East St. Louis – In 1994, the state appointed a financial oversight panel to review the work of the local school board and to begin work on the district’s budgetary problems. For the next ten years, this panel controlled all fiscal decisions for the schools in East St. Louis. District 189 moved from having a $5 million deficit and a total operating budget of $72 million to having $20 million in reserve funding and a $92 million operating budget.
Record of Low Achievement
In a memo prepared for the Illinois State Board of Education’s April (2011) meeting, Koch said that District 189 has a long history of “low academic performance and a lack of compliance with federal and state special education laws.” He met with district personnel, including Superintendent Theresa Saunders, on April 5 to tell them he was going to recommend that the state board give him authority to intervene.
Richard Mark, who headed the last state-appointed panel over the district, put it this way:
Source:
North Chicago:
While the state has changed how it measures student academic performance twice since taking over North Chicago’s schools, state data shows the district made significant improvements in English and math. In 2015, just 12% of students were proficient in English, compared to 16% in 2019. In 2015, 9% of students met the bar in math, compared to 12% in 2019.
Source:
https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2022/9/21/23365545/illinois-north-chicago-elected-school-board-2027
According to information from the DuPage Regional Office of Education (ROE), the probability of the state taking over a school district is extremely rare. There are 853 public school districts throughout Illinois.
It has not happened in DuPage County – EVER.
For example, our next door neighbor, Lemont-Bromberek, faced a very similar financial situation, approximately ten years ago. The state DID NOT step in or take over (see the separate post, “Lessons from Our Neighbor”, for more details).
ISBE Financial Oversight Panels:
Read the facts, based on the Illinois law on Financial Oversight Panels – 105 ILCS 5/School Code
Source:
https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Financial-Oversight-Panels-and-School-Finance-Authorities.aspx
The State Legislation on Financial Oversight Panels:
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TALK to the EXPERTS:
Do you have any additional questions about the district’s current financial state or possible safety/security concerns? Please reach out to the DuPage County Regional Office of Education (ROE) at (630) 407-5800 or the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) School Business Department at (217) 785-8779 or via email at finance1@isbe.net .
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