FeedPeoria’s schools: Separate and unequal
August 30, 2006 in The Wire
I completely agree with C.J. It is long past time for Peoria School District 150 and Dunlap School District 323 to consolidate
I propose (and this is not original with me) that we consolidate school districts 150 and 323. Since 70 percent of the students in District 323 are from Peoria anyway, I don’t see any reason to have separate school districts that divide our city and cause an ever-increasing economic disparity that hurts the neediest of our city’s children. Our civic leaders should begin a campaign now to lobby for consolidation. I realize it will be an uphill battle and may take years to succeed, but someone needs to get the ball rolling.
Although I’m sure I’m not the first person to seriously float the idea, I did propose doing that back in January, when I commented on the how city taxpayers were renovating a school within the Village of Dunlap:
The economies of scale suggest that there is a cost savings to be made merging the two districts into a single larger district. There will be those who think the Village of Dunlap needs it’s own separate and unique school district. None of them seem to mind that fact that City Peoria is forced by circumstances to have many school district’s within it’s borders.
It also strikes me as unfair that taxes paid on property within the city limits of Peoria goes to build structures like the one described in this article. The majority of the students who attend this school are not Peoria residents. In other words, residents of Peoria are subsidizing an elite campus out in the boondocks, while residents of the same city are attending schools that are crumbling. It’s immoral, not to mention grounds for a lawsuit if anyone cared to file one.
It’s time to consolidate.
It’s more than time. Seventy percent of “Dunlap’s” students are residents of the city of Peoria. We need to stop pretending that these two districts are equal. They are not. I was sort of under the impression that “separate but equal” was repudiated by the U.S. Supreme Court. And what we have in the City of Peoria is a system of separate and unequal.
Yes. It is indeed time to get the ball rolling to fixing this situation. Will we be hearing from the local NAACP on this matter? Will the leaders of the African-American community begin to address why Peorians who live in and near Harrison Homes get crumbling schools while Peorians who live in some new North Peoria subdivision get brand new buildings?
August 30th, 2006 at 8:14 pm
Agree completely with you that all individuals deserve a great school without regard to their race (or their economic status, disability, etc.). However, I do think that you’re missing one point in your arguement. The CITY OF PEORIA residents aren’t putting any CITY money into the Dunlap School District. Dunlap School District residents are funding the Dunlap school district through their Dunlap School District property taxes. It just so happens that some Dunlap School District residents live in Peoria.
The fact is that District 150 has a dwindling tax base (and a dwindling school population). First they need to make the tough decisions to rightsize their organization to meet the needs of the districts students before more money should be put into it. This includes closing high schools and middle schools and elementary schools despite the public outcry. Those buildings are not effective, efficient, or useful IF they want to compete with the better school districts.
The issue isn’t MONEY….here are some facts from the 2005 State Report Cards:
Amount Spent by Function: Dunlap Peoria
Instruction 42.8% 51.6%
General Administration 3.1% 1.1%
Supporting Services 30.4% 38.1%
Other Expenditures 23.7% 9.2%
Local Property Taxes 80% 41.2%
Other Local Funding 6.4% 5.3%
General State Aid 7.1% 24.5%
Other State Funding 5.2% 12.8%
Federal Funding 1.2% 16.2%
2002 EAV/pupil $170,975j $84,076
2002 Total Tax Rate per $100 4.07 4.02
2003-04 Instructional Exp/Pupil $3,739 $5,625
2003-04 Operating Exp/Pupil $7,121 $10,038
My read is that the issue is clearly not money. District 150 spends almost $3,000 more per pupil per year of which almost $2,000 of this is for instructional expenditures. Seems to me that we need to look at why their expenses are so much higher without having an impact. While Distict 150 clearly doesn’t raise as much funding from property taxes (as a percentage) they end up with more money from the state and feds that more than makes up for the difference.
August 30th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Peoria should absorb the Dunlap school areas within Peoria proper.
August 30th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
That would just make all the schools worse. I say force District 150 to clean up shop first before any talk of consolidation.
This is the same reasoning given to whatever program allows students from Manual to be sent to Richwoods. What has it done? Made Richwoods worse, and Manual still sucks. Oh well. Until people want to step up and say what the real problem is, nothing will be fixed. Maybe someday.
August 30th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
I agree with MMJ somewhat, there needs to be change for district 150. I know a teacher at Woodruff that told me they spend about 25 minutes out of the hour devoted to breaking up fights and getting people to quiet down and then class begins…this sucks, what we need is more boot camps or military schools.
