Friday, March 31, 2017

Your vote is your voice! Show up and have your say!


200 comments:

Ward 3 said...

My say is to VOTE NO to Dan Barreiro he is part of the past and after reading the Bigelow in the paper it shows me we can not afford he and his agenda again.

Big signs and mailers mean BIG $$$ and for some reason I have a feeling Bigelow is paying for him

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-summer-work-st-0405-20170404-story.html

Please resign Laesch said...

John Laesch had a robocall go out to voters blasting Annette. How is this allowable? Is there not any guide of decorum rules for school board members? Thanks for missing yet another board meeting John. Must've been too busy recording the robo call to show your face. You are a terrible board member yourself, look in the mirror before you attack. Or maybe that's your plan, distract people away from your faults and terribleness and attack others. When Annette gets re-elected, then what John? You'll be forced to work with her again. Please resign John, as you've made it abundantly clear EA doesn't matter to you. We need board members who care and work together; not you!

Early voter said...

I understand the need to campaign and help the voters get to know the candidates. But 1-2 daily robo calls. Repeat robo calls from "Sadie" almost daily. Not to mention the expensive large glossy postcards in my mail everyday.
Irvin seems desperate to me. Anyone that wastes that much on a mayoral campaign appears to have to work too hard to convince people he is worthy. Especially, a man who points out he was raised here in Aurora. Reputation, family and friends and his standing in the community should have done most of his talking for him. Why does he keep blowing up my mailbox and phone? I don't want a desperate man as mayor.
I will be happy when today is done.

Another thought said...

Irvin paid for his campaign unlike Guzman who used Weasners Springfield connections. Maybe Irvin really wants it.

Congrats Annette! said...

A BIG Congrats to Annette Johnson! Love her or hate her, she has done great things for the kids of D131 as BOE President including bussing to get our kids to school safely. She has a passion for our schools and our community.

District employee said...

Congratulations Annette Johnson, The Daistrict is better off with you!

Taxpayer 8 said...

What busing are you talking about? The High School or Middle Schools don't have busing yet. It takes the whole board to approve anything not just one board member. I think she got lucky with her name first on the ballot a lot of people that really don't know what is going on always votes for the first person.

newshound said...

New B&G director:

http://www.d131.org/newsDetail.asp?id=4293&guid=

A loyal follower who also retired from EA said...

Txpayer 8

Ms Johnson has vision for our district. We are more than happy that she continued on. She has had many accomplishments as BOE Prez. She may not have these accomplishments on her own but she has leadership and is not afraid to make hard decisions. She also follows to up. EA is better for her. Many accuse her of not being a team player but she attemted to get 2 good people elected who cared about the students. Unfortunately my friend Anna Ismael was not sucessful Barreiro ran on his own and had the Weisner machine helping him. If Johnson was not a team player her taxpayer group could have easily voted for just her and she would have been the top vote getter.

She also said she could have not pushed the busing because it upset some in her taxpayer group but she went ahead anyways. So yes we are better off because of her.

Anna said...

Anna Ishmael did not run with any other people. Her cards were passed out together with Annette's and Bruce's and also with Richard Irvin's. She was a candidate who ran on her own.

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-new-east-aurora-board-st-0406-20170406-story.html

In the know said...

They all ran their own races. Its just AJ trying to make excuses for why she barely squeaked in. It is nothing based on fact just based on her ego.

Ward 3 said...

Anna really????

Then you should have put out your own cards.

Maybe you lost because you ran with Mr Barreiro. I for did not vote for the both of you. I live near Hometown and with the traffic and overcrowding then to read the Beacon and find out they did not pay the school district. Really??? I went to school board meetings years back when I first got to know Shubert and the HiLite 30. The school should have been paid and you wonder who paid for the big signs Barreiro put up.

I for one would have never supported City employees they put their job first over children.

Taxpayer 8 said...

Annette has a taxpayer group? A bunch of old people that think they shouldn't pay their fair share of taxes? Shame on them if they would only vote for Annette and no one else they like her are self centered. If they don't like what they pay here they should move somewhere else that has lower taxes but they won't find anyplace close by here. Our surrounding Cities who care about children's education don't mind paying for it.

Haven't heard anything about the busing so how can she claim a victory on that.

Taxpayer from 3 said...

Anna

I got a slate with your name, Suberts, and Johnsons on my door. Thats shows you ran with them. Don't lie.

The sad part is everyone from Ward 1 that ran got elected. It shows our community will not come out and vote. I had good friends in both the Guzman and Irvin campaign and none of them campaigned in our area. Ward 1 was better City services because they vote.

Taxpayer1 said...

Maybe people like Rayanne Carlson who have kids in the school should clean up their rat trap neighborhoods and pay rheir fair share of taxes. Maybe they should move. Ishmael had her name on the 'concerned taxpayer' sample ballot with Johnson and Shubert so don't fool yourself they ran together. Irvin, Schorr and Penne are also names on the sample ballot.

Band parent said...

Taxpayer1, you mention "people like Rayanne Carlson who have kids in the school". One of many reasons I did not vote for Dan Barreiro is that he DIDN'T send his kids to our schools! His kids went to private/parochial schools all the way from kindergarten through high school.

And I did vote for Annette. As a band parent I greatly appreciated her saving our summer band camp last summer after the administration dropped the ball. Others have also mentioned that she actually communicates with people who call her with a question, unlike folks in the central office who let all their phones go to voicemail during the school day. She may be brash and occasionally rude, but she gets things done!

Politico said...

Sample ballots and slates can be created and sent by/to ANYONE. They mean absolutely nothing.

Busing said...

Annette does follow up. I live in Hometown and regret moving here. Recently I became involved with the schools after having step children move in from Texas. I did not realize they had no buses annd upon calling Annette she explained in detail the bus story. She said the new people running the district are studying how to get children to school and maybe shuttle buses would be an option. I still follwed up an spoke at a board meeting. She came up to me and said they are working on it. One month ago she followed up that we would get busing. I really did not expect a followup. She does answer and that is all we can expect

Band Fan said...

I went to the band part of the Fine Art Fest yesterday and it was very good. I am happy they clearrly announced the band camps and music opportunites for parents in both English and Spanish. Over 600 kids strong what a improvement over years back. They are supporting music and it shows. Mr Kaisetshot and others before him never had that type of support.


I was not happy to see Mr Barreiro get back on the board but hopefully with better board members he will not bankrupt the district again.

Simmons Sucks said...

We at Simmons can also add ourselves to the list of Annette Johnson follows up. Recently we complained directly to her and already we have a meeting with top administration from the SSC. It has been years since issues have been addressed and our only mistake was we drank the Eric Stade Koolaid about Johnson. Last year we made the mistake of going to John Laesch and retaliation happened shortly after the meeting he had with individuals. This year we will have a chance to sit down and without Glotzbach there is an opportunity for real dialog.

Simmons Sucks said...

Good day at Simmons today. Many of us had the opportunity to meet without administration present and discuss problems. Hopefully after hearing the same stories over an over again SSC administration will act. We only wish we would have contacted Ms Johnson sooner. Prehaps we would be in the same place Waldo is in. They listened and seemed to care.

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-impact-fees-st-0413-20170413-story.html

newshound said...

Here's a link to 17 pages of recent articles about our district:

https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=40392149

Fed Up said...

What the He!! We can't afford to pay teachers a fair salary or hire enough teachers so we don't have class sizes of 40-50+ students but apparently we can afford to hire more than a million dollars in new administrative positions. I wonder if the Stone Gate crowd will be as vocal about this as they were about teacher raises? Or will they just keep supporting Annette no matter what.

Ward 10 said...

Fed up your salaries averaged 8 to 12% and your proformace is one of the lowest preforming school districts in the State. We will also study the poor attendance of staff at EA as they get ready to hand you another undeserved raise. We fully understand that teachers do not live in Aurora and Mr Shubert was supported by our community. We also support Annettes strong position on taxes but do not support her generousity to the teachers union.

If you are fed up leave.

Fed Up said...

To Ward 10
An 8% raise is a slap in the face when you would need a 50% raise just to equal the salaries of the teachers in West Aurora and Indian Prairie are making. As for leaving? I do watch 25-50% of our teachers leave every year. Here's a hint, they are our best and brightest who leave for easier jobs with much better pay.

It's amazing that you don't have any issue with the overbloated, overpaid administrators who just get in the way of teaching and learning. How many millions do we pay in an oversized administration and bureaucracy that does not teach a single class or child?

How much could we cut taxes if we could reign in all the levels of administration? Building level, district level, county level, state level, federal level. There are over 3600 jobs at the federal department of education alone. That's 3600 people collecting salaries that nevee teach a thing.

It's amazing to me. When did administration become the savior and teachers become the enemy? When did corporations become good and people the evil? How much PR did it take to get people like you spewing your venom at the very people who take care of our children instead of those who have cost us billions?

Reality Check said...

Those administrative hires are necessary for the district. It is not a knock against the teachers or trying to raise anybody's taxes. In the end it will help our district. Why is everything on this blog trying to bash everyone and anything? You know what is going to raise your taxes and keep up the low performance at D131? It is the constant bashing of people who are trying to make a difference in D131. So that they leave or get fed up and incompetent people or ones whose best interest is not D131 take over (like in the past). It will be the good teachers, admin, and families that will not come, stay or move here because of this blog or fair pay or programs. Hires like the ones being made are common place in other districts all over the country. D131 do not listen to all the naysayers you are make great choices!

Fed up with fed up said...

Fed up is a teacher who is not working today. On Fridays better than 15% of the staff is missing costing the district millions in sub pay. Blue Monday is another day for our teachers who miss only work part time. The district deduct all the days missing and cut sick days out.

Get a life said...

Please read the Curriculum meeting minute notes from Nov 2016. It shows a long discussion on class sizes with many classes only having 17 students. There is no memtion of class sizes at 40 to 50. The report has an attachment by building. Class sizes in PE had higher numbers of over 30 but as we all know a good majority of students do not dress for PE. The HS report shows higher numbers in the high twenties to low thirties but the HS is being expanded. It show Fed Up is attempting to create problems that are not existent.

Ahh Springtime in East Aurora said...

To Get a Life

You are talking about average class sizes. Many of our classes are SPED classes. They have small numbers of students. I've even seen "classes" with one student and two adults, the teacher and the aide. It is simple math, our classes average 25-30 students, which means for every class under 30 there is a class over thirty.

Go check out the high school gym classes that have 50-60 students in a class and two or three classes in one gym. It's not uncommon to find 150-200 kids having gym at the same time in one gymnasium (yes that would be 200 kids sharing six baskets). Unlike in the past, students don't have to dress for gym to pass or play (administrative decision). In fact the majority never dress.

It's not just gym. In middle school the students can have five F's and three D-'s and not even be required to go to summer school (another administrative decision). This doesn't include the arm twisting the administration puts on teachers to just pass the kids in the first place. It doesn't matter if they deserve to pass or not. Have you ever wondered how students can get to middle or high school and still read at a first grade level?

