Another $735,000 Down the Toilet

In 2001 the East Maine School District #63 (EMSD#63) Board of Education and administration purchased for $560,000 cash, two adjacent single-family buildings located on the southwest corner of Central and Dee roads. This was done with little fanfare, no public participation or PROFESSIONAL WRITTEN APPRAISAL.

A reading of the EMSD#63 Agenda Document for July 18, 2001 covering the June 26th 2001 General Board Meeting, clearly stated, and without any other reasons given for the purchase, the following:

“... announced that the Board had purchased the property located on Central Road, north of the District administrative offices. She indicated that the properties would be used for storage of District files, and the Board would consider housing MTSEP special programs in one of the buildings.”

MTSEP is a special education cooperative serving 4 school districts, including Des Plaines Elementary District 62, East Maine School District 63, Park Ridge School District 64, and Maine Township High School District 207.

At the time of purchase, the 1131 Dee Road property, the one to be used for MTSEP testing, was considered unsuitable for public service and needed an additional infusion of approximately $175,000 cash from MTSEP and EMSD63 taxpayers. That brought the total investment in that property to roughly $460,000.

Now, after six years of apparent neglect, we discover that this same property is worth $285,000, only $5,000 more than when originally purchased. Also, a recent inspection revealed that the building is now considered unsafe, uninhabitable and in need of demolition. The reason? A recently discovered standing water problem located in the buildings crawlspace, the district says.

Dr. Williams and School Board are responsible.

Reasonable people may differ on whether these properties should have been purchased in the first place, considering the districts already known future academic and financial shortcomings. That said, once the decision was made to purchase the property, the superintendent and board were responsible to see that the properties were professionally appraised, inspected and maintained to protect the public’s interest.

Apparently this was not done!

Not that long ago EMSD#63 taxpayers were shocked to learn that the school district had become involved in an “Exercise Equipment Scam” that wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars. Now we have another scandal.

What should be done next?

In my opinion we need a complete public airing of this mess including one or more special public meetings.

Of course, I don’t expect anything concrete to happen regarding this matter any time soon!

It's just my opinion!

Your comments please!


Kenneth Butterly

Counterfeit Excellence

This posting first appeared in June 2006 as "Honor Roll Blues."

Grade Inflation In East Maine School District #63 (EMSD#63)?

You’ve seen them “I’m the proud parent of School Name Here Honor Roll Student.”

Apparently, EMSD#63’s Gemini Junior High School has made quite a few local parents and students proud.

During the first three quarters of school year 2005-06 the published student population for Gemini was 812.

 

Quarter	# Honor Roll Students	# Honor Roll Students
1st	553	68.10%
2nd	509	62.68%
3rd	529	64.66%
	Average:	65.15%

 

In the end, I believe it would have been far less time-consuming to publish the list of students not appearing on the “Honor Roll.”

I originally intended to review 23 quarterly “Honor Roll” lists.

Of the 23 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted, only 3 were returned with lists attached. The remaining 20 received the following response: “No such document exists. The Freedom of Information Act does not require a public entity to create documents.”

At first I was miffed. However, that response now makes sense. EMSD#63 administrators apparently believe as I now do, that Gemini “Honor Roll” lists are not worth keeping!

Current research indicates that no more than 20% of the student population would normally attain “Honor Roll” status.

Being placed on the “Honor Roll” has always been considered an achievement, something special, but when such a significant portion of a school’s population is placed on an “Honor Roll” list (65.15% average over three quarters), the value of the award is diluted. Grade inflation is a common practice to cover up lower academic performance. In short, their coin of excellence is counterfeit.

If I were a Gemini Junior High School student or parent I would feel betrayed by school administrators who apparently value a false sense of “self-esteem” over actual scholastic achievement. It is reasonable to assume that some of our 2005-06 Gemini graduate’s may have found them selves taking remedial courses at Maine East.

It is time for members of the East Maine School District #63 School Board, parents, concerned teachers and taxpayers to demand genuine performance - lets cut out the smoke & mirrors!

But of course, it’s only my opinion!

Your opinion please!

Kenneth Butterly