With military schools that give you the option to join the military or go to jail for curfew violations and violence at school. Plain and simple. The schools could get rid of the trouble students and grades would go up as a whole and the problem students could be put to good use. The way the schools are judged for academics is unfair and unbalanced.
The consolidation plan is not a bad one, but there are too many flaws in the current status of district 150.
August 31st, 2006 at 12:44 am
Billy,
I imagine this topic is much more complex than you let on. With that, wait until you get children of your own before making such bullshit suggestions.
Yes, I am a liberal, but also a parent. We have chose to live in the Dunlap school district for good schools. Now, if the city of Peoria wants to improve Dist 150, it better get off its collective ass and come up with some ideas and get to work instead of throwing good money after bad while thinking building a new school to house the same problems is the solution.
But we all know that will not happen and can see proof of this by how city leaders in planning and growth keep making bonehead zoning changes and modifications throughout the city.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:13 am
Schools, Jobs and Crime; all have to be addressed concurrently.
August 31st, 2006 at 5:20 am
I see no reason to let the District 150 cancer spread any further. Families live in suburbs for a reason, namely, to avoid the gangs, drugs, and crime that will always be associated with urban life. Let’s not spoil a good thing here…
August 31st, 2006 at 9:31 am
Gangs drugs and crime are not District 150s creation nor of their origin. They are dealing with the problem as much as everyone else, often with hands behind their backs for various reasons. The problem lies with demographics and attitudes that begin and end outside of district 150s control. The city needs to find a way to deal with the demographic and the attitudes that are fostered there.
As far as gangs drugs and crime always being associated with urban life… phooey… you need to travel more. There can be plenty of those things in the suburban world too.
It would be worth noting that most of the ‘role models’ for that negative behaviour in the media come from well off suburban families.
August 31st, 2006 at 9:51 am
CJ and Bill loo to Dunlap with glowing green eyes.
Consolidate Peoria and Dunlap school districts and then watch the exodus across the river.
The problem here isn’t money. The problem is attitude.
Instead of trying to fix their broken machine, advocates of this consolidation go straight for the most dramatic (and, seemingly, easiest) fix.
August 31st, 2006 at 9:57 am
Great. Let’s ruin a good school district (Dunlap) by consolidating with one that can barely keep it’s show on the road (Peoria).
Bill and CJ: You have to get past the thinking that District 150 is “Peoria’s” and District 323 is “Dunlap’s”. The school districts have nothing at all to do with the city limits which they function within. Once you get past that thinking you will see that the thought of consolidation is absurd.
It will never happen because District 323 residents, even the ones who happen to live in the City of Peoria, will NEVER go for it. Consolidation can only be forced if a school district disbands itself, and then the decision on which school district absorbs that district in it’s entirety is made by the ISBE.
August 31st, 2006 at 10:13 am
Ooh there is an idea… dissolve district 150 and then have the ISBE mandate absorbtion.
August 31st, 2006 at 10:19 am
Well Dist 150 would have to decide on it’s own to dissolve, and basically go hand the ISBE the keys to the shop.
As I posted on PeoriaChronicle:
“MDD, yours is the first idea that could actually work. Dist 150 is a non-functional entity at this point. Dist 323 is working. The students in Dist 150 would be better served if the district was divided by 4 with each high school serving as the anchor for a new school district.
Not many places have “one” school district. Pekin doesn’t. East Peoria doesn’t. Also, District 150 doesn’t just serve the City of Peoria. What about the residents of West Peoria? Limestone High School district takes kids from the City. So does Pleasant Valley Grade School district.
How can the City of Peoria be “divided” by it’s different school districts when it was never the intention to be under one district?”
August 31st, 2006 at 11:30 am
I have a better idea. Why don’t you simply eliminate all of District 150’s administration and school board and allow Dunlap’s to make decisions for District 150. A large reason why District 150 is where it is today is due to ineptitude, reverse racial prejudice and embezzlement by administrators and the people who work for the district. To equate District 150 to a business it is similar to Enron. They attempt to put on a good face to the public while stealing as much as they can and ruining the futures of those that rely on it the most.
August 31st, 2006 at 11:33 am
I hear all this “stuff” on how miss- managed Dist 150 is. The fact of the matter is, Dist 150 has excellent teachers and staff and does indeed turn out successful students. Also, Dist 150 has at least twice the student population as Dunlap. The one thing Dist 150 has that Dunlap doesn’t, is poor black kids. Put those same poor kids into Dunlap, and Dunlap too will have gang fights, drugs, and low scores. It goes with the territory. Is this Dist 150’s fault? No, it is not but many of you here seem to blame them. I’ll bet many of you don’t even have children in Dist 150 schools or even set foot in one for a day. I have volunteered in the high schools for over 8 years (mainly Manual) now and before that at Trewyn and Garfield. I have seen many success stories both black and white kids but mainly black kids who despite everything got a good education and went on. This stuff doesn’t make headlines like drugs and gangs do.