People in this community want to put all the blame on the teachers but the fact is, the teachers don't make the educational decisions for our students. The administration does. The teachers follow orders or administration goes after them. So when I hear that they want to hire a whole slew of new overpaid administrators, yes I have serious reservations.

Admin is the problem said...

Administration is the problem. You should see the discipline (or lack thereof) at the high school. There are kids just wandering the halls and the neighborhood all day long. When teachers try to do the right thing they are harassed and the kids walk Scott free.

Kids truant, look the other way. Kids fighting, look the other way. Kids with drugs, look the other way. A teacher gets hit, oh well but let an admin or cop get touched and the kids expelled.

The teachers and staff can't even see the referrals any more when they are written. The admin stated the computer system won't allow it. The truth is, the admin doesn't want any record of their lack of action.

So the admin doesn't allow students to be held accountable for their behavior or academics but of course it's all the teachers fault and the only solution is to hire more admin.

Someone is blowing smoke said...

Ahh Springtime sounds like someone who actually works in the schools. I have volunteered in the schools and I have seen large classes. Most recently at the elementary level. Then if a teacher is ill and there are no subs, they split up a class of 30 and add it to other classes for the day. I have helped with some of the students who need help reading. By 2nd grade some are already very far behind, yet continue to be promoted.
No wonder the grad rates are low. Fix the problems early on by holding these children back. Don't try to catch them up at the jr. and high school level. I am not an educator, but this is elementary logic.

TOMCAT Supporter said...

What happened with NJROTC? I heard that a student was assaulted?

Class sizes said...

They cant find enough Subs because teachers in EA miss so many days. There are many bad teachers in our district and it makes it difficult for the ones that work hard. However administration should be requirred to sub a couple a times a year so they can see the problems with student displine we face every day.

Pennywise the Clown said...

The problem is the 25-50% turnover every year. When you know you are our the door at the end of the year, you have a choice with your sick days, use them or lose them.

Maybe if they ever fix the salary schedule and start retaining their best teachers, we can eliminate the enormous need for subs. It's also a great strain on our good teachers who show up all the time as they are the ones who are always getting called to cover classes due to the lack of subs.

Unfortunately, the leadership in this district has always been shortsighted. They are penny wise and dollar foolish. They save money on teacher salaries and pay it out on subs. They save some money by not making needed repairs which create health hazards and pay millions more for health insurance because so many staff are sick.

We purchased the land for the high cheap years ago because it is on s flood plain and the soil is so poor and have paid millions more everytime we have a construction project. At Simmons, there are tunnels underneath for utilities, plumbing etc. when it was being built, somebody decided to save a few bucks by half filling the tunnels with the leftover clay fill. Now everytime there is utility work to be done there, it costs ten times the amount because the workers have to crawl to get to everything.

Even now, we should be building a second high school but it's cheaper to just cram another thousand kids into one of the most populated high schools in the state. When they are done, the capacity will now be 5000 students. In comparison, the Indian Prairie high schools are physically much larger and on much bigger plots of land and each have about 2500 students.

I wish for once our school board and admin would have the students and staffs interests put first.

If only said...

Excellent idea, admin subbing!
Including principals at other schools besides their own and all those at 5th Street offices.
From your post to the boards ears.

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-busing-vote-st-0419-20170418-story.html

Hope said...

Penny wise, I am wishing with you!

Fact check said...

The turnover last year was only 9% because of the new contract. You do not lose your sick days you bank them and are able to bank 2 years worth and retire early. Most teachers are shortsighted it is a benefit to retire young and enjoy life.

Woe is me now pay me more said...

The sick truth is we have beyond a lot of dead weight teachers who have long ago cashed it in demanding now to be paid the wages of successful districts. You know the districts they can't get jobs at. Fact check is right, turnover rates were lower because of the contract. The cowherd bullies are terrible for the union and district. Loretta holy admits she doesn't use any new curriculum in meetings with admin, yet wants more money. Get ready for school board meetings next year where she signs up to speaks and cries fake tears, or mean mugs school board members after yelling pay our trs. Then we've got mr know it all the great googler Tony Garcia, who falls asleep at school board Committee meetings, and his band was the only one not performing at the band booster breakfast, but he needs more money because he's so great. Then we have Gerry Tony's puppet. Has Gerry even read the contract?! Frivilous grievance after frivilous grievance is filed because he does not understand the contract nor how the grievance process works. They've been taking your dues to build a war chest for some hot shot lawyer to be in all negotiations. I hope it's the one they wanted last year who I believe was a divorce attorney. Can't wait til that money runs out. If the district was smart it would simply drag out negotiations until the union couldn't afford a lawyer anymore. Some people got over a 25% raise in the last contract and that's still not enough for these blowhards. Keep in mind our state report card numbers are not improving and there is a large contingent who have been taxed to death already. Please take note that the loudest ones demanding more money tend to be the worst teachers and staff. Can't wait for the cowherd bullies to not negotiate start times for next year and cost the district 500k or more because of their ignorance. 500k that could go to raises they demand even though nobody is gonna give them the 15k and 20% they want or think they deserve. To the sane teachers reading this, start saving your money. Tony is blood thirsty and didn't get his strike last time this time he will stop at nothing to get it!

Annette's Web said...

The only reason the bussing issue is complicated is because Annette Johnson and Sara Imthurn sat in back rooms and signed 37 MOU's Memorandum of understanding during the last contract. That was 37 times that the teachers and staff were screwed by back room deals between Annette and Sara. They did not inform the staff that changes to the contract were being made.

When the staff found out the crap that was happening, they voted nearly unanimously to change the union constitution forbidding any MOU's. The only way to address any changes to the contract including the bussing issue now is to open up contract negotiations and have the entire staff vote on the new contract. The union leaderships hands are tied.

This was also complicated because Annette demanded the extra year on the current teacher contract. In the original negotiations and contract offers, we would have begun negotiations already but Annette demanded in the eleventh hour an additional year be added to the contract. I'm sure she wanted to have negotiations running during union elections.

As with everything in this district, when you get to the center of the web, you find Annette Johnson.

As for a possible lawyer, I'm all for it. It's been a shame that the teachers have been paying the AFT millions of dollars for years and the AFT has refused to provide any legal support to our members. In reality, the AFT has provided almost no support whatsoever.

Another view said...

Teachers look the MOUs that twhey speak of were only three which had little to no impact on teachers. The fact is they centeredaround PLC time and Joan Glotzbach signed them . They also had a MOU signed for evaluations because of ISBE.

Reality is Tony and company got our dues doubled to pay for Tonys friend to become our lawyer. I dont recall they had a vote on that. They voliated our rights because be did not vote on taking additional money out of the contract.

Loretta has already been bad mouthing the busing telling everyone we only have busing because Annette Johnson does not want to give us a raise. Loretta hates children and bluto aka Tony Garcia her puppet hates the world.

In the end most of us now earn what other districts earn and we will not vote for a strike. The teachers who by first glance are underpaid have checked it out years ago because nobody would hire them.

It is our fault for letting them hijack our union and raising our dues without a vote.

The Real Facts said...

To:Another View

That view is apparently very distorted. This is a union not administration. No financial changes or contractual changes are made without a vote. The decision to raise dues $1.25-$2.50 a paycheck was made at a meeting of all the building representatives. They voted unanimously to hire an attorney and there has been a search going on for months to find an excellent one.

If you really knew your history, you would know that it was a letter sent out by Sara last year during negotiations that upset the union membership. She sent a note that stated "after consulting with the boards attorney..." this is what we must do. When our membership realized that we were using the boards attorney for legal advice, they went ballistic. The building reps heard their members and demanded that we hire an attorney for the next negotiation cycle.

Another view is apparently somebody who would benefit from dissention in the union. Don't let them divide you.

Woe is me is WRONG said...

"Woe is me", Tony Garcia's band (Cowherd) was NOT the only band not playing for the breakfast! Waldo band didn't play either, nor did the elementary bands. And really, why should they when that breakfast was a fundraiser for the high school band program only?? Since 2009 the Band Boosters have been only high school with no benefit whatsoever to middle school or elementary programs.

Screwed again said...

The problem with our union is support staff and secretaries are part of it. They get the same as we do but because they are hourly their wages went up faster. The district constantly points to this since other districts including West 129 pay far less.

Dont get me started on the new teachers or lessor degree teachers they are all paid to scale and because we have so many it is a larger percent.

A attempt was made last year to fix our schedule but that is not good enough nor will it ever be because the district had to give more to the other groups.

We did have a good contract last time and after working without a contract for a year it is understandable that the district added another year.

I am concerned Tony/Loretta/Gerry are so shortsighted all they talk about is a strike and arbitration. If the district is smart they will let it go to arbitration and you heard it hear first we will get nothing because the arbitration board only give a percentage and who will gain teachers with a BA degree, secretaries and support staff.

Agreed said...

I believe mr I'm the greatest teacher in the world now pay me Tony Garcia is around year 25 with a masters. He went from 70k last year of the last contract to 80k this year, and 82k next year. 12000 over 3 years and he believes he can personally do better and a strike or arbitration will cure all wounds. He's the Donald trump of our union. Nobody knows contracts like him and only he can solve it......altho with the help of an arbitrator.

The worst part about the cowherd gang said...

Is that they are being duped by John I just want to watch the world burn Laesch. John is not up to any good and will get our union nowhere. Word is he is helping king crespo try to save his job wanting to foia all emails from admin on him or about him. The king is the most unqualified admin we've maybe ever had and John lasech is fighting for him simply bc the king illegally persuaded kids to vote for Bernie and helped them register to vote. John is in all of this for his own political gain. He's a user. He uses people to get what he want then disposes of them. The real question is is how much longer Johns daddy is gonna front his failed political career?!? John has no job no money no nothing. He's pretending like he cares again to try to win over Bruce Schubert to vote for dimwit Darby for president, who checks his cell phone for talking points probably for texts from his gf for talking points and what questions to ask in order to appear smart. Does everyone know Darby applied for the head of B &G?!? Laesch spoke out about the new admin positions then voted for all but one of them. Just shut up John. I can't believe there are no decorum rules for school board members on attendance, blackmailing fellow board members and robo calling against fellow members with false and negative info. And to think the cowherd gang thinks John is alright and will help them. It's an embarrassment on all fronts. It's a shame Jennifer gentile didn't run for union president, she actually knows what she's doing unlike those 3 blowhards.

EA Teacher said...

You sound suspiciously like Matt Hanley and his teacher bashing. The reason scores are low is that literacy is low in the east side community. Parents are illiterate and do not read to children when they are young; the largest predictor for future literacy. We have social, economic and political problems unheard of in "successful" districts. We get children at the high school with second grade reading levels. You need to be at a 9th grade level to take the Waubonsee Community College admissions test. The real crime is that the district does not do enough for these struggling readers and writers; there should be programs put in place in elementary schools for children who cannot decode and are disfluent. So to your assertion that it is the teacher's fault for this mess; wait until you actually deal with these problems and lack of resources and then go spouting your ill-informed baseless accusations. It would be quite easy to be in a district where the students come in with grade-level reading and writing skills- since I am not and have access to my district's reading and writing scores, I know where the real problem lies. Since it is easy to blame and burden the teachers with every problem the district historically has had, go ahead and pile on. I am lucky to work with the talented and resourceful teachers who valiantly and creatively teach kids with low skill levels and many social and behavioral deficits. Here's a dollar- buy a clue.

