Say buh-bye to Manual High
It’s semi-official: District 150 Superintendent wants to close Manual High School. It makes sense. Manual has the least politically powerful constituency with the least financial resources to fight closure. If there is strong opposition, it’s likely to be from parents who assume this means more gang-bangers will be moving to their kids’ schools. Besides, Guy Cahill wants to close a high school and Guy Cahill pretty much gets his way.
On one hand, I’m breathing a sigh of relief that I’m not going to be going on the warpath to save Woodruff High School. On the other hand, I’m sorry the school district has decided to write off the South Side.
The tragic thing is, there wouldn’t be the push to close one of the schools were it not for all the white flight caused by decades of ignoring discipline problems.l
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
Still, probably a wise choice. I also agree its going to put problem kids with kids that actually want to learn. But, you cannot have what is, without having what is not.
We should keep Manual as a separate high school, just not in its own separate building. Maybe the same for Central if they don’t use all their space.
This sucks. What a cowardly act. They’ll pump millions into new buildings, but can’t find the cash to keep a necessary and needed high school open. The history of Manual (Training) High School is every bit as proud and solid as Peoria High and Woodruff. As if the property values in the south end weren’t bad enough, this will get the toilet to clog. The problem wasn’t Manual… the problem is 150 itself, and the all of the gutless superintendents and school board members we’ve had through the years, and continue to have.
Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech.
Dang… that would’ve been my high school… well ok Spalding would’ve been my high school, but anyway, I used to play tennis on Manual’s courts with my Dad when I was a kid. My uncle (‘71) and a couple of my aunts went to Manual in the 70’s, and my cousins went there in the 80’s. When I lived over on Ellis Street in the mid-90s I watched the fireworks from my back window after Sergio et al took them to all those state championships. Oh well… things change.
While Mr. Hinton apparently did not violate the actual Open Meetings Act, he has violated the spirit of the law. Skirting the issue, once again of conducting the public’s aka taxpayer’s business in public. Meeting with a low enough number of BOE members to avoid a public meeting for open discussion is indeed cowardly as prego man has written, not to mention the possibility of variation on a theme of the different information that could be presented to various BOE member groupings.
What was learned about the GOS/GOP school siting issue in view of this recent action? —- NOTHING.
Once again, Mr. Hinton demonstrates that the D150 taxpayers, parents, students, teachers et al are throwaway poster children to his planning in a vacuum where he listens only to his own voice.
Even more abominable is that the BOE members — are sanctioning this type of behavior on behalf of the D150 taxpayers et al and sanctioning the superintendent. Ah, oh so safe because there is no way to recall any elected official in the state of Illinois once elected. So much for the oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
So any guesses on the four votes he has secured?
This is most definitely a campaign issue, excluding the public from the public’s business, even though Manual is in District 1 — what happens for one happens for all — first the East Bluff, now the Southside, who’s next?
As far as facilities go I would say that Manual is the best in Peoria, The condition of the school is outstanding. What a great location to move Notre Dame into!
It’s all about location and where the sudents are and will be in the future. Grade school enrollment in the Manual vicinity is also declining. One needed to go. History, whatever, but decisions have to be made. At least they finally did something that they should have done a few years ago.
Notre Dame is going out North where the affluent and corresponding $$ is, following YMCA’s lead.
While many can quibble about which high school should be closed, I think it’s overly apparent that one of them needs to close. We can’t afford – and don’t need – four high schools in Peoria. If we’re ever going to get the School District back into safe and secure financial condition, they need to appropriately size the infrastructure they use to educate the students. The efficiencies alone of having the right number of schools and the right number of teachers/class sizes will enable a move in the right direction and may even provide greater financial resources available for educating kids.