These are the cards dealt 150 and frankly I think they are doing the best they can. Could things be better? Yes, but I haven’t seen anyone here suggest anything to directly improve the schools. The schools are here to teach, not baby-sit and clothe and feed the kids. The teachers are some of the best around and yet they have to fight everyday against kids that come from homes where drugs are dealt and used, where no father figure is present. Where peer pressures is almost deadly. Put those things into any district and you will have problems.
So, some here have called Dist 150 a cancer. They have got that wrong. The cancer is society and the way inner city children are raised mostly by single women who have kids by different men. They live on welfare over 3 or more generations. That is the cancer. Yes Dist 150 is strapped for money and yes, they have miss- managed money. All districts have their problems. Limestone has a huge drug problem yet that doesn’t make the papers. Kids in Pekin were dying in cars at an incredible rate. Alcohol involved? You bet. Drugs can’t be far behind.
Consolidation of Dunlap and Peoria as suggested by CJ is an excellent idea that will benefit both districts in the long run. It won’t mean that bus loads of black gang members will be transported to Dunlap. So you folks in Dunlap in your tri level 3 car garage homes can rest easy. Your kids will still buy their pot from their regular dealer. After all, truthfully, isn’t that that the fear of those Dunlap residents? Isn’t why they call it white flight? What ever happen to being concerned about what’s best for the children? Everyone’s children? Like most things in this country today, it seems it’s a me me generation. A “What’s mine is mine and tough shit if you don’t have it.” mentality. What a shame……..
August 31st, 2006 at 11:44 am
Emtronics, actually our problem in this country is that many have the “I want what HE has” mentality. It explains why people are in debt (including myself). It also explains why we are running a welfare state.
Consolidation is just more of the same. Take the good and spread it around to everyone so that everyone has a share in the good, and then you realize the good is now just mediocre at best. It’s been tried many times before, no? Funny, it never works out the way old KM thought it would.
District 150’s problem is NOT poor black/white/purple kids. District 150’s problem is mis-management. Why should taxpayers in District 323 be punished for the misgivings of District 150? Since most of 323 are residents of Peoria, you would be hurting Peorians. Yes the teachers in 150 are as good as any - but they can’t do their job to the fullest due to the problems in the overall organization.
Consolidation would only bring that mis-management to the people in the former District 323 (the bigger school district runs the show in a consolidation, that’s how the law works).
August 31st, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Is it just me or did the whole educational system start going downhill after they let the teachers unionize?
August 31st, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Emtronics sez:
“The one thing Dist 150 has that Dunlap doesn’t, is poor black kids. ”
I sez: What does the shade of there skin have to do with anything?
“The cancer is society and the way inner city children are raised mostly by single women who have kids by different men. They live on welfare over 3 or more generations. ”
I sez: There, now you have it. The problem is the attitude of the adults, not the kids.
Emtronics sez:
“Dist 150 is strapped for money and yes, they have miss- managed money.”
I sez: The problem isn’t money. Dist 150 is already outspending Dist 323. Let me repeat, the problem isn’t the money. The problem is green, alright. It is the green-eyed monster of jealousy. As Dist. 150 has so ably demostrated, throwing moeny at the problem doesn’t work.
Emtronics sez:
“Consolidation of Dunlap and Peoria as suggested by CJ is an excellent idea”
For whom? Why aren’t you clamoring for a merger with Peoria Heights or Limestone or East Peoria?
Emtronics sez:
“I have volunteered in the high schools for over 8 years (mainly Manual) now and before that at Trewyn and Garfield.”
I sez:
THAT impresses me. I think your arguements don’t hold water, but on the other hand, you actually go out and are trying to make the schools and the kids BETTER. I take my (figurative) hat off to you for getting down in the treches, getting your hands (again, figuratively) dirty and trying to make things better.
It is exactly this kind of thing that is needed to lift up the kids, the school district, and the city.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:29 pm
I wish I could express myself on the page the way some of you trained journalist do.
Tony: you are right, I should say; “I want what he has” as opposed to what I posted. As for the poor black kids, that’s exactly what they are. Over 70% in Dist 150 according to the FREE lunch program and in some schools, it is almost 100% free lunch enrollment. That’s a sign of a poor demographic that happens to be black.
Mouse asks: “What does the shade of there skin have to do with anything?”
