There are many statistics and measurements that alarm us and tell us there is an education crisis for East Aurora School District 131 that requires bold changes immediately.
With the recent blunders by the school district from the $3.1 million mistake involving the 25 acre property on Indian Trail to the collusion and land donation scam with Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and his crony, greedy developer Perry Bigelow, we think those responsible for finances have some explaining to do for taxpayers.
As the school district considers a referendum, we have many questions, but we will start with 5:
5. Who is accountable for the $3.1 million blunder on Indian Trail?
4. Will the district reject Bigelow's scam and insist on a $1.3 million check?
3. Will the district ask for the $5 million SSA on Bigelow's development we proposed?
2. Why should taxpayers trust more money will go to instruction instead of elsewhere?
1. How does the district explain the bloated administration costs and what specific steps are being done to turn it around?
General Administration Costs
East Aurora ==================== 9.3%
State Avg. ======2.6%
What questions would you like to see answered by the East Aurora School Board and district officials such as Superindentent Dr. Jerome Roberts and Chief Financial Officer Jay Augustine?
You have an opportunity tonight to ask and get answers at the school board meeting.
East Aurora School Board
Monday, July 17th at 7pm
School Service Center
417 Fifth Street
Aurora, Illinois
Google Map | District Site
With the recent blunders by the school district from the $3.1 million mistake involving the 25 acre property on Indian Trail to the collusion and land donation scam with Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and his crony, greedy developer Perry Bigelow, we think those responsible for finances have some explaining to do for taxpayers.
As the school district considers a referendum, we have many questions, but we will start with 5:
5. Who is accountable for the $3.1 million blunder on Indian Trail?
4. Will the district reject Bigelow's scam and insist on a $1.3 million check?
3. Will the district ask for the $5 million SSA on Bigelow's development we proposed?
2. Why should taxpayers trust more money will go to instruction instead of elsewhere?
1. How does the district explain the bloated administration costs and what specific steps are being done to turn it around?
General Administration Costs
East Aurora ==================== 9.3%
State Avg. ======2.6%
What questions would you like to see answered by the East Aurora School Board and district officials such as Superindentent Dr. Jerome Roberts and Chief Financial Officer Jay Augustine?
You have an opportunity tonight to ask and get answers at the school board meeting.
East Aurora School Board
Monday, July 17th at 7pm
School Service Center
417 Fifth Street
Aurora, Illinois
Google Map | District Site
27 comments:
The school district has such terrible financial management.
I think the SSA question is very interesting because IF they really need more money, they should go for it. If they only want to please Weiner and Bigelow, then they will ignore the SSA.
SSA's are not the solution to East Aurora's problem. As stated before the SSA's in Oswego and Yorkville have proven to be a big problem in those communities. I would hope that openline would research the SSA's in those communties before making off the cuff suggestions.
SSA's are being set-up all over Aurora, but in this case, it's very appropriate for the Bigelow development.
Openlin e really needs to research SSA's. They ARE NOT the solution!
SSA's do work, but it's just another tax on top of what we are already taxed for. Poor management is the problem. I, for one, will never vote for another tax increase for schools till we solve the administative mess.
I agree, SSA's are not the answer, and they can create some legal problems. SSA's are mainly used for infrastructure, and by law the schools are only allowed to collect their own taxes. Look at the SSA's set up in Kendall County because the school district didn't want to build new schools & the City wanted the development. Questionable legalities.
The main thing is for the East Side to STOP electing the dead beats to the board, and START demanding accountability. Without accountability the school district will think they can waste whatever they want and just keep asking for more.
SD 131 needs to:
STOP importing bilingual teachers who can't speak english, STOP inflating the salaries of the big wigs, STOP going for all these grants that wind up making us pay more in the future, STOP running this school district into the ground, and STOP blaming it on the COMMUNITY.
We can change that. We need to
START going to school board meetings and committees, START removing the cronies (Barriero) and dead weight (Herbig) from the board, START demanding quality information from the school district, and START being a community and hold these people accountable.
See you all tonight!!
SSA's are absolutely not the answer to this districts problems. Remember we are talking about a deficit forecast of over $20 million dollars. SSA's may be a very small piece of a reasonable solution, but should certainly not be the focus of what needs to happen here, in my opinion.
The District needs to present all of us with a completely transparent "state of the schools". It is very hard to suggest solutions and determine the feasibility of what is being proposed when we have not even been presented with substantive facts on why the district is in the overall financial and academic mess it is now in the midst.
