24
End of Year Happenings
Biggest Challenges faci your district
Carbon Cliff-Barstow 36
Our biggest challenge is currently going on; negotiations. In the last three years, because
of State Aid prorations and growing salaries and benefits, our school district has seen the
education fund decrease by almost $600,000. Our negotiating team has worked well with
the teachers' association regarding common language; however, we have moved onto
salary and benefits and are progress has slowed down to a crawl. With the lack of
confidence in our proration status, an election year that could quite possibly see the
extended state tax come to an end, and lower EAV's, we need to at least level our
spending to match our revenue. A financial consultant from ISBE came to discuss our
district's financial status with both the board and the teachers' association. The district
has taken steps to cut expenses by freezing administrative and non-cert salaries, cut
custodial hours by 1/3, and shorten our maintenance director's hours by almost 1/3. This challenge could be
resolved if only the State would provide us 100% of what we are due. I know there are different scenarios
out there, attempting to increase funding but I need to know now, not in September/October.
Right now, our biggest challenge is to find a way to keep our district solvent and our teachers educated
on what could be a dire situation. Needless to say, at this point, we have not been able to answer the
challenge.
Blue Ridge 18
We replaced one of our elementary schools with a major addition onto another school.
Even with a planned late start to the school year we were on a VERY tight timeline for
completing enough of the project to start school in the new facility. In order to move into
the new addition in time the entire staff pulled together to finish last minute cleaning,
moving, unpacking and room arranging tasks. It was "All hands on deck" and showed that
this is a District that gets the job done. Honestly, it was a miracle that we were able to start
school in the new building!
Marseilles 150
My biggest challenge this year was to recover from the flood of
2013. Perseverance and the good old college try...
Andy Richmond
Carbon Cliff-
Barstow 36
Susan Wilson,
Superintendent,
Blue Ridge
18
Governor Pat Quinn and
JoEllen Fuller,
superintendent Marseilles
150, tour her flood damaged
school.