It has nothing to do with anything except that is the kind of people/students the residents of Dunlap fear the most. Sad but that is the truth. I do think it’s jealousy but should that stop a merger of the districts? I think not. That is racism. That is what the problem is pure and simple. Money helps. Give Dist 150 the same amount of money Dunlap spends per square footage of school space and Dist 150 would have huge new schools with air conditioned school buses, like Dunlap’s. Sure Dist 150 outspends Dunlap; they are a lot bigger with many more buildings. Yes, Dist 150 spends more per student than Dist 323. That is because of additional costs in Dist 150 like Edison and the many buses it needs to transport its student body. Also, the Academies Dist 150 offered and the fact that each high school has to support athletic teams unlike Dunlap who has one of each. (i.e. football, baseball, basketball..) Money does help and if anyone is throwing it, it’s Dist 323. A/C in the buses?? Tinted windows? You ask why not E Peoria or Peoria Heights or even Limestone merging? Well if 70% of their students lived in Peoria I would suggest it. 70% of Dunlap’s students live in Peoria.
Who would it benefit? Everyone that is concerned about students and their quality of education would care. The district would have to be renamed and a whole new board elected with new a Superintendent. Whole new districts with elected board members would also have to be installed. The tax base and assets from the combine districts would and should make a school district second to none. Who would benefit? Property owners would enjoy increased property values. Heck maybe someone would want to live here and go to that museum they are building.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:43 pm
I have to add that volunteering in Dist 150 schools has been fun for the most part and an eye opener. At Aaron Schock’s election news briefing (before he was elected to the house) he introduced me to LaHood and the media present as “Mr. Manual” I don’t deserved that title in the least as there are scores of parent volunteers at Manual that work harder than I ever did. They still do. That is what our schools need. It needs parental involvement be it a past parent that can be a mentor to students or parents who have a vested interest in their children’s education. Least we forget what we want from our schools. The teachers can not be parent, mentor, teacher, and referee to all.
Yes, Vonster, I did vote for Schock. He was the best choice at the time.
August 31st, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Emtronics sez:
“You ask why not E Peoria or Peoria Heights or even Limestone merging? Well if 70% of their students lived in Peoria I would suggest it. 70% of Dunlap’s students live in Peoria.”
I sez: What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?
Perhaps someone should suggest that the City cede those portions that are isnide the Dist. 323 boundry to the village of Dunlap. then those students would be *from* Dunlap. Both ideas make just as much sense.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:04 pm
I don’t think Dist 323 residents are racist. I think that they see that their schools are successful, and would not want to interrupt that.
Race is really not an issue here. Yes, there are poor black kids in District 150. That doesn’t equate to poor leadership and mismanagement of the district and it’s funds. The demographics of the attendees is being used as an excuse to run a mediocre school system.
It’s time for District 150 to step up to the plate and fix it themselves. They don’t need Dunlap to do it for them.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Emtronics you said you wish you could “speak” like one of te journalists here, but I find you to be well informed and intelligent. You obviously are able to apply some higher level thinking that goes with comparisons. I hate when people just use their perceptions to make decisions (ie…”Dunlap spends less money and gets better results” is flawed because of all of the reasons you mentioned). Just like the perception that some people think that Dunlap is better because of literally what they see. I’ve worked with kids from both district’s and personally I would rather have my children around other kids who don’t have a lot than kids who are given everything and then some. So many of the kids I worked with were spoiled and expected everything handed to them without providing the work. How would you explain to your child why “Amy” the junior just got another new car right after she wrecked the one she was driving that also happened to kill one of her high school friends? (And yes that’s a true story)
And for those who think Dunlap is perfect, you can think again. I’ve been hearing more and more people in the past year saying negative things about Dunlap and not just about one thing. I’ve heard bad things about their special education services down to how the students treat each other out there.
And for those of you who have convenient memory loss, Dunlap’s superintendent worked for 150 during the time when the huge money problems started adding up.
I tell people all the time…I don’t care what kind of decisions you make about where to live….just make sure you’re making those decisions based off facts; not perception.
August 31st, 2006 at 2:57 pm
We actually moved to Peoria for the school district. I wanted my children to have a multi-cultural experience in school. We were living in a rural community where a person of color was inordinary. We are very disappointed in District 150. They seem to lack creativity. There is a mold they expect students to fit into and if they don’t fit that mold all creativity and enthusiasm is sucked right out of the student. The Edison program has excellent ideas. They should encorporate those ideas in all the schools. They should also do away with Washington and have gifted classes in every school. That way, a student who only excells in two subjects can have the instruction he needs and then the help he needs in the other classes. It would also eliminate the “Special Class” of students that Washington creates.