I am a witness said...

Amen to the EA Teacher! All the EA Teachers!

Band booster said...

I feel sorry for the kids from Cowherd who have Garcia as a teacher. They come ill prepared to play at EAHS and most drop out of the band program because Simmons, Magnet and Waldo are so far advanced.

Just shaking my head said...

To the false band booster. This is an example of why this blog is absolutely ridiculous. The Cowherd band program has flourished in the last few years. There used to be 40 kids in the band program, now there's like 200. Garcia was voted by the teachers and administration who know him best as district teacher of the year last because of his dedication and hard work to our children. The high school band has gone from 130 members to almost 300 in the years since he took over at Cowherd but if you were to only read this blog, you would believe he is one of the worst teachers in the entire world. Why because he is union leadership? All I can say is that there is a special place in He!! for people who would attempt to destroy others all to save a few bucks on their tax bill. How pathetic.

Nat Sass said...

Yes, there are problems in the district but teacher pay is not one of them. When one adds in the pension and the age at which they can be collected as you must to show total compensation, teachers are just one category of government workers that are grossly overpaid. I had hoped for a strike last time and look forward to one in the next round of negotiations if the morons in charge of the union push for that. Let's face it. It will only affect 50% of the kids as most don't show up anyhow. So, what is the big deal.
Look the illegal immigrants of today are not the legal immigrants of the turn of the 20th century. The ones who came in the 1900's wanted to come here to better themselves and worked to assimilate into the US society. Today, the illegal immigrants just want to leave the failed states of Central America, South America and Mexico. Those nations have nothing left to hand out so they turn to the US for the hand out. They are not here to assimilate nor do they give a turd to even try.

I have never understood why teachers are not crying and demanding that this English as a second language be stopped immediately. Take a year and teach them nothing but English. Have some balls and start doing what needs to be done!!!!!

Ralph Padron said...

FOIA REQUEST
Date: April 25 2017
Subject: Applications, Pay History
Time Line: School Years 2015 2016 2017

Request the following

Re: Kenneth Darby
1 Applications for any Bldg & Grounds position
2 Resume
3 Job Description & Qualifications
4 Emails from/to Ken Darby related to the above positions

Re: Diane Thomas
1 Contracts past 3 years
2 Documents designating her to a 12 month contract
3 Salary History

Thank you
Ralph

Seems like this may be a distraction for the elections for school board positions said...

I am not in the gossip loop, so Mr. Pardon can you please tell me why you have initiated these FOIAs?

Great news! said...

The Greater Good charter school withdrew their appeal. They will NOT be setting up a charter school in Aurora anytime soon!

Update said...

Greater Good withdrew but we will be back. The charter commission sited time and program development. This is considering that we had no help from the school district. We will redo our application and the Charter Commission stated EA needs programs like this. The union, board and administration just care about taking care of their own. Thanks, John Laesch for being the only opened minded board member along with AAMOU for listening to us. We will have a charter school not just this year !

Charter school said...

The East Aurora COMMUNITY does not want a charter school! Parents, teachers, administrators, and board members overwhelmingly spoke out against it. What part of NO don't you understand??

Dictionary said...

It's not a good look when you are advocating to establish a school, yet don't know the difference between "sited" and "cited".


site
sīt/Submit
verb
past tense: sited; past participle: sited
fix or build (something) in a particular place.
"the rectory is sited behind the church"
synonyms: place, put, position, situate, locate
"garbage cans sited along the street"


cite
sīt/Submit
verb
past tense: cited; past participle: cited
1.
quote (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement, especially in a scholarly work.
synonyms: quote, reproduce More

From the horses mouth said...

And we see John Laesch's true colors.......someone close to the charter school sending their personal thanks to John. And our cowherd gang of blowhards are wrapped around John's pinky. Unbelievable! John is a no good fire starter. He just likes to watch the world burn. But Gerry, Tony and Loretta keep on listening to him. I hope and pray John doesn't win over Schubert to elect Darby president. We will all be sold down the river by Laesch if Darby becomes president. Darby is not smart enough to know and understand Laesch. Darby just wants the power, Laesch wants a puppet.

And to Greater Good - please tell us how you want to be an alternative school targeting drop outs but want to start with 50 freshman?!? Why not start with 50 5th year seniors if you want to be an alternative school. Let's just look to Chicago to the failed charter school project. Let's keep charters out of Aurora!!

Poo Poo said...

Ralph should tell us how much he and his wife saved with reduced rate insurance over the decade. How he has become the spokesman for integrity and transparency is a joke; he and trick Dick Leonard . Darby is like little boy blue compared to those two. If you don't care for Darby and Laesch talk to the Stonegaters.

No to Ken Darby said...

Darby should not apply for jobs while on the school board we had toooooo much of that with others.

The biggest problem with Darby is he is not a man of his word. Darby talked with teachers and staff at the HS last year and told us he would vote to oust Popp and his crew. We had a commitment from him and you know who we are Ken. Then we all attend the school board meeting and you vote to keep them and speak out against us. Diane Thomas how would you feel as a secretary who devoted 30 years to the district to be treated the way Crespo treated many of us and took pictures of us. You boy toy knew it.

Ken Darby is a poor excuse for a leader.

Why can't she just get along said...

Sounds like current board president is afraid of a little competition so she (or her friend) pretend to be someone else and bash the one person who would like to run against her.
Anyone whom disagrees or conflicts with Annette's plans gets bashed on the blog.

Are you kidding said...

I really don't think Annette is concerned about Ken Darby. Arroyo and Hatchet have been hung out to dry by Ken Darby. Along with Johnson they fought to dismiss Popp and his band of nitwits. I do know Schubert is a Ward 1 residents and elected by the Stonegate group. They have ZERO use for Darby or Laesch who promised them a vote to reduce taxes and then voted against them. Schubert from what I can tell is a man of his word and intelligent. He will not listen to their stupidity.

Mr Darby is unethical and should not use his position to get himself a position. He is joke to staff when he corners us and tells us the following. Hi I am Ken Darby school board members and then he starts complaining.

Nice try Diane why to you come to meetings and take notes for Ken. Do you tell him how to vote?

Charters? said...

Does anyone know if greater good charter is going to come back with a new proposal focusing on a different group of students?

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-charter-withdraw-st-0426-20170426-story.html

Sad for EA the community lost said...

As a board member of Greater Good I will respect that Robin is physically and mentally beat down and wants no part of the EA school district. We worked hard and it is clear the administration, teachers and BOE could care less for the students. Not one other person other than Mr Laesch reached out to ask us how we could contribute. The district is so narrow minded and if they would have asked we would not have taken students we would have found students that already dropped out bu had no credits making them a 9th grader.

The board and union had fear we would offer the community options and expose the EA OK mentality. Teachers at East have checked out and the ones that have not are afraid to speak up. It shows because most kids are immigrates or their parents East just hires bottom feeders. Stop complaining you are not under paid you have had no results when students who have been in your school system all their childhood cant read or do basic math. They give up and leave school as fast as they can to be the rich white mans cook, housekeeper or landscaper. Are you proud of yourselfs teachers administrators and BOE members.

At least we exposed you and helped get our friend Dan Barrierro elected he will ask questions and made drop outs his goal. We will cheer both John Laesch and Dan Barreirro on as they ask the hard questions and hold teachers and administrators accountable.

Ummm... said...

"Immigrates"? "Yourselfs"??

And at least 3 run-on sentences!

If you really are a board member of Greater Good, you just proved why your proposed charter school is a lousy idea for our district (or, for that matter, any district). This would be a classic case of the blind leading the blind: a functionally illiterate board trying to run a school that specializes in helping students at risk of dropping out.

Or maybe you're a dropout yourself, and just pretending to be a board member. Either way, it doesn't speak well for charter schools!

Excited said...

I agree with Ummm. If that is a board member of Greater Good, EA dodged a bullet. Respecting an admin that is feeling "beat down." If she can't handle a little resistance, she has no business in our district.
We don't need anyone coming into our children's lives that would stereotype them by saying they leave school to be rich white mens servants.
It shows how little you know about our students and families.
Dear sad for the EA community,
Let me use an old saying to relay my sentiment about your departure, don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!
LOL
Byeeee!

Sad for the EA community said...

Typing on a cell phone makes difficult to correct typos. Of course the teachers of EA will write on the blog to bash others. The children lost with Greater Good the H*ll with 131 and the sh*t bums that teach here.

Sad for YOU said...

Nope, I'm not going to accept your ridiculous excuse that your phone didn't catch typos. How about the missing apostrophes (can't, man's) and run-on sentences? And does your phone's keyboard not have a comma?

You criticize the EA-OK mentality and yet your comment displays a woeful lack of basic knowledge of the English language.

Our community has spoken clearly: we do not want a charter school. Do the right thing and go away.

The Tyrant moves on to terrorize another village..... said...

Apparently, another district failed to do a simple Google search and hired this clown....
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170427/new-assistant-principal-at-mundelein-high

Go away said...

Glad to see King Crespo the teacher terrorist is out of our school district. Maybe now John Laesch can stop wasteing our time at the SSC by attempting to pull emails for the King. Laesch was so concerned administration was harassing Crespo he actually wanted us to print every email so he could review them.

Really, John you claim to be the self proclaimed union guy but you could not see how he harassed us.

Enough of Annette said...

Is everyone else sick of Annette sitting on the blog all day bashing everyone she disagrees with? If you have an issue with John, deal with John directly or at least make your comments publicly. Say what you want about John but at least he had the cajones to stand up and state that Annette should step down.

She has cost the tax payers hundreds of thousands with her tantrums. They had to pay off Christie Aird with $150,000 plus they kept paying her an admins salary while finishing her career as a teacher. They had to pay the business office director $35,000 because she was interfering and harassing him. Alex Dimare has a suit against the district. Bob Green has cost the district hundreds of thousands and that saga continues.

Everything is pushed off to the last minute, it becomes an emergency and then rolled out in a half a$$ed manner. Just look at the bussing. Their only plan seems to be, blame the teachers.

The biggest problem the district had fighting the charter school was Annette's big mouth. She actually wrote in an email that the only thing the district should do with any charter application is say NO. Unfortunately she was too ignorant to even look at who the email was addressed to. One of the recipients was Robin Lenart, the head of the charter. It was one of the charters main fighting points. They claimed they did not receive due process because Annette made up her mind before even hearing the proposal.

If the community had a clue how screwed up the process has been behind the scenes, they would definitely reconsider their support. But of course, to please the community that's all you have to say is no more taxes.

Haha said...

