Regional superintendent's decision was right

To the editor,

Dear Superintendent Koch,

This letter is in response to your decision to approve the petition to form a new optional District in Union County, Illinois.

Your override of Superintendent Janet Ulrich's decision was very disappointing. It seems your motive may be political or it was driven by legal intimidation by the petitioners.

Your decision appeared to be unfounded and lacks any statistical data. The petitioners did provide some data but lacked any legitimate analysis or synthesis necessary to provide factual outcomes or projections.

Could you please quantify your decision statement that a new optional district in Union County is for "the best interest of the schools of the area, and the interest and educational welfare of the pupils residing therein."

Your explanation is important to provide factual data for the public to make an educated decision on the proposed referendum.

I believe it is necessary and essential to develop a report card and comparative analysis of each of the school districts illustrating their existing conditions and needs.

It is essential (probably required by law) to provide public input (including staff, teachers and the public) to conduct a legitimate planning process.

It is also necessary to present unbiased facts and explanation of the referendum. The following should be included:

•Provide the voting public the process and procedure for them to rationalize and logically evaluate the eight alternative district arrangements to be voted on in the referendum. Also explain the logic of providing the various divisions (why).

•Identify that the elementary schools within the districts meet or exceed the State's requirements. The A-J High School is the only one that has a problem meeting standards. This is a trend that is typical in rural areas. It is not a reflection of the High School staff or administration but a social problem that revolves around lack of incentives and interest of the students. Reorganization and throwing more money at this problem is not going to solve it. This problem needs to be identified and a community solution be developed. It should include vocational options.

•Present the potential tax changes that will be very important in the decision making process (there are a lot of retired, under employed or unemployed people in this area). Using the figures provided by the petitioners, I have estimated my taxes to go up 25 percent or more and will possibly be higher in other districts. This would make the school tax increase an amazing 100 percent. There is no indication or strategy of how this additional money would be utilized to improve the education of our children. The outcomes should justify the means.

•Identify specific cost savings which should include the cost differences between the existing system and the new proposed reorganization (up to date costs). The loss of State aid should also be included and identified.

•Illustrate and quantify what is meant by "best interest of the pupils." Does this mean better student teacher ratio? More initiative or "alignment" of curriculum? Evaluation of the elementary schools test scores indicates that the staff and teachers are doing well in implementing curriculum that is dependent on the ability of the teachers to present it. One could say "why fix something that is not broken?"

•Explain why a bigger school district is more efficient than a smaller more streamlined district. Teachers are already under contract, buses are continuously coordinated to meet the needs of the districts. Historically, larger districts are less efficient and less in tune with the needs of the students and parents than smaller districts.

The more one evaluates and looks into the matter the more Superintendent Ulrich's decision seems to be the right one and in the best interest of the residents, parents, schools and educational welfare of our students.

Recognizing you will probably not retract your decision, it is still critical and your responsibility to inform the voting public.

Sincerely, David M. Shaffer, Jonesboro, retired planner/resident


        Archive Section: 

        The Gazette-Democrat

        112 Lafayette St.
        Anna, Illinois 62906
        Office Number: (618) 833-2158
        Email: news@annanews.com

        Sign Up For Breaking News

        Stay informed on our latest news!

        CAPTCHA
        This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
        11 + 8 =
        Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
        Comment Here