Dunlap schools are a result of white flight. Have we not learned anything?? We also need more Headstart Programs in Peoria so that poor black and white parents can learn parenting skills in a nurturing environment while their children also learn basic skills
August 31st, 2006 at 3:11 pm
OK, here’s my two cents … and in most ways it’s going to complement what Emtronics has been saying. The problem in District 150, Pekin Districts 108/303 (to a lesser extent than 150) - hell, any inner city or poor rural school district - is that there’s a high concentration of kids that come from a poor socioeconomic background and have parents with a low level of education.
Anon - you’re right, the color of their skin doesn’t make a bit of difference, but I don’t think that was Emtronics’ point at all. The kids struggling on the East side of the river are white … and they’re still struggling. When you have schools that have a majority of their kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, you’re going to have problems.
I think Peo Proud’s figures prove exactly the opposite point that he suggests. You NEED to spend more for each poor student to try to catch them up to the rich suburban kids who had 3 years of pre-school before they even started kindergarten, parents who actually graduated from high school (and even college or beyond) and have the income and free time to check their kids homework and get them involved with activities, hire tutors or put them in after-school programs, etc, etc, etc.
The problems do lie with the parents, but playing a blame game and telling them to “shape up” is a waste of breath. Focus people … WHAT DO WE DO TO HELP THE KIDS??? That’s what’s important, right? It’s not their fault if their only role models are drug dealers and thugs. It’s not their fault if their parents dropped out at age 16. It’s not their fault if their parents are working 19 hour days holding down 3 minimum wage jobs and don’t have the time, energy or resources to give them the boost that being from a financially secure family provides.
Yes, it will be MORE EXPENSIVE to catch these kids up, and the state and the feds SHOULD step in to provide funds. Using property taxes to fund education is inherently elitist if there is no mechanism to provide for kids unlucky enough to grow up in a poor neighborhood with depressed property values.
Of course if we’re going to spend more money on these children, it should be spent wisely. What truly helps kids that come from disadvantaged backgrounds is early childhood education (programs like Headstart) and even earlier interventions like Parents as Teachers (Look it up! It’s a fabulous program and one thing that Missouri actually does better than Illinois, sorry to say).
The other option would be diluting the concentration of kids with poor socioeconomic status so that they’re not all bunched together in one school. Yes, that would mean bussing programs … either bring the affluent kids in or take the poor kids out to other schools. I’m sure this idea would fly like a lead balloon … but it would work.
August 31st, 2006 at 3:32 pm
The only way that money will fix the problem is if District 150 proves that they can manage it properly. So far they haven’t.
Again, using demographics as an excuse for mediocrity is a cop out. More than that, it suggests that kids who come from a less priviledged background are somehow less able to succeed.
The whole point of this discussion though, is about consolidation. How would it help the kids of District 150 and 323 to consolidate the districts under the control of the District 150 administration?
August 31st, 2006 at 4:07 pm
I don’t think District 150 has disproved anything where money is concerned. You put the same demographic in Dunlap, East Peoria, Washington… anywhere ’stable’ and you will get similar results.
Demographics can matter. Poverty itself isn’t a sole indicator of mediocrity. You can have a ‘poor’ farmer who has an outstanding work ethic and values. But as a whole.. poor people are poor for a reason. As much as liberals like to find outside circumstances to explain their poverty, mind you there can be outside pressures, at the end of the day it comes down to attitudes and values. The correlation is strong.
I see district 150s financial woes having more to do with declining tax base than anything else. That declining tax base has everything to do with demographics.
August 31st, 2006 at 4:09 pm
How would it help to consolidate? It would level the playing field. It would make the district more representative of society. Rich kids need to mix with poor ones. It broadens their perspective on life. It might end white flight.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the businesses located in the Dunlap district pay taxes to that district. By supporting them, you are supporting their schools. That includes the new mall and all the auto dealerships on Allen Road and Pioneer Parkway
August 31st, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Tony… Who says that a merger would be under the control of Dist 150 Admin? If a merger happened, I’d say fire them all and re-organize. A cop out? Geezz. a kid from a stable upper middle income will most likely succeed in school and will almost always go to college. A kid from a socially poor demographic will most likely fail to make it thru high school and very few on to college. Some do succeed and I have seen it. To make this point, see how many top ten percent students there are at Dunlap vs any Peoria High School sans Richwoods at graduation time. To call it a cop out is very “Bush” of you. Kids at that low demographic don’t usually have the parent base, the stable homelife, nor do they get the new car at 16. Here, it is the green. The green of quick cash and the wants of everything they see on TV. Many drop out and many drop outs are pregnant teenage girls. Ya just don’t see that at Dunlap.