If your charter is so great and going to work so well wouldn't every other community benefit from it? Why choose east Aurora? You are ill prepared to run a charter school. You don't even have a building. Yes support John who tries to use blackmail as a policy he's some kind of hero. We are in trumps America I suppose where you can belittle anyone and lie. John is no hero. John plays all sides. We thank you for outing him as a supporter of charter schools. That will not sit well with those union brothers and sisters he likes to call teachers and staff. John is pro charter, pro crespo and not union friendly. We got it. Did you ever get the feeling you're a pawn in John's game? John doesn't know what he's doing, John probably can't tell you himself who he'll support next or how he'll try to attack fellow board members next. You better hope you get your charter school in before John's term is over, he doesn't stand a chance in hell of getting re-elected. He lied and played all those he conned into voting for him and he no longer has their support.

The real question is said...

Who's funding the charter school? Charter schools tend to be top heavy and there's money in privatizing education. Follow the money. Who stands to get rich off an empty promise charter school claiming to be alternative school? You know what happens at charters? They expel those they can't work with or seem unworthy and send them back to the public school they came from. Take urban prep....they're always in the news touting 100% of kids graduate and get accepted in to 4 year colleges. Guess what? You can cook the books very easily with "data."

While yes they do do that, when you start with 150 freshman, but only graduate say 80 kids 4 years later.....what happened to the other 70?!? The other 70 would make their numbers drop so they expel them. Do you know how much better any public school would be if they could operate like that?

Charter schools are this generations snake oil salesman. They are in it for their own personal gain, not the kids or community. Most of the data and studies show that charter schools do not outperform the neighborhood school they replaced.

Sell your snake oil to the next town. Stay out of Aurora!

Get out of town said...

John and his nitwit band of few have been exposed and now they are throwing a tantram.

John is angry that he made promises to his charter schools pals and they exposed him. Teachers ask John why he has stated he will never allow his future step children to attend East Aurora schools? Teachers ask why his girlfriend said hallway management at East was horrible because of teachers who have checked out? Teachers ask why she will never teach at East?

John believes Crespo is great and he agrees with him that you have checked out. Teachers ask why he wanted emails sent to Crespo from administration?

It is funny when we defend Annette on the blog we are accused of being Annette. Annette has many supporters and when John attempts to run for another office he will find out how many supporters she has.

Advice for John sell your house and move your political career out of Aurora it is over.

tomcat10 said...

I have know Annette for awhile and she likes using the word niwit to describe people.In reading the blog you hear how admins and teachers say how they reached out to Annette with problems and she seems to get things done. Well these admins and teachers must know the IL School Code because if they did they would know a board president has no authority to do things it is up to the Superintendent that the board hires. I believe this is why they have two Superintendents now and Annette believes she can run the district. That will continue to happen until we get a board that follows the IL School Code.

Alternative Facts said...

Someone is trying to rewrite history here. John voted NO to the charter just like every other board member. The vote was unanimous. I do recall John asking Robin Lenart publicly, if you truly want to help the children of District 131, maybe you can find a way other than a charter school to do it.

So often on here, the facts are twisted to the point of being unrecognizable. Must be more of the "Alternative Facts" we keep hearing about nowadays.

Haha said...

John is a flip flopper. He'll vote one way in executive session but then save face and vote differently in public. He couldn't openly and publicly support a charter school. He can go behind everyone's back and then help Robin with advice and behind the scenes info and work.

Taxpayer 3 said...

John Laesch has a history of playing to the audience. His relationships are short lived just ask the people who put him on the board. If you spent time reading the charter report Mr Laesch did vote no and called Dr Lehart the following day and told her that her program was needed but she should drop the word charter. She could not drop the word charter because of funding but then used his comments to prove we need another school to deal with dropouts because our district is not cutting it. Mr Laesch also talked with Crespo to get information for Dr Lenart it is also contained in the report.

Annette has many supporters and as for nitwits that is what Matt Hanley always called Ralph Padron so others do use the word nitwit. Nitwit is a great desctipition for John Laesch.

Annette the Tyrant said...

That's all John did to get bashed on this blog is to dare to have a thought independent of Annette Johnson. Everyone Annette disagrees with or is challenged by gets persecuted on this blog. It's really pathetic. She really needs to get a life.

I really hope the new board members have the cajones to vote her out as president Monday night. The community was very disappointed last time she was voted in.

Supporter said...

John Laesch is a bad board member look at the amount of meetings he misses. Look at the meeting he attacked students from the ROTC. Then there was the commeents against preschool students. I also read the Charter report and have to ask why John would contact her.
I also support Annette because she had the cajones to push for change and the district is much improved. John and Darby want to get rid of the interiums and by Barierros comments in the newspaper he is also in favor of getting rid of them. Our district is running better than ever. Look at the busing that got fixed after years. There is work to be done and why would we want to change or lose people that know about busing.

I hope she will the presidents job again. She has accomplished good things. Name one thing Darby,Laesch or Barierro have done. BTW only Annette can keep an eye on Barierro.

Annette is an example of the East Aurora Failures said...

I have no idea what your definition of improved is but District 131 is not improved. We have children wandering in and around East High all day long. They wander the neighborhood unsupervised all day long. They are skipping class, selling and using drugs, getting into fights, starting fires. There have been knife fights, staff, administrators and even police officers assaulted. Discipline is out the window.

The middle schools aren't any better. There is no discipline, there are no standards for education. Middle school students can literally fail everything and be passed on to the next grade level without even being required to go to summer school. We have middle school and high school students who read and write at 1st and 2nd grade levels. We've had middle school staff assaulted as well.

Admin is covering up all sorts of health hazards in our buildings. Students come sick and they refuse to send them home. We have mold and asbestos problems everywhere. When they are addressed, they are usually violating the law by having district maintenance workers dealing with it instead of those properly trained and equipped to handle it correctly.

There are lawsuits all over because of the incompetent way staff are treated by the administration and board. It's been one scandal after another in the papers. Have we forgotten about the "As the School District Churns" articles by Denise Crosby? This district has had incompetent leadership for years and just because it has quieted down a little for a few months because they fired nearly the entire central office doesn't mean a thing has changed. It was just a short honeymoon period.

This is two elections now that Annette has barely slipped in. The board needs to step up and make that necessary changes to really improve this district.

Looking forward to change with the new board. said...

A School Board president is supposed to be a figurehead type position. In that they are the spokesperson and lead meetings but have little power as the president. It is just a title. That is the case in school boards who function as they should. D131 changed when AJ got into position. She bullied Roberts and she tried to run things. Then she had her minions and has new ones now, that allow her to take over. She acts like she actually is on staff. The board should be working as 7 person team. Allowing someone else to take the president position should not be a big deal except on our school board. Where the current president thinks it is their duty to manipulate and control admin.
We have educated people on the board, who continue to set back and allow one person to take control and credit for all positive things that happen in our district. When things have gone wrong, she throws someone under the bus or bashes others and finger points, trying to put blame elsewhere.
What a bratty baby. "Name one thing Darby or Laesch has done?" Well, everything Annette has done, so has the entire board. Good or bad, once the decision is made by the majority of the board, that majority is then the decision of the entire board. Annette should not be taking credit as an individual. The "D131 School Board" did all those things that some one keeps giving AJ credit for. The only thing she has managed alone is to get her name in the Beacon more than any other board member with her embarrassing antics.
Also, What is meant by " only Annette can keep an eye on Barriero?"

Another view said...

Annette has haters including the new members of the union because she speaks up against worthless district employees. She has gotten support to fire bad administration and support to get us better wages. There are emails circulating backing that up. Our new union members are bent on a strike and not negotiations. Proof is that we keep trying to hire a lawyer and nobody will take the job and what lawyer will not take a case. Our union bullies who are so stupid that they get their information from Laesch intend to " "bern" the district down. They do not want Annette to be the president because they know she will not let that happen.

Blaming Annete for hallways, health issues and middle school issues shows us Tony and Lorretta are up to writing along with the desparation of Darby who has recuited trailer trash to bother board members to vote for Darby. The silent majority of teachers are happy Annette won. The bad administration and teachers are not. If you do not give her credit for busing to the BKC then it is not fair to blame her with problems. The difference with bluto aka Tony Garcia and Holt is that like Laesch they offer little solutions just complaints. We are already looking for your replacements in May 2018. Mr Barriero is someone to be watched he was part of the bankruptcy and back rooms deals of the district. Our wages got frozen and we have never recovered. Good luck Annette please keep our district moving ahead.

Simmons Sucks said...

Last year our Cowherd braintrust advised us to meet with John Laesch, Ken Darby and Strand. Strand refused but a teacher who was leaving volunteered since many of us felt pubically giving our names would cause retaliation. NOTHING HAPPENED, and in fact Popp went on a witch hunt to find out who was talking to the BOE. We then elected hand picked puppets of the Cowherd braintrust to represent us as building reps. NOTHING HAPPENED. We talked with teachers at Waldo and they gave us the advice to write a anonymous letter to Annette. We had heard and believed Annette was a tyrant who hated teachers from the Cowherd brantrust. Guess what SOMETHING HAPPENED!

This year was topping all others with hallways out of control, no student displine, favorism to one APs church member and no reviews a violation of code. To top that off Patterson was never at work with her car missing in the parking lot. Her secretary paid unworked overtime to lie that she was.
The AP allowed DW to get stipends for NJHS and AD. We forgot to mention purchasing of sports supplies are disappearing and reviews did not get done of coaching positions. DW is not a certified teacher and is not allowed to hold these positions when a certified teacher wants them. The positions in question never got posted.
I find it funny that Johnson is blamed for hallways when our hand picked braintrust building reps and Gerry witnessed students getting released from class early to run the hallways or students who have been absent or tardy more than 100 times. Why not bring it up.

Patterson has not completed one review this year a true violation of code and our contract. Why has the braintrust not complained.

The same types of problems existed last year and again NOTHING HAPPENED. Finally a last hope letter to Johnson and today Patterson has been suspended and administration came to our building to hear us. Many of us now feel we have allowed yourselfs to drink the koolaid. If you are a fan of Patterson or the APs you will say hateful things about Johnson. If not you become another member of the silent majority that understands Johnson has been railroaded.

No wonder 131 has a bad rep. said...

You people don't get it!! Annette should not be in the position to be casting judgement on employees. There is a rank and file and Annette should be no where but above the superintendent. The supt. deals with all else and filters things down thru other admin to the teachers.
People have been quick to blame the blog (an online anonymous opinion/ gossip spot) as the reason for not being able to hire a supt. Did you ever think maybe no one wants to work where they have to deal with a board member who doesn't know her place and has reeked havoc in the school district and with admin.

Put The Blame Where It really Belings said...

To: No Wonder

The real question is why the other six board members keep letting Annette do this. They have been trained how a board should and should not work. They are violating their oaths by allowing Annette to get away with these things. Why do they keep voting her into the presidency? The whole purpose of having seven members, each with an equal vote is to keep this exact thing from happening. The other six board members is where the real blame lies.

Simmons Sucks said...

How is Annette casting judgement we stated that we at the advice of our union had meeting with Laesch and Darby. They did NOTHING. A letter was sent to Johnson and administration came to the building not Johnson. Administration took action. We see a pattern here anything Johnson does is wrong but Darby can use his position to get a promotion for his girlfriend and use his influence to get a job for himself.