Let’s look at small piece of the taxing situation in particular. The District has been stating for years it needs more commercial development to help offset the tax burden to the districts residents (as if it would be the solution to its money woes). I agree, however, this also is not the entire solution for this district in particular if you look at the developable land that remains in this district, it is extremely small. But lets just for sake of discussion say a Super Wal-Mart were to have been built at Indian Trail AND where the Hi-lite is AND somewhere else in the district where there is over 25 acres of developable land zoned commercial (which there is not) we would still be looking at only an influx of real estate tax dollars into the district of only maybe $1.2 million dollars per year (assuming your typical SWM has an assessed value of $18 million). This is if three supercenters were to be built within the taxing boundaries! This of course could and would never happen, so what then? This mickey mouse economic development of strip malls also serves of no value to the district or its residents. So where is the money going to come from to support sustained financial health of this district?
You could go on and on about this district and the extreme challenges it faces. I for one will be very curious to see how the district presents their current state and plan to the public and most importantly how the public responds. We should all also hope that the Beacon News reports all of this with the interest of the public paramount which means they can leave the "Our View" commentary out of all of this as they should have absolutely no view unless they do the in-depth research that is necessary to justifiable state "Their View", who's ever it is (if someone knows, please let the rest of us know).
This situation is beyond the "doing it for the children" catch phrase many would like to use to protect this district and perhaps their own interest. Or the "we need books for the library" or "we had a few sick employees" when explaining why the district is the way it is and why they need to impose an increase upon the residents. We are doing a complete disservice to the children if we continue to allow this ineptness to continue. No longer will those simple catch phrases work to win over votes. I for one will demand comprehensive, well thought through achievable solutions based on facts. The veil of secrecy this district has had the pleasure of operating in for decades due to the fact that there is almost no parent involvement, will also be lifted, as a small part already has been exposed.
As a first step in all of this we must demand accountability from the district before we can even begin to talk about tax increases, SSA’s, economic development, etc.
Once again the Beacon cannot compete with disscussion on issues such as this. They expect people to take their interpetation of a meeting or event as fact. Only a free flow of ideas and debate will change and better ideas surface.
OK openline moderators the post above needs serious attention.
10:50 sound like an school administrator who has a big salary at stake.
you know what 10:50 if you are so bendt on people saying who they are why do you not state your name. Coward!
You should also see someone about you male anatomy obsession......... (laughing at u)
I think 10:50 is a product of the East Aurora School system.
10:50 WOW have you been burnt by the district or just dislike people in general. I for one am tired of hearing how eastsiders don't get involved. This is ususally said by people that either don't live on the eastside, have children that attend the schools, or are just uninformed and following the crowd. As a east side parent I agree we need more people participating in ALL aspects. That includes those WITHOUT children also. That said, I know from first hand experience that there are devoted parents and residents of the east side that are at the games, asking to help with concessions, asking when the next PTA meeting will be, asking if they can help and then just asked to make rice crispies squares or turned away. Over the years the parents have just stopped asking and that is wrong but without support it is not surprising.
I agree with you when you say we need to stop talking and start acting. I attended the last meeting wanting to hear all those with big ideas stand up and present them. One gentlemen did talk and made complete sense. Much of what he spoke I had never heard. I LEARNED something about my district I didn't know and it has made me think. I also challange all the bloggers who have some opinion about what is happening to attend tonight. Speak if you like or just listen and learn. We all agree that this district has held the public hostage and hidden TONS of things. Their administrative costs alone prove this fact. Lets show them their reign of terror is over. We have taken our heads out of the sand and we're using our OWN HEADS to think about what's going on. A tax increase is inevitable. We have let this mess happen and we are going to have to clean it up. Let's just make sure it is utilized in the fashion it needs to be and not just more FUN money for the administration.
By the way, some of us only have time first thing in the morning to check the blog. Just before we go to work. I for one get up at 5am on my normal work day and do lots of things like read the blog, pay some bills, or one of my personal favorites, laundry. I love your passion, now please put it to good use. Lets do something important here. Lets get back our district and prove to everyone out there just what kind of people like on the NEAR EAST SIDE. We are fighters over here and it is time we stop rolling over and giving in. It is time we stand UNITED and fight.
I look forward to seeing ALL OF YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS tonight at the school board meeting tonight!
Lets get back on focus to the real issue the sad state of District 131 and not get side tracked by some wacko. Lets save our keystrokes in an effort to address the real issues and not some individual that should be enrolled in an anger management course.
I hate raising taxes, but if the Bigelow development is going to be shoved down our throats, why not make them pay for the impact with an SSA? Why are SSA's being created in other parts of Aurora, but not with Bigelow?