August 31st, 2006 at 4:44 pm
If district 150 were to merge with Dunlap then people would move even farther north. People moved, solely, to get away from the poor troubled students, because they fear for their childrens safety. I went to Richwoods and there was some drugs, gang wars, and the same bulls**t that most schools in 150 has…when you take people from a different area and bus them in…they just don’t respect the situation. It is not necessarily a race issue, it is however, a statistical one. Thats the reason I think that military schools offer a great solution. If you take two rival gangs from the opposite ends of town (this is why they are rivals) and bus them to the same place, sh**ts going to happen. Its commen sense…schools fail because some kids do not want to learn. The teachers do their best and I respect their abilities…but when its not even safe for teachers…sh**ts going down the tube.
Sorry for cursing Billy.
August 31st, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Tony, my use of “demographics” is hardly a cop out. There are solid reasons why differences in socioeconomic status and parental educational attainment make a HUGE difference, many of which I presented in my first comment. Kids from a less privileged background ARE able to succeed … if public education provides them with the resources that their parents cannot because of their own poverty and lack of education (e.g. early childhood education, developmental screening, summer programs, after-school programs, tutoring services).
Secondly, I don’t understand how financial mismanagement can be primarily responsible for lower test scores and lower educational achievement in District 150. I suppose it could if administrative costs were sucking money away from educational funds. However, Peo Pride’s stats show that District 150 spends MORE than Dunlap on direct per student educational costs and LESS on administrative costs and LESS on the black box “other expenditures” category. Its operational expenses per student are more than Dunlap’s, probably because of aging infrastructure in District 150.
So Tony … I have provided SOLID reasons why socioeconomic status makes a big difference in educational achievement, and your response is to provide the nebulous alternative explanation of “financial mismanagement” … without any evidence as to how that links to poor educational achievement. District 150 has LOWER administrative costs (as a relative function of total expenditures) than District 323. My ideas are backed by data, not tax rage. If you want the studies, I’ll get ‘em in spades.
I understand people getting pissed off when their tax money is misspent (AKA “tax rage”), but that shouldn’t make us throw up our arms and say nothing will ever change and fail to fund programs that are proven to help. I don’t know if consolidation would make any difference or not. I am sure that the residents of District 323 would fight it tooth & nail and it will never happen … I doubt you could even get enough signatures to put a non-binding referendum on the ballot. So let’s focus on programs that help and are achievable.
August 31st, 2006 at 4:56 pm
“Kids at that low demographic don’t usually have the parent base, the stable homelife,”
If you can hit that nail on the head, then how can you not see that new buildings isn’t going to make a dent into the real district 150 problem, which you just mentioned.
That problem can only be solved by getting kids away from deadbeat parents, and putting the “bad eggs” into alternative schools so that everyone else has a chance at a decent education. If that were to happen, heck, I’d support any tax increase the district wanted to put up some decent schools, buy the kids books who can’t afford them, etc.–it’d be worth every penny.
District 150 has poor leadership, and people keep voting for them, and everyone who got fed up with it has left (that could). Do you really think anyone else is going to absorb their problems?
August 31st, 2006 at 5:18 pm
Yeah, nobody wants to touch that problem. It is just too late…they have already expanded a city- climbed the ranks in schools- offered great programs- found a solution to global warming- found 8 new planets- launched 3 shuttles- built a new mall- cleaned up the city and made good decisions. District 150 has spread bad decisions like a virus and Dunlap doesn’t want that virus.
August 31st, 2006 at 7:59 pm
Steve: simple, most of the buildings that district 150 are old. Some are almost 100 years old. They cost $$$ to heat as most have converted to natural gas which as many of us know, went through the roof last year. The district is in need of updated or new buildings. They need to be air conditioned. Any new school built will be welcomed no matter where they put it. No one, at least myself has said that a new building will improve scores. I do believe that environment can help. When it’s hot and humid, who can learn? When it’s too hot because the heating system can’t be controlled, who can learn? Been down to Roosevelt lately? No ventilation in that school what so ever. Alternative schools have been around for years. One on Moss Ave. (80 year old building) I agree with most of what you said but consider while the board over sees the District, they are not paid nor is there a big pool to choose from at election time. It’s the admin. people who should be held responsible. So what do you recommend? We all just dump the district? You can’t fix generations of deadbeat parents either. So? Why don’t you volunteer and help out? One student at a time. Myself? I’ll keep plugging away because although I can find faults with this city, I live here, so I’ll keep trying to make it a little bit better.