No wonder said...

To Simmon sucks- the person calling themselves "another view" said "Annette has haters including the new members of the union because she speaks up against worthless district employees." if she speaks up against any employees, she is casting judgement. No one says "anything Johnson does is wrong." I will say many things she does is wrong.....and as the poster said above......the whole board is at fault for allowing it to happen.
I hadn't heard anything or seen any comments about Darby until it came out he may want to run for board president. I don't think it is a coincidence that someone started bad mouthing him once he chose to run for Annette's coveted seat.
You can sing her praises, if you feel she deserves it. No one is stopping you. Others have seen her dark side and have other songs to sing.
To each his own.

Another loyal supporter said...

Darby made has made it very clear to everyone he is running for President. I personally witnessed him going from person to person at the ROTC event two weeks ago bad mounting Annnette. She was not at the event.

Staff jokes about Diane Thomas and her note taking at board meetings. She also is the sped watch dog often stepping out off line like she runs the department. She also received a promotion. Darby also voted on getting rid of Dimare and applied for his job. People on the interview committee commented that he was the only one who lacked years of supervisory experience. Mr Padron should get those notes. His bahavior is unethical.

He also lied to staff at East Aurora and has had many private meetings along with John Laesch with staff members it seems they are also violating the boards policy.

Hatchett is the only other choice and has pubically stated she does not want the job. She acted professionally and kept her word other than that there is no choice.

??? said...

How does Annette have the right to speak against district employees? Just because she is board president I don't think so. Is she in the Schools everyday dealing with the things going on? No she isn't and she isn't suppose too. Some how people think she has the right to talk trash and belittle people because of her title but she doesn't. Read what the one most important job is of a school board is and that is To hire a Superintendent to run the district not to appoint a board member for President.

newshound said...

Here's a link to 16 pages of recent articles about our district:

https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicAgenda.aspx?ak=1000306&mk=50239566

Dan is back hold your wallets said...

When has Annette spoke against district employees? Stop talking trash it sounds like a board member that just lost an election. Congradulations Annette and now everyone can see Laesch, and Darby are alliegned with unethical trash talking Dan Barreirro.

At least Annette will not allow him to further his career by more corrupt land deals with the City of Aurora.

Myles Long said...

Looks like the losers of the Board of Ed officers election are whining. What is it with city employees and wanting to be on the East Aurora Board??? More to the point, are they trying to cover the city's tracks????

re; schools said...

Re:all of you- schools are reflective of the community- do some community ativism have literacy programs for parents, you might see some changes

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-board-president-st-0503-20170502-story.html

Team John said...

To: Dan is back hold your wallets said . . .

I can't take any of your comment seriously when you begin with, "When has Annette spoke against district employees?" You're kidding, right? That is Annette's MO. So when board members wise up and begin choking on Annette's KoolAid they're 'unethical trash'. Kimberly Hatchett continues to take big gulps but at least incompetent Dick Leonard is GONE.

Keep fighting John - you have more supporters than you know. Most of us are just to afraid to 'come out' because we fear Annette's revenge. My hope is between you, Ken, and Dan we can begin to have a functioning school board who understand that they are one of seven.

hahahaha said...

Keep fighting John - by not showing up to board meetings, being on zero commmittees, helping charter schools, blackmailing fellow board members, asking asinine questions at meetings when you do show up, blasting ROTC students to their face, defending crespo, giving Popp a hitlist of teachers who came to you for help.....yes John keep fighting. We are in trump's amerikkka now, where being a village idiot is considered an endearing quality. Simply stunning. The best part is this blowhard telling John to keep fighting probably doesn't even live in Aurora to vote. Why don't you get John to show up to board meetings instead of protesting and feeling the bern. The bern would want you to fulfill your oath of office you took upon being a board member and actually show up.

Oldtimer said...

Are you kidding ask Dan why the district never appraised the police palace and lost 3.5 million of the districts money? Why did the district never collect impact fees on Hometown? Why did they tear down Hi-light 30 and never replace it with a taxpaying piece of property? Why did Dan Barrierro run three referendums when he was on the board? What about Kaisershot? What about the serial bully? What about Larry Melkar and his house that Dan voted to pay twice the price for. No hold on to your wallet is correct the district has a real returned to the good old days and the reality is Dan is and will always be in the minority.

Very funny said...

It seems like Team John is writing about themselves again or are they sore losers? Looks like a little of both?

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-union-bus-st-0503-20170503-story.html

Throwback Thursday said...

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8854980&postID=1034458987968516732

Just sayin said...

According to LinkedIn, Dan was Assistant Finance Director for Aurora for 8+years during his career with the city. Kinda scarry, isn't it?? Maybe he studied that new Common Core new math!!!!! Maybe the city doesn't use valuations or appraisals....Really makes you think, doesn't it......

If Simmon sucks said...

If Simmons sucks go look in the mirror. Simmons sucks is probably one of the lame reps who takes a day per month sick and Patterson allows that too. Patterson was disciplined for not performing an essential function but what about you building rep. If the position was not posted properly get off your lame... and file a grevience or suck on a pasifier with your infantile comments. I believe it was in Jerry McGuire " don't hate the player , hate the game" the last I checked Coach Becker is not a teacher. Coach Kenyon is not a teacher but you have a problem with DW. If he is properly using budgeted funds to purchase new equipment fantastic. The east side kids deserve some halfway decent equipment . Since you inferred that he may be committing a crime go ahead and call Johnson and have it investigated but you won't because of what.

FormerBandPlayer said...

To Just shaking my head said...
The kids in band who come from Waldo are ill-prepared. In my years all the top players from EAHS band have been from Simmons or Cowherd. And that's just a fact.

Central office news said...

It is amazing we the secretaries at the SSC can not have a replacement hired to greet vistors and direct the many phone calls that come into our district daily but Diane Thomas could be given a full time job at the CSC this year. Ken Darby helped his girlfriend get the job ot is clear now. Records FOIAed by Mr Padron show that it happened last April while the SSC job did not get filled. Mr Darby should immediately resign while he says he will advocate for us he advocates for himself. Thank you Ralph for bring out the facts again.

No surprise said...

Ken Darby is hooked up with Barriero now because he is trying to get a promotion at the Kane Forest District that Barreiros wife is on the board for. I have known Ken since HS and he has always been that way.

The Real Facts said...

To: Central Office News

You can criticize Ken Darby for advocating for his girlfriend. That's fair but don't kid yourself, It's Annette Johnson who's been blocking the hiring of a replacement for the front desk. She thinks there are too many secretary's at the SSC and wants to cut out as many of you as possible. She believes half of you do nothing all day.

Central office news said...

We dont doubt that Annette and the mighty Marion dont think we do anything and as for one of us Gloria Salinas it is questionable what she does but many of us work hard.

Gloia got her job and was promoted the same way Ken Darby took care of his girlfriend. Gloria ended up with a big raise when Glorias husband was on the board. Both Gloria and Diane give us a bad name and they are now both paid more than teachers. This is why we have problems it is divide and conquer with the staff and its working. When board members take a oath they should not be allowed to promote significant others

Just the facts, Ma'am said...

Central office is correct. Fernando and many of the board members of those days were getting perks in some form. Malacker (?) got the sweet deal when he sold his house. McCue was getting work from the district. The Board is not supposed to being doing any of these things. They are pretty much governing themselves and it is pretty hard for an outsider to report it and get any action taken. It just doesn't happen. Even the local newspaper rarely reports anything negative about the school board.

Tomcat said...

I am happy Barreiro seems to be in the minority all of these things happened under his watch. I am disappointed in Ken Darby he talks a good game.

The district newsletter is now online said...

http://www.d131.org/Enlightener/documents/Enlightener-SPR17-ENG.pdf

Twelve years later, an alum remembers said...

Loved the interview with attorney Emmanuel Llamas, EAHS Class of 2005. When asked which class prepared him best for the future, his answer was "Symphonic Band, with Mr. Kaisershot". He also says that he spent half his time senior year in the band room, and loved every minute of it.

Remind me again, Mr. Barreiro: how was your School Board's depriving Mr. K of his job a good decision??

More facts said...

Emanuel is such an outstanding representative of success coming from EA. Ms. Johnson, that "Beacon of hope" has been shining on D131 for a very long time. School board members trash talking each other and uppity tax payers who think our childrens education isn't worthy of their tax money has been over shadowing the shining stars for a long while. You can parade a bunch of students in front of your board room table and have your picture taken and say you are acknowledging their successes. You and those before you were just show boating and patting yourself on the back claiming to have created the possibilities for their achievements. When in actuality students, like Emanuel have had teachers who have worked hard, in spite of the many dysfunctional school boards of the recent past, to give EA students the education they deserve.
Yay! To our students, their families and the teachers who have hung in there for our kids!

Another argument against charter schools said...

That interview with the EAHS alum is another example of why charter schools would be bad for our district. Public schools have teachers' unions and a tenure system, which protect good teachers from being fired at the whim of corrupt administrators. Even though hundreds of community members marched to the service center, dozens of band families put signs in their yards, and his fellow fine arts teachers wrote letters to the newspaper on his behalf, the 2005 school board was able to rubber-stamp "Serial Bully" Radakovich's personal vendetta. But because of tenure and the union Mr. K was guaranteed a job in our district and he was reassigned to Simmons, where he continued to do an excellent job for our kids. Charter schools, however, do not have any protections for teachers! If their board dislikes someone for any reason whatsoever, that teacher would lose their livelihood...and the students would be deprived of an excellent, community-supported teacher. BTW, several good teachers were targeted during the serial bully years; Mr. K was just the most high-profile example (and the one mentioned in the Enlightener interview). I'm sure that future alumni might say that Mr. Liska was their greatest influence; good band directors tend to have a lifelong impact on their students. I wouldn't want to see see him (or any other teacher) treated the way Mr. K was!

Retired from EA said...

Mr K was a good teacher and the Serial Bully Radakovich railroaded him and a weak board lead by Farnum, Mccue, Barriero, Herbeck and Wells allowed that. I worked and retired from the district a few years ago but the difference was I encouraged young teachers in my building to appeal to the board, and the board with Johnson overturned the administrative recommendation. The teachers kept their jobs! They did have to transfer to another building but the board sided with the teachers. Friends at Waldo tell me the same. They complained to the board and the board took action, naming a great young man as their leader last week. Lets back up our statements with facts. Name one teacher in the past 5 years the board terminated or had removed. We can all name several admin but they are in a leadership position and if 131 is not moving forward then they deserve it.


Another view said...

Radocovich targeted teachers but kept his admin and friends happy with big salaries and free insurance that the board allowed. The board members took care of themselves Farmun , Mccue , Salinas, and Wells all got relatives hired for bloated salaries. Malaker made a big profit off his house, Mccue got contracts for his business, Wells and Farnum got free vacations and Barario used questionable land deals to work himself a big promotion at the City.

The latest group may fight with eachother but the district is much improved. Fighting with eachother is a good thing because they are not friends with eachother and Serial Bully days are less likely to occur. We started back that way under Popp but he qwas stopped.