The old-guard's worst nightmare is for people to have open discussion and debate about what is really going on and how to make things better.
Eastsider--you are both wonderfully and terribly idealistic!
I USED to hope that the "school board from hell" might respect the taxpayers enough to be willing to answer our questions and consider our preferences. But over the past couple of years I've seen them simply refuse to discuss anything that they would rather keep secret.
Frankly, I've given up on this school board. I'm counting on the voters in District 131 to send a loud, strong message that the Board can't help but hear:
--Replace the board members at the next opportunity; and
--Vote against any tax increase unless and until the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been misappropriated by the previous superintendent are accounted for.
Well I appreciate the comments. I do, however, believe in the future of this district, I have to since I have committed myself and my family to this city…all be it, ideally or realistically.
I have been to some of the east schools (mind you I do not even have a child that attends) to see the facility "state of the schools". What I observed is that the school facilities while being aged are in fine condition. To me, if the majority of the facilities are "workable" then everything else is not as problematic to correct.
This may in fact be the "school board from hell" as you have referred to them, but this is who was voted in and one has to wonder who else would come forward and take upon the responsibility of being a decision maker in a district that is in the condition this one is? Would they perform any better...there are no guarantees.
In the meantime, I see no reason we should preclude them from being accountable to the residents of District 131 and all Aurorans.
I was there. Who else was? Alderman Kifowit was there. Eastsider and outspoken were you there? All of us know who were there how many people who were other than the school board members and certain school employees.
Concerned citizen, I attended the meeting and was once again disappointed at the turn out. If we cannot stand behind what we say then they are just words. Little in the rhyme, sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!
We had one speaker this evening and that speaker has not seen this blog as of yet. Where were all of you?
To concerned citizen and outspoken-I was there tonite and also disappointed at the turn out. No I did not speak, was not prepared to but maybe next time. Learned alot in listening.
those of you who were dissapointed with the turn out>>>Don't be. This is probably more community involvment than has been in that room in a long time.
The room is only going to get fuller and fuller as they talk more about the referendum.
I wasn't at the meeting last night because of my work, but I heard there were various people who came to the meeting, even if they did not specifically speak to the board.
I think attending meetings is important, but just one part of the way to reverse this sinking district.
SSA's do work when done properly.
However the solution to 131's issues are to get intelligent people with integrity running things.
This board is a Joke and the administration doesn't have a clue.
The incestous promotion pratices have to stop and the board needs an entire new face to it.
Then their is Dan "I get down on my knees for you, Tom" Barriero. The fact that he is the VP and handles financial matters for the city is a HUGE conflict of interest.
This might be at least partly responsible for the shenanagans that are happening with the monies of east Aurora and thes crazy land deals.
Madigan should look into him and his job with the city and his relationship to TW and his elected position with #131
Only the first year of a new development negatively impacts the schoolo district because taxes are one year in arears. After that the property taxes are paid to the school district the same as all other properties within the district.
Certainly the political manuvering (sp?) and bogus land swap surrounding the dive-in/Bigelow Homes/District 131 need to be aired out, addressed, and resolved. Please stop, however, faulting and charging- all the proposals so far simply pass fees and assessments through- the current and future homeowners for Weisner's corruption.
annon 7/18 @ 11:01 am
If what you state is true then why does d131 have the problems other than the obvious? If you check on what Bigelow had to say-it was stated that HomeTown would not effect the school district as much of who were buying there did not have children. Look it up yourself. How much has Allen School added on after HomeTown was built? You will be surprised. This district can't afford all the new students that are coming here. Do your own research.
When you get down to it, the lack of space at Allen and eventually the Cowherd and East, are really the fault of the city. As with any new development. The City is given the developers plans for the current and future developments. The City has the responsibility, long before the school board, to request funding for the infra structure and schools. I attended the South East's Neighbors meeting when the HomeTown development was first mentioned and asked the then alderman Hinterlong, what the developer was giving towards those costs. I was told that this development would not impact the schools since it was intended for first time buyers with no children or very young ones. I questioned this based on the advertisement for the development since it clearly targeted people with children and I was brushed off.
This just clearly shows how long and deep this corruption is. How is it that the States Attorney or any one else for that matter has not know about any of this?
You can review District 131's administrators and teachers salaries at the Kane County Regional Office of Education, located in the old Sixth Street school behind the old court house, Geneva, IL. Fill out a Freedom of Information form and request to see the most recent Teacher Service Record for District 131.
Some of the salaries are a real eye opener.
Post a Comment