August 31st, 2006 at 9:37 pm
Mahkno: You state your point well.
Peggy: “It would level the playing field.” That and the ensuing statement is socicalism. Leveling the playing field means take what works, give it to everyone, and watch it become mediocre. Leveling the playing field has NEVER worked as a long-term solution. Explain to me how leveling the playing field would help the students in District 323.
Emtronics:
1)Check the way consolidation works. The first Board of Education of the consolidated district is made up of a proportional amount of directors from each district. That would be about 2 from 323 and 5 from 150. At the next election all seats are up for grabs. The only possibility that Dunlap residents would have would be if the new district continued with having school board districts like 150 has now where each region gets a director. Again, Dunlap would end up with about 2.
2)Do kids from different demographics succeed or fail due to the school district or due to their out of school life? How would combining the districts improve the out of school life of the kids in the south side of Peoria? You prove my point.
Knight: You are correct, socioeconomics plays a role in achievement. What you don’t prove is how combining two very different school districts (one successful, one not) would somehow improve the socioeconomic situation of those who are at a lower level AND at the same time not hurt those at a higher level. This discussion is about the idea of consolidation, not about class division. People are stating that combining the school districts will somehow fix socioeconomic problems, and it won’t. I don’t think District 150 has a teacher problem - their teachers are just as good or better than the ones in 323. I don’t think the problem is money either. I think District 150 couldn’t manage its way out of a paper bag, and it would be a crime to bring 323 down with it. When I talked about money mismanagement, it was to demonstrate that Dist 150 spends more and gets less, so if money is the answer then they must be doing something wrong.
Steve: A voice of reason in a green sea of envy.
Emtronics: “Any new school will be welcomed no matter where they put it.” WHAT?!? You couldnt give the East Bluff a new school if the old ones all burned down. I do, however agree with you on all points about the age of the buildings and the problems they have. I have been harping that point regarding the Glen Oak School situation all along. Your last statements say it all, the problem is in the people. Merging districts isn’t going to fix the people.
August 31st, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Tony: thank you for the insight on consolidation. I learned something tonight. I didn’t ever mean to imply that by combining districts would improve the lives of southend students. (as you put it) I hoped to imply that by merging districts we could find some people who could run our schools better and add resources that each district didn’t have before. I had to laugh about the esat bluff crack.
August 31st, 2006 at 10:08 pm
Hey Tony … I keep talking about things other than this consolidation idea because I think consolidation talk is a waste of time and it’s avoiding the real issues. And you still didn’t explain to me how “mismanagement” has led to declining student achievement in District 150. If there was mismanagement, wouldn’t that be reflected in increased administrative costs draining dollars from the educational fund? However, as I explained in my previous comment and as indicated by the numbers from the school report card presented in Peo Prides initial comment, District 150 has LOWER administrative costs on a percentage basis than District 323. They NEED to spend more on each kid because the MAJORITY of their students are already way behind by the time they hit kindergarten.
September 1st, 2006 at 8:31 am
Knight: Discipline. District 150 is overrun with discipline problems. Students can’t achieve because of constant disruptions in the classroom and teachers are not able to control the students due to limitations placed upon them by leadership. This info, BTW, comes from two family members of mine. One is a teacher at a high school, another is deep within the Admin Building. Now, discipline isn’t money, but this issue isn’t really about money. If you want evidence of money management problems, just look at their budget situation. Enough said.
September 1st, 2006 at 11:03 am
ok, as a practical matter, unless the laws change you can’t force dunlap to consolidate with 150 and there will never be a sucessful referendum to do so. The only hope for consolidation is for 150 to dissolve. With dissolution, I believe the neighboring districts would have to expand to take in the kids. Dunlap, Peo. Hgts, and Limestone would all have to expand. Sadly, the best thing 150 could do to help kids is commit suicide and let their neighbors pick up the pieces.
September 1st, 2006 at 1:18 pm
For those who actually ponied up… go here: http://select.nytimes.com/gst/.....94DD404482
Its an article about Raleigh North Carolina’s efforts at economic intergration and the success they have had with it.
Here is another link: http://www.timesdispatch.com/s.....=MGArticle
The long n short of it is that they spread the disadvantaged kids throughout the school districts, being careful not to over load any one school with too many. The result is that poor kids do benefit from the role modeling that the better off tend to have. The better off were not impacted academically but did benefit from the diversity.
September 1st, 2006 at 3:34 pm
You can’t fix stupid.