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-threat-st-0511-20170510-story.html

It's always someone else said...

Improvement is relative and unique to each one of us. The district improvement is not reflected in test scores, graduates or image. The King was runoff this year but there were no riots or stabbings under his watch. Administration reversals are not unique to the current board. If the staff member had a legit grievance and brought it forward all the boards will do the right thing by them. Mr. K thought he could do whatever he wanted and he found out that he couldn't. I applaud him for standing his ground for what he thought was his right but he should be hired as Trumps advisor; he is learning the hard way too. Plenty of Admin have been fired by Ms Johnson but results in the classroom is the benchmark and up till now the results are not there. The reason is complicated it's not administration fault so let's blame the parents . Let's blame the students. Let's blamethe contract, Let's lame the B/G Dept. Let's blame the Mayor and city. Let's blame past boards member individually. Let's blame nepotism because no entity but the school district is guilty of nepotism ; wait I forgot the White House. How many whiners are okay with the president hiring his family or the congress having the best PPO but its okay as long as a unpaid board member doesn't. Some whiners who don't have children or a spouse just love to hate on those that do. Back to who is to blame. Les blame the moms for having too many babies. Let's lame them for having to work so much to provide simple things that they can't squeeze an hour to read to their child. Let's blame the administration or going to school a little longer to ove out of the classroom and get paid well. Let's give them some credit though because unlike some groups in education they don't have the union to support them. At some point someone recognizes they aren't doing things well unlike some who fight the tougher evaluations because they are actually are based on performance but then again it's not your fault.

Terrible leadership said...

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/east-aurora-teachers-union-puts-brakes-on-school-busing/

It begins.....

taxpayer 1 said...

The school board and administration may not be angels but really the teachers should have this extra cost deducted out of their pay checks. I do not have a right to tell my boss when I start work. If he wants me one hour early I am there. I have supported our teachers in the past but no more. They are selfish and this community has waited 50 years or better for busing. Really teachers figure our why you went into teaching.

Fake News said...

That article is fake news. The teachers never said no to bussing in East Aurora. They simply asked the board and administration for the bussing plan to take to the staff for a vote. Unfortunately, the district leadership has no plan and won't before this fall. This project, just like every other organized by the East Aurora school board is rushed through and organized by the seat of their pants. And as usual, the board and admin are throwing others under the bus to cover their own incompetence. SNAFU

Please FOIA said...

Mr Padron please FOIA emails sent between the union and administration everyone will see the the union was well informed. It will also show Mestak shaking administration down for more money and asking for a financial incentive just to change start times. Taxpayer 1 is correct some teachers have put themselves in front of the well being of students.

Reality Check said...

If the school district wants to open contract negotiations to benefit them financially, the union leadership would be fools not to ask for something for their members in return. That all part of the word "negotiations", both sides giving for mutual benefit. Of course, if the board leadership in this district did their job all this would have been coordinated within the confines of the contractual period not rolled out in a half a$$ed manner as is always the case in District 131. Point the finger where you want but if we had real leadership in this district, these situations would not keep occurring in the first point.

Laughable said...

The union asked for a plan but has publically stated they will not change start times or renegotiate start times.....so the district is supposed to spend time on a plan for a clear line in the sand by Gerry saying no reopening of contract? Get a life! Gerry can be smart and save the district 1/2 a million and then use that as negotiations for money for staff or he can be the blubbering idiot he is and force the district to waste 1/2 a million and then lead everyone to a strike when the district has less money for salaries......you can't have it both ways

Reality Check said...

You are full of it. Gerry never said the union would not open the contract. He has repeatedly stated that the membership is waiting for a plan laid out by the administration. And for your information Gerry doesn't have the power to change the contract. It must be ratified by the entire membership. Just like Annette can't legally change the contract. It must be voted on by the entire board. The district leaderships lack of planning is costing the tax payers money, not Gerry Mestak.

Sad state of affairs said...

Why would the district pay us more money to work the same hours? The district is now forced to pay more money for busing because Gerry would not take it to a vote of the membership. I would not have a problem changing my work day but my rights as member have been violated because I did not have a voice. I will preference that with not adding minutes but changing hours. This should be the districts decision.

We have allowed the union to get taken over by self serving haters that have now made us look like greedy bastards. Two years ago the old union acted with class and the community rallied with us to get a contract. Today the new union has taken apart the good will. By drawing the line in the sand we look ridiculous. I blame myself and others for not running. Like Trump and Rauner we now have a mad man as our leader. Thats what happens when we dont take an interest or vote.

FOIA said...

Reality

Your union is not telling the truth and you should FOIA union meeting minute notes

More of the same from Annette said...

To:Sorry Stae of Affairs

You certainly are a sorry state of affairs and most likely more of Annette Johnson starting crap on here. I don't believe any of the staff could be as ignorant as your comments indicate.

First, you did have a voice when you voted for your contract. Second when you voted in your union representatives. Gerry did not make this decision unilaterally as you indicated. It was voted on by the 50+ building reps that represent the 1400 members of our union. They unanimously decided to send a note to the superintendents and ask them for a plan that we could vote on. THERE IS NO PLAN TO VOTE ON. The district has no plan.

As for your comments about the past. You would not have had a choice in the matter Sarah and Annette would have sat in a back room and signed your rights away. They wouldn't even tell you they had done it. As for the community support, I don't know where you were but most came to speak against the staff because they don't have children in the district and that's all they care about them s their tax dollars. The ones who supported the teachers and staff were the ones who send their children to District 131. They were an amazing show of support. They know how bad the leadership is and what the staff have to put up with in this district.

Fed up taxpayer not from Stonegate said...

If any teacher accepted employment with D131 and did not research the pay plan beforehand shame on you. If you had the credentials and skill set that other districts wanted and again you chose D131 I want to say thank you as well as quit whining about what you put up with. Ms Johnson bent over backwards to try and bring your salary in line with other districts. I pray that a credible charter program can come into this district soon; they can't be any worse.
The students didn't ask to be enrolled here but each and every teacher and administrator did. If educating students with major challenges is not your bag of tea the go the h... away.

You Decide said...

The district leadership has you all arguing over peanuts when the real story is much bigger than you know. The school board unanimously approved a bus bid and heralded that East Aurora now has bussing. They never bothered to ask to see a comprehensive plan for what will be implemented. The community is going to be shocked when the real bills begin to appear.

According to the bus bid that was approved by the East Aurora School Board, the district is planning on bussing over 3000 students, in a single run, using just 33 buses. Simple math should tell everyone that something is amiss here. That comes out to the district expecting more than 90 children to fit on each bus. Here is the reality, there are only 21 seats on a school bus. In middle school and high school, you can safely fit two students per seat. In early elementary, you can fit 3. We also need to figure for the adult supervisor on each bus. That means a total of 41 middle or high school students per bus and 61 elementary students. The plan calls for at least 2700 middle and high school students to be transported and 300 elementary students. There will be more students added when the district completes their road safety evaluation.

If you divide 2700 middle and high school students by the 41 max number, it adds up to a minimum of 66 buses needed. When you add the minimum 5 busses needed to transport the elementary students, we come to a total of at least 71 buses needed for the bid to work (not 33).

Here are the totals. We are not looking at a cost of $1.6 - $2.0 million dollars that the school board approved. The real cost is going to be at least $4.5 million not including the extra monies being allocated for the additional administrators that the district is hiring to facilitate this project. The real question here is: Was the school board and district administration being unethical here hiding the true costs from the public or were they completely incompetent in their duties?

You decide

Unions Rock said...

To FOIA said

A union is not a school district. They don't hide union business. No member needs to FOIA anything. They are welcome to view any documents. They can ask their building representatives for a copy of the meeting minutes. They are given to every building representative and approved by all building reps OR they can simply stop by the union office and request a copy.

To fed up taxpayer said...

If any taxpayer moved into a neighborhood/ community and did not research the demographics of the area and bought within D131 and did not research the taxes and property values beforehand shame on you. If you had the credit and desire to own your own home and become a contributor to the property taxes paid to support EA and again you chose D131 and the eastside, I want to say thank you as well as quit whining about what you pay! Ms Johnson bent over backwards to try and keep your taxes in line with neighboring districts. I pray that a charter program never comes into this district then you'd really have something to complain about.
The students didn't ask to be enrolled here but each and every teacher and administrator did. I thank them! If educating students with your property taxes is not your bag of tea then move the h... away.

To: Fed up with fed up that's not from Stonegate said...

I never complained about my taxes cause I'm not from Stonegate . I've owned property for over 30 plus years. I actually don't mind paying for educating the students but that would require to do your job. Not only do my taxes cover educating students, they cover your blotted pension. Hey cover your insurance. My taxes cover your 300 plus sick days which you frequently use adding to district cost. My taxes pay for your tuition reimbursement . It keeps your job as you abuse FLMA and it pays for your lazy a... union president to not teach and get paid. Thank good for the president appointing Betsy Devos so choice can become a reality. I hope you voted for him too. I f you lay still it won't hurt as much.

Wake Up Aurora said...

The new administrators better make sure their recorders are working when Annette goes off about the real cost of the bussing. Maybe they can each get an extra $150,000 just like Christie Aird did the last time Annette went off. Oops a $3 million dollar mistake. But then again, what other school board would approve a major change like new bussing without seeing any plan or real cost analysis first? It's just another multimillion dollar blunder made by the school board and administration of District 131. How many tax hikes have there been because of school board incompetence? There's the many lawsuits, the corrupt land deals including the police palace, Hometown,the drive in, etc. There was the insurance debacle which cost about $10 million. The administration credit cards. Spending money in Atlantic City at the casinos. Then there has been the decorating costs for certain administrators at the central office. Sweet deals for board members. Patronage jobs, district workers spending district time working for administrators and board members. The list just goes on and on and on.

taxpayer said...

As a taxpayer of 131 I am glad they have busing and will spend the money on that instead of more money for lazy overpaid teachers. Ask yourself the following:

Since your big raises have the test scores gone up?

Have the number of sick days gone down?

Why the late starts? What has been accomplished with the late starts?

No teachers the board has to stand up to the cry-bullies and stop listening to how hard it is to teach.

In my job I have to produce for a raise and from what I see the teachers who can show good attendance and improved test scores should get a raise the others should get ZERO.

The community elected the school board not the teachers and they need to represent us

SPeEDing to Financial Disaster said...

You want something to complain about? Why don't you ask Annette about the millions the district lost this year because the Special Education Director didn't do her job and fill out the SPED grant money applications this year. This has all been kept very hush hush. The Sped Director was demoted but NOT fired. Of course, if we had a full time superintendent overseeing these things instead of two part timers who only shown up on occasion, this probably wouldn't have been missed. It also shows that our superintendent in training isn't up to the task. It's her job to be overseeing the district (especially Cebtral Office) and reporting to the interims.

For the record said...

