and space, and have all students use the local library more. Seven: eliminate nurses. Teach staff to handle CPR, asthma attacks, and band-aids. Eight: incorporate solar power in new school design. Nine: increase the number of instructional days by getting off the ancient agricultural-based calendar and going to year-round schools. Forty-two weeks of school and 10 weeks off, or something around 210 instructional days. Alternatively, switch to block scheduling for more instructional time. Graduation dates can still align with college starting dates.
It is an international world. On that scale, American education is failing its youth. For 2012, the latest data, the tri-annual Program for International Standard Assessment (PISA) results show the top seven nations/cities to be Asian, including Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao, all part of China. That would be the same China that owns the majority of our nation’s debt. The next four nations on the list are in Europe. Where does America rank in this system that assesses 15 yr-olds every three years? In Math, we are 30th. In Science, we are 23rd. In Reading, we are 20th. None of these numbers, according to PISA, have changed since 2003. My wild guess is that Asian schools don’t have big sports programs. The clear cultural difference is that they value education. We do not.
The status quo no longer makes sense nor is affordable. Nor do bond sales, property tax increases, or waiting for our legislature to increase funding. The answer to budget problems is to cut spending, not increase it, nor continue to waste it. The US spends about $115k per student. It would seem prudent to spend our tax dollars teaching our students, not administering around them.
Having been repeatedly told no on the request for higher property taxes, it makes little sense to keep asking one’s neighbors to pay more. Illinois has the second highest property tax rate in the country. Clinton Co. is ranked 27th among 102 Il counties for its median property tax rate, and 48th for its median property tax rate as a percentage of home value. Why on Earth would we want to tax ourselves more? Now, next Spring, next Fall, or ever? The answer is not more taxes, and more spending. The problem is not with Breeze voters, nor with the dedicated school board.
As Mr. Doug Schulte has pointed (his letter here on Oct 23), the problem is in Springfield, where Kyle McCarter and his peers have a lot of explaining to do. When you write your employee, ask him about these numbers, found in a NY Times article dated 10/22/14 entitled Illinois Subsidies: Il sales tax refunds, exemptions and other sales tax discounts: $874m; corporate income tax credit, rebate, or reductions: $452m; personal income tax credit: $11.9m. Further in the same article we find these numbers: incentives totaling $433m in Agriculture; $207m in Manufacturing; $109m in Retail. Cutting all these amounts in half comes to $1.043B that could be applied to education and or the pension deficit. Ask Kyle, your employee.
Just as the legislature dictated reducing regional education offices from 44 to 35 across the state, it would seem that consolidating from 12 districts to four in Clinton Co. would release an awful lot of taxpayer money back into the overall system. Consolidating 102 state counties, and 863 school districts would save funds as well. Interestingly, Saturday afternoon football games were played without a problem. Safer travel in warmer weather, and cheaper without turning on the lights. Such simple adjustments, and the closing of expensive school libraries and using town libraries, and eliminating junior high traveling sports programs, will save dollars, too.
I think the perception is that there isn’t enough money to go around. This is not true at all. I believe as Mr. Schulte does, that concerned citizens should do some basic research. Try these topics: USDA and the Farm Bill; E.Q.I.P.; Wetland Reserves Program; and Wastebook. In Afghanistan, the U.S. to date has spent $7.6B to combat the opium trade. Yet, 2013 produced a record crop, while 2014’s crop is projected to surpass it. Now that is waste.
The farm subsidy program is a FDR dinosaur that has morphed into a federal boondoggle of gigantic proportions. The federal five-year farm bill passed this year was for $956B. Farm industry lobbyists succeeded in protecting their own. It’s virtually impossible for farmers to lose money. (farmers nationally are recording record profits).
Ask your Washington D.C. employees Mark Kirk and Dick Durbin about tax code loopholes that allow Wal-Mart and other companies, and their CEOs, to receive enormous subsidies. Such companies refuse to pay living wages and/or offer affordable healthcare plans, forcing their employees to feed off the rest of us. If you don’t like what you find, ask Mark and Dick why. I don’t make this stuff up.
Did you know that on the last day of the 2013 legislative session, Springfield voted approval for another Chicago airport, and another Chicago playpen for spoiled athletes? Grasp that, while you absorb their funding cuts to education.
Kyle provided this information in his recent (Nov 6) article in this paper. Ask him why.
School boards and superintendents have their hands tied when it comes to funding issues. The problem is partially in Washington, partially in Springfield, and mostly with we citizens failing to tell our employees (representatives) what we want them to do. They work for us.
I am not sure which is worse, blindly voting for a school tax because it’s for “the kids”, or ignoring what is going on in Springfield and Washington, which is a form of endorsement, just like re-electing Dick was.
I am not against education, or my govt. I am for doing both more efficiently and effectively, at all levels, at less cost and waste, and no new, higher taxes.
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