September 1st, 2006 at 5:10 pm
consolidation won’t solve the problem. Even within the district there is unequal funding because it is property tax based. Give each school the same amount of funding an then it evens out. stop busing children all over creation, let them go to good neighborhood schools. 45 minute bus ride each way, I would act up too. The district has some great teachers, some dedicated principles, a building will never change that, but it may attract good teachers to replace those who retire. It may help students take some pride in their school, but only if they participate in projects there. Schools are going to have to provide some additional services because that is most likely the only place there is any stability in these children’s lives. Many of them are from screwed homes and the number is growing.
Potential Solutions are broken down into a couple of catatorgies: Things no one will ever do such as sterilization or stopping public funding to people who sell drugs, commit crimes, abuse children, etc. or Viable but costly solutions such as extending school hours, including mentoring, counseling, job training/apprenticeships and actually using community volunteers vs. just saying you want them, but never utilize their expertise. These are just examples and by no means represent a comprensive listing.
September 1st, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Year round schooling would be a great idea!
September 2nd, 2006 at 12:16 am
I would love year round school! My son attended an Edison school when they had an extended year. It was great. Just about the time he was bored with summer break, it was time to go back. So much time is wasted relearning everything the students forgot over the summer.
September 2nd, 2006 at 12:43 am
You forget … Illinois is an agricultural state and the students’ fathers are all farmers and need them to help plow the fields.
September 2nd, 2006 at 1:06 am
That’s how it is often put but the school year does not correspond to when farmers would need their children. Planting and harvest both occur while school is in session. Indeed in times of old, it was expected for children to skip school during these times. The whole business with having the 3 summer months off simply has to do with a world that did not have air conditioning.
September 2nd, 2006 at 2:12 am
Nobody has yet mentioned the fact that if the only place to get a decent education is Dunlap, those with the means will move north. Eventually that will empty the core of the city — people move for access to schools. We see this already in certain parts of Peoria — neighborhoods are full of kids under the age of 6, but once their kids head to school, they move north to get them a better education.
The fact that where you live determines your childrens’ educational fate drives decisions that have significant consequences for the decline of our city (housing stick, tax base, crime, etc.). These are intimately tied together.
Another alternative would be a massive voucher system that would allow for a league of private schools to spring up, either private or parochial. Those schools would have the ability to get rid of disciplinary problems, thereby allowing the rest of the kids to spend time learning.
I essentially think that 150 is in such a hole that it can’t dig out without some MAJOR new programs — consolidation (and let the Dunlap super run the combined district — that guy is a genius), vouchers, headstart, parental education programs, community volunteering, etc.
September 2nd, 2006 at 9:20 am
Homer: Just because it’s Dunlap doesn’t mean you get a better education. That is just plain dumb. You telling me that no one can get a better education at Dust 150 than from Dunlap? My two boys got a hell of an education at Dist 150 (Manual) and graduated magna cum laude from college. One is a teacher in the area. Oh it’s a newer looking building at Dunlap. I think someone here has been saying new buildings make better students. Lots and lots of students get a quality education at district 150 and go on to much better things in life. Just because it’s Dunlap doesn’t mean the education is better. It may be easier to get a better education there but that doesn’t always make a school better. Grass is green at all schools and it can be bought at Dunlap too. Among other things….
Maybe that is the problem. Too many narrow minded parents.
September 2nd, 2006 at 9:21 am
PS, the “Genius” worked at District 150 before Dunlap
September 2nd, 2006 at 4:15 pm
The only thing I’m green with envy about is the way Bill moved the discussion from my blog to his & now he has over 50 comments! Oh well. It’s a good discussion, regardless.
September 2nd, 2006 at 4:19 pm
That should have been “…the way the discussion moved from my blog to Bill’s….” Upon rereading it, it sounded like I was accusing Bill, which wasn’t my intent. He can’t help it if his blog is more popular!
September 2nd, 2006 at 6:01 pm
What can I say. The chicks dig me.
September 2nd, 2006 at 9:39 pm
There’s a lot of you to love.
September 2nd, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Yes. And I’m fat too.
*ahem*
September 3rd, 2006 at 8:38 am
BTW, is Edison good or bad? Either they are wasting their money with the Edison schools or they are wasting time with the non-Edison schools.
Whatever the case, the current system has been and remains half-assed.
September 3rd, 2006 at 9:28 pm
I really liked the elementary program at the Edison Schools. I thought it was excellent! I am not so sure about the Middle School program. There seemed to be a lot of hostility and struggle. Since I don’t have a lot of experience with middle school, I don’t know if that is normal. The principal was not seem involved. I am not what she did all day! Although, when my son transfered to Mark Bils he did complain all year that he already covered the material in the Edison School.