Christy Aird was a disaster who had her favorites and her favorites either engaged in her life style or supported it. If you did not there was was (h) to pay. I worked at O'Donnell when Ed Brouch had the trans student. The child was happy and back in the day would have been called a tomboy. Aird talked with the mom at a intermurals event and convienced her the child was trans. The next week teachers received a order from Ed to identify any female students that acted like a tomboy or any male students that acted femine. The teachers then had to turn names into the social workers and Christy would arrange for a after school club to help students understand if they wanted to live as the gender they had been born into. Ed and many of us prayed at the school in silence and Ed was ready to resign when Ms Johnson steped in. Many of us feel THE $150,000 WAS A SMALL PRICE PAY TO RID THE DISTRICT OF HER.

Ed is now retired and can verify the story. There is still a prayer group that prays that our district never has someone that will misuse her position like Aird. I dont respond to this blog but I received a text message and had to set the record straight.

Another spin on Sped said...

The Sped department was given a full time secretary with the excuse to fellow workers in our department that she would file sped claims and reports. The reports have been filed for many years on time and now she has a full time job. Diane Thomas has been after Suzanne for a long time. Maybe there is more to the story.

We have a experienced consultant working on Sped issues and Dr Hoyda along with Heather Kinand has been addressing issues that have been growing for years. Suzanne has been over her head for years but Gloztbach covered for her. She was returned to her original position and it shows they are treating staff with humanity.

taxpayer105 said...

As a taxpayer I am glad they got busing. I think it should be a mile from the school not 1.5. I went the schools at East at Middle and High School and had to walk a little over a mile to get there. Back in those days there wasn't as much traffic and gangs so it wasn't that bad.

The Board should of known that they where going to be issues with what time the busses would be picking up Students. The Teachers Unions negotiate contracts about start times and the Board should of approached the Union when they decided to vote on busing.

Now the low test scores are caused by many things. Some parents don't even take the time to see if their children are doing good and School. The Administration decides what the teachers teach in the classrooms.

So since you want to blame the teachers maybe Charter Schools would be the best way to go for the Parents and Students to learn.

Mind your own stuff said...

It is the teachers job to teach and the administrations job to administrate. I work for Rush Copley anqqd my shift has changed seven times in four years. I am glad EA has busing I walke for many years and it did effect my education. I missed school to often in life but kept at. I want the same for my children. I can not tell my boss when I come to work.

As for the comment about Ms Hoyta and Mr McDonald as a parent I never seen any superintendents until them. They attended three meeting at my childs school and the others never brought us busing. So I think it sounds like tbey are holding wmployees to their jobs and someone does not like it.

Reid Enright said...

Time for vouchers. Way past Charter schools. Look at all the other districts around us with large minority populations and their graduation rates are in the 90+ percent. Look at Waubonsee, Nequa Valley, Metea, etc......Unfortunately 129 is sliding down to become another district 131. Why is that, people??? Why the high rates of graduation in other districts with high minority populations???? And why does our district suck???? What changed since the early 1980's in this district?? Being poor has nothing to do with the low graduation rates we see today as East Aurora has always been a "working class" district. Again, why does our district suck now?????

Rita Wyle said...

Oh, man of many question......Enlighten us "Reid" from your POV....why does our district suck?
What has changed since the early 80's. Why is that?

Real Facts said...

To: Reid Enright

Who are you trying to kid? Here are the facts.

Indian Prairie 204 has 20% Black and Hispanic
West Aurora 129 has 68% Black and Hispanic
East Aurora 131 has 95% Black and Hispanic

Indian Prairie 14% Low Incime
West Aurora 67% Low Income
East Aurora treats all students as low income because over 90% are.

Are you really on here trying to claim that these districts are comparable in any way? You must live in Trumps world of alternative facts. Just keep telling your lies. I'm sure you'll find an idiot out there willing to believe you.

Frustrated with the interim said...


The district is paying for over a quarter of a million dollars for the interim superintendents Dr. McDonald and Dr. Hoyda. Both of whom are incompetent. They go around the district bullying staff and don't make a move without Annette Johnson permission.
They fire people who Annette does not like without a plan to replace them. They have a multi-million dollar construction project running unsupervised which is 10 million over budget and missing have the building permits needed to complete the work.. They are suppose to be professional? how can enact busing without have an agreement in place with the union which would have to agree to a schedule change. The interims think that they can run roughshod over the union, which they can't. So again the District gives press releases to make the teachers look bad.

They are rarely seen in the district and now, what happens when their allotted time running out. I am counting their days what the district's plan supervision.

Minorities R Not Bad Hombres said...

Poverty and ethnicity is not the reason for test scores. Our new mayor and the communication director both came from poverty and have done well. They are both former Tomcats. However if the instructor has a bias of low expectations such as Real Facts has articulated they impact learning more than ethnicity. Many of the minority students hear and believe they are not as smart as well. Without reinforcing from home or school what exactly would one expect . Lastly, EA are not hiring the cream of crop either. 204/203 etc... scoop up the best available

Reid Enright said...

To real facts:

You forgot Asians, Indians (from India), Pakistanis, etc. as minorities for the other districts.- Those districts are way more diverse than 131.!!!So, what is it with our district and not graduating its students??

In Obama's world, you could keep your doctor, Bengazi was caused by a video, Syria would catch hell if they "crossed the red line", ISIS is the JV team, bla, bla. So cut the crap about Trump. Cuts both ways.

So, again, why can't our district graduate students in numbers comparable to our neighboring districts that are diverse?????? What has changed in our district????? Why do we suck???

TAXPAYER 1 said...

The crybullies are at it again. They have had a problem with every administration or board in the last 15 years. Mr Mcdonald and Ms Hoyda both ran successful districts for twenty some years but now they are not qualified. The problem is the crybullies have run out of fingers to point. Sorry teachers the word it is out and I encourage the board to keep them as long as they will stay.

newshound said...

Here's a link to 23 pages of recent articles about our district:

https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=40560628

Band recordings said...

For those who may be interested, here are recordings of recent band performances, including the piece commissioned for the 100th anniversary of band in our district:

http://www.d131music.org/band-recordings.html

Gerry please resign. said...

It is clear Gerry is a horrible leader. He has made us the laughing stock of Aurora and surrounding communities. The article about busing portrays us as greedy monsters because he involved us into something we should not be involved in. We now look like we are so difficult that we are demanding our start times. The community looks at us like we are throwing their money away. It is the administrations job to run busing and if they fall on their faces so be it. It is our job to teach.

The district purchased all new curriculum at the teachers request last year and our results are poor. My prediction is test scores will go down. Again, it is another case of the district showing teachers if we want to run the district then fine! We gave you higher wages, what has been accomplished?

We are walking a slippery slope with Gerry and when the district rolls out their PR machine we will be left holding the bag.

We need to stop doing the administrations job and just teach.

Research said...

Minorities R Not Bad Hombres said...
Poverty and ethnicity is not the reason for test scores.

Actually poverty is a big reason for low test scores. There has been numerous research done on this. Here is just one of many research papers done on this topic:
http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1379765941_Lacour%20and%20Tissington.pdf

Conclusion:
Poverty significantly affects the resources available to students. Due to this lack of resources, many students struggle to reach the same academic achievement levels
of students not living in poverty (Table 2 and Figure 2). The factors affecting student achievement include income, source of income, and the mother’s education level. Although many poor students score below average on assessment measures, instructional techniques and
strategies implemented at the classroom, school, district, and government levels can help close the achievement gap by providing students with necessary assistance in order to achieve high performance in academics.


Put Up Or Shut Up said...

To: Gerry please resign

I say Gerry, you are doing an awesome job. You are the first president in recent history to stand up and say if you want to change our legal contract, show us a plan that we can take to our members to vote on. It is such a relief to NOT have a union president sitting in the back room with Annette signing away protections fought for in a two year long negotiation. It great to hear that all the union reps made the decision and not just the president. It was great to hear that the union didn't say No, they asked for a detailed plan. The only disheartening thing to hear was that the board and administration could approve such a drastic change without any plan in place.

As for the article, that is a joke to anyone with half a brain. It was put out by the Illinois Policy Institute. NOT a real news source. It is a group of billionaires who want to destroy unions so they can make even more billions. It's the Koch Brothers, ALEC and a bunch of Chicago and Springfield billionaire hedge fund managers who don't live in this community and don't give a damn about our children. It's people like Governor Rauner who made their billions off of teacher pension and now want to say it's the teachers who are causing your taxes to go up.

Here's the fine point of it. I will be at the next union meeting to tell our leaders they are doing an excellent job. If you are a teacher and really believe the crap you posted on here, I invite you to come to that meeting and say it publicly.

Not feeling it said...

Gerry signed our rights away, I have seen a document and Gerry has it showing HS starting at 7:45 and K to 8 starting at 8:15 am. He did not let us vote stating several questions. Why is it our concern about bus stop locations or the number of kids on a bus. This is the bus companies job. It made us look bad and he does not have support. Keep thinking that Gerry our contract last year was a good start but your difficulty in involving yourself in matters that we have no control over will cost us.

Minorities R Not Bad Hombres said...

Research said :
There is research and there is reality. Poverty will impact the lives of All humans of any ethnicity or age if one is hungry, sick, victim of crime I.e. Domestic violence and homeless. The movie Trading Places is a great synopsis of what we all can do or become with the right opportunity and a little mentoring. I grew up in a large family and we lived below the poverty level. Five of the 7 siblings have college degrees and I'm still working on mine. I'm proud to say that in less than 2 years I'll be walking across the stage with a diploma in hand. Poverty can't be a catch all so that parents, students and educators get a pass from their jobs; holding up their end of the bargain. If you expect more you'll get more; likewise the opposite is true. I love it when pundits and know it all who haven't walked a block in other folks shoes want to put out "Research" and have it be the truth for all.

Progressive member said...

The brain trust Gerry, Lorretta and Tony eat up the John Laesch rhetoric with a spoon. Little do they know John bad mouths teachers. Just ask John, he will tell you his girlfriend, a teacher will never send her kids to EA. On a recent tour Ms Rusmey said teachers at EA are lazy because they dont spend time during passing periods out in the hall. They also have poor classroom skills and displine poor. The Magnet teachers are average at best and do not teach a stem curriculum. He also stated Waldo is a zoo with little to no learning going on.

So all our schools are bad in Johns eyes along with administration. Teaching in EA is not a option for Ms Rumsey and John claims he will move if she finds employment elsewhere.


John has had a political history of using folks and the brain trust is getting used. His latest obsession is Annette Johnson because he cant beat her politically and we all know John joined the board for bigger and brighter office. Now poor John lost his political allies over Johnson and he does not know what to do. John cant win in Aurora and he will take everyone down around him.



Poor excuse for students said...

Board member Alert

Your fellow board member John Laesch had a meeting with Local 150 and encouraged them to strike this summer. He told them any work stoppage would delay the opening of East Aurora and their construction companies would cave.

When I heard this I had to post why does this man put himself and his politics in front of children. The meeting was May 8th.

Things that make ya go hmmm...... said...

http://kanecountyconnects.com/2017/05/riverboat-funds-help-the-band-play-on-at-east-aurora-school-district-131/

Ray Gunn said...