Every one who pays their own bills is moving north. Retail, residential, private schools, churches, all are getting out as fast as they can. It is only city government that moves in the other direction. Look at the Lakeview example, great location now, and they will leave it to move downtown. Why do people think Sears closed? No body goes downtown by choice. I know of many elderly who are afraid to go downtown. The south side is even worse. Look at the upcoming library vote, I do not think it will pass, but tell people that you would close the downtown branch and make the old Ks the new main library and people would line up in support. Older city schools are closing and will continue to close becase people continue to take their money out of these areas. For those who cry over this, by all means move to the south end, I am sure you could by a house for not much more than a pack of smokes.
actually what I understand from some teaching staff is the attendance numbers are down, due to large numbers of no shows/drop outs, yet driving through the area, these kids are on the corners, hanging on the porches, some selling drugs/guns, etc. It’s a sad commentary on the value of education in the surrounding community and the need for parental responsibility. No easy solutions as they are social and economically motivated. To fix the solution blaming the school district, the city, the state are easy because they are entities. No one wants to blame themselves, the parents and well us, the community at large for not stepping into these areas and making improvements through not only financial means, but mentoring youth and I believe there is now a parental mentoring program through one of the churches. And people quite frankly need to stop having children they aren’t going to raise.
I guess I don’t see what is so wrong with having smaller highschools. There is lots data that shows that smaller class sizes help immensely. I realize District 150 has a budget crunch. Having smaller highschools might actually help improve scores. My school had a graduating class of 150. It was a good size. Large enough to have lots of options and yet small enough that everyone knew you.
Mahkno – in some situations, I’d tend to agree with you having attended a small high school with a graduating class of less than 80. However, it is much harder to fund/staff duplicate services in four high schools than it is three. Economies of scale is a real economic force that has to be factored into rationale decisions. District 150 has had the “benefit” of increasingly smaller and smaller schools for decades and it hasn’t helped them improve scores…in fact just the opposite.
Paul – I agree wholeheartedly about parental involvement. However, unless changes are made in the overall administration of the schools and the rules that school administrators can play by, it’s going to be difficult to increase/require more parental involvement.
There’s a very interesting story in The Atlantic ( http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200701/waldman-katrina ) this month outlining the extraordinary overhaul of the New Orleans School District that was undertaken in the aftermath of Katrina. Some very interesting possibilities / approaches for other school districts are outlined in it. But it was only possible due to the unprecedented event that occurred.
Sorry but the full article isn’t available online, you’ll have to visit your local library if you’re not a subscriber!
In essence, they eliminated the school district as it existed, fired all teachers and administrators, widely instituted charter schools (some run by private entities, some by the state and a few remain run by the local school district). It’s almost entirely market-driven.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again… if 150 can afford a half dozen new schools (it can’t), then it can afford to keep a NEEDED high school open, even when it says it can’t.
Bottom line is this: does anyone truly think that by closing Manual that their taxes will go down?
this seems to be a dysfunctional city and school board. Build new schools while closing other schools, ship students to other schools miles away from their neighborhoods. I see little wisdom from leaders here. I do not understand I suppose.
samrat patek
I hope you live in the in District 2 as those board members are up for re-election. Chose good leaders!
If Manual were to close, what would be the possiblity of expanding the new Harrisson school to a K-12 facilty, there would certainly be room on the proposed site to expand, out and up. This would give the high school a new facility as well as the grade school, keep the students from being bussed all over creation, consolidate buildings with a shrinking school population, and keep the south side from additional decay. Kind of a compromise solution. Clearly no school in the south end is disasterous and we simply cannot allow further destruction of that area.
There is another choice: Move the 150 boundary further north. Let more kids that live in the City of Peoria go to the “Peoria City Schools.” Then the attendance boundaries for Woodruff, Central, and Manual could be drawn further north. Dunlap would not have to keep building new schools.
Diz sum bull jo. cuz if dey close manual den all da kidz from da south gon hav 2 go 2 da school on da hill n if dey do den we gon hav fights almost evryday.
Dear Crown22:
I pray that you realize that your comments were not written in English. I would really like to believe that your entire statement is a hoax. Assuming that it is not, I would like to offer you the following advice:
The only thing that you need to be fighting is: FOR AN EDUCATION.
I sure hope that your math skills are much better than your English.
Good Luck, from the looks of things, you’re gonna need it.
i guess it is easy to judge us by the press but i wonder who out there has really exprienced manual and what we have to offer to our community