Wow. Local 150 guys make very decent bucks. You should get their rate schedules for the various jobs classifications and see for yourselves. Wonder why the union strike message. Guess it is not just corporations out there being greedy, now is it. Unions are just as bad. And with time sensitive projects such as schools, what an underhanded way of trying to get a couple extra pennies. Maybe the companies should just get permission to keep working during next school year in order to avoid this B.S. That should also eliminate a lot of overtime as there would not be the pressure to get the job done before school starts. Wonder how bad the funding is for the union pensions. Jut like the teacher pensions, they are not sustainable.

Hmmm, indeed! said...



Quoting from the Kane County Connects article:

About the D131 Band Program

The East Aurora band program is comprised of concert band, wind ensemble, symphonic band, wind symphony, latin jazz, jazz
ensemble and marching band.

District 131’s band program performs for a variety of community service groups and functions in the Kane County region, including formal concerts, holiday events, basketball games, football games, local governmental and holiday celebrations, and local religious and nursing home performances

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOWHERE in the article are the words "HIGH SCHOOL" used, yet these funds are earmarked for instruments for ONLY the East Aurora HIGH SCHOOL band program! Once again, our elementary and middle school students are treated like second-class citizens. Other examples of this attitude in recent years have been:

--the formerly district-wide Band Boosters now benefits ONLY the high school band program

--the high school band room has been air-conditioned for 11 or 12 years, while air conditioning was added to the Simmons band room in 2016

--the Beacon-News wrote a glowing article about the growth of the high school bands, while making absolutely no mention of any of the feeder programs or directors

This is so wrong, and unfair to our younger band students, their directors, and parents!!

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-abstract-tomcat-st-0519-20170518-story.html

Billionaires or Workers - Who Will You Stand With said...

Since when did corporations deserve 90% of the worlds wealth and workers and teachers become the enemy? Why is a teacher collecting a pension after spending a lifetime paying into TRS the bad guys but the politicians who steal billions from the funds good. Why does no one question when people like Governor Rauner made his billions off of workers pensions. Does anyone really believe their taxes will go down if they cut worker pensions or will the billionaire hedge fund managers just steal the rest? When are some people going to realize that the protections they have in the workplace all came from union struggles. Weekends, an 8 hour workday, an end to child labor, a livable wage. Why do you think the billionaire class fights so hard against unions? They know that f they can destroy unions they can pay everyone nothing. Everytime you fight to cut union wages, public sector wages also take a big cut. That means social security and Medicare also get cut. Please get informed before speaking out blindly.

Politicians are the problem, not teachers said...

Don't believe everything politicians tell you. Every night on the news they scream that teacher pensions are e 100+ billion dollars in debt but the reality is very different. Here is a link to the Illinois TRS web site. It shows a fund balance of $46 billion dollars. That's up from $35 billion dollars in 2008 when the market crashed. It would be higher yet if the state paid its contributions and refunded the billions they stole from it. The community really needs to get informed before you speak.

http://trs.illinois.gov/investments/portfolio.htm

Will the School Board Ever Plan First? said...

The new sculpture looks cool but has anyone really thought this through. The Tomcat is one thing but Is it wise to have an open fire with so many children around? And the sculpture will cost $34,000 but who is paying to keep a fire burning 24/7 365 days a year? Here's an article where it has become an issue in New York because it is costing $12,000 a year to keep the flame lit. Maybe this should be planned out before we just jump into another financial fiasco head first.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/us/11flame.html

Ray Gunn said...

Wow, I did not know that the construction companies that East hired were owned by George Soros, Jeff Bezos or Mark Cuban! You need to actually start thinking with that brain of yours. Most businesses are owned by your neighbors and the owners are not making zillions of dollars. Stop doing drugs, will you. Unions have not been relevant for many decades now. You know that. As a matter of fact, the public sector is the last bastion for unions. People like FDR and JFK were against public unions. I need the video of you telling the owners of the construction companies that they are billionaires. Tat will be Three Stooges funny..........

Teacher pensions are not sustainable......please stop using common core math.....

Teachers are a problem.......Look at your graduation rates.

Ray Gunn Should Be Called Laser Brain said...

Nobody stated that local construction company owners were billionaires. Stop putting words in other peoples mouths. I was referring to people like the Koch Brothers, ALEC, Bruce Rauner, the Illinois Policy Institute etc. who have spent millions of dollars demonizing unions. Why do you think they spend millions of their dollars doing that?

You are perfect example of those in this country who live in an impermeable bubble against facts. I show you the link to the official TRS website showing a $46 billion dollar surplus and you ignore official facts and hurl ignorant insults instead. FYI, this is the basis for what our politician are using to attack teacher pensions. Back in 2008 when the stack market crashed, Governor Pat Quinn took the loss that the teacher pensions had in the market, projected that same loss every year for a 50 year period and stated that the teacher pension fund would be $100 billion dollars in debt. Of course, this was nonsense. First, it assumed that the stock market would crash every year for 50 years and second, that if it did TRS would keep their money in the market for those 50 years. The whole premise was absurd but there are many ignorant people out there more than willing to swallow this lie hook, line and sinker.

Teachers are NOT the problem. Their graduation rates are 100%. Every single one of them have graduated, most multiple times. They have bachelors degrees, masters degrees and some have multiple masters and even doctorates. They have been certified by the state and more recently by Pearson. They are evaluated constantly in their performance and are required to improve through professional development regularly. They are amongst the most qualified and regulated professions in this country.

Quit trying to lay the blame for all of societies problems on teachers. It's not the teachers who are having language barrier issues, sped issues, gang issues, abuse issues. Teachers aren't pulling kids out of school so that they can help support their families. Teachers don't tell parents to come into the school and start physical altercations. It's not teachers who pulled the fire alarm 3 dozen times at the high school this year or started a fire in the bathroom or stabbed two kids across the street or wrote threats that locked down the school. Teachers didn't attack a police officer and administrator at East High. Teachers can write referrals all day long but if the administrators don't act on it, don't be surprised when student behaviors are the way they are. You need to quit attacking teachers just to save yourself a few bucks on your taxes. It's further dividing this community.

Ray Gunn said...

Tsk. Tsk. Please take a look at the fine print (assumptions) of your TRS figures. While it is bad to use dire stats (as you said Quinn did) it is also incorrect to use way to rosy numbers also. And also, the underfunding of the plan goes way back before 2008. Please read the book "How to Lie With Statistics". It has been around for decades. Madigan is a master of abusing numbers in Springfield and probably read the book. The plan is not sustainable. You may have a nice balance in your checkbook at the moment (surplus) but that does not mean you can just spend it, as obligations seen and unforeseen will decrease that fund. - again, look at the assumptions and projections.-

Teachers are a real part of the problem. Did you read the article in the Trib today about the dumbed down classes that are taught in Illinois??? Really nice. Classes that don't prepare students for college or life after high school. That is just special. Where is your 'union" protesting the dumbing down of students??? There are other things to be concerned with besides increases in step raises and finding more ways to decease teacher time in classrooms. You have to quit saying "Not my job" (union mentality)and start asking how you can help improve education and get involved, just like the teachers of long ago. Graduation rates did not decrease in the Depression of the 1930's and there was mass poverty. What has changed?????

Finished. said...

To: Laser Brain

You can't have a real debate with someone who ignores facts and pulls stuff out of their who-hoo to justify their warped view of reality. You simply restate the crap politicians are spouting. Believe what I say not what you see. Facts don't mean anything.

Teachers are the only solution to education and societies ills, not ignorant individuals posting on a blog. Go by any school before and after hours and you will find dozens of teachers volunteering their time. That should be their choice, not the administrations. That doesn't include the countless hours grading and preparing for classes. There is nothing wrong with providing basic protections or admin would have people working 24/7.

You also claim that graduation rates did not decline during the depression. What facts do you have the support that bovine excrement? Millions of people were forced to become migrant workers during that time. They rarely stayed in any one place for more than a week but their children finished school? Before the 1950's far fewer people had high school diplomas and far fewer yet went to college. Children are better prepared now than at anytime me in our history. The difference is that records are better kept now and everything is transparent.

I'm done arguing with an obvious idiot.

Call the waaambulance to the NE side said...

I will pick up your argument with the village idiot. Definitely sounds like one of the tax protestors grabbing google info to justify their stance.
Where were they when D131 was spending down their surplus. Not worrying about things to come. I know many teachers who have tried to be a part of the fix in educating our students, only to be met with resistance by admin. I have been with other community members questioning the board in years past. You get tired of running into a brick wall. The tax protestors have the ear of a few board members so they think their complaints are valid. Validation by a few does not make all your thoughts on a topic facts.
Try googling the other side of this argument. You will find EA teachers are doing an excellent job, in spite of being stifled by poor board decisions and many errors by past admin.

Ray Gunn said...

Good. I have a class to teach.

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-center-st-0522-20170521-story.html

Stop comp, said...

The bilingual teachers this year only exited 40 some students none of which are in middle school so what are the teachers teaching? Low exits mean low scores and this time they can not blame administration since they picked the curriculum. What is the next excuse?

Just simply fed up said...

Just read the Chicago Tribune article about the "dumbed down general classes". Aurora was mentioned as one of the schools as having a large number of these classes.

This is absolutely moronic. No wonder our kids score so low on ACT tests, etc. Where are the teachers when they are needed. Where is the outcry???

How dare any teacher attack people who are tired of paying taxes for a crappy product. We definitely need vouchers. There is no other way out of this cycle of poor performance.

re; Mr. Gunn said...

Re: Ray Gunn
You try to teach at the high school where the kids wander aimlessly through the hallways yelling and screaming and cussing and having sex and smoking dope in the bathrooms. The "dumbing down" as you call it is a result of so many students coming in with a Lexile (reading) score below a third grade equivalence. Walk down any hallway and witness all of the students on their cellphones ignoring their teachers because the district simply refuses to deal with this problem. You spend hours on a lesson plan only to have kids on you tube watching the latest beat-down. Every day instruction is interrupted by the fire alarms going off, or a bomb or gun threat, a fight somewhere in the building, kids setting fires, etc. Oh and let's not forget that kids can walk out of the building anytime they want, and they do, all day long, because the interim supers decided we can't lock any doors. We spend millions on building additions and a state of the art football field but not on basic safety- metal detectors- which would actually afford some modicum of pretection. You try to teach here Mr. Gunn-- you wouldn't last a day.

Pathetic Leadership said...

To: Stop comp

Your comments are very disturbing especially since this data has not been shared with the staff yet. In fact the only ones who have access to this district level data are the central office administrators and board members on the curriculum committee. Which one of you is on here making such disparaging remarks about staff?

Does anybody wonder why there are issues in this district when the board and administration make all the major decisions in this district and have an attitude about teachers as was shared on here. As is always the case in District 131, they make the decisions and then throw the teachers under the bus.

Here is the reality. District 131 receives more money for students in SPED and ESL classes than in regular ed. classes. That is why we have astronomically high numbers of students in bilingual and with 504 plans and IEP's. If they exit these students, the district gets less money. Administration has set the rules to make exiting children almost impossible on purpose, just as they now want to test every child for ESL whether they are native speakers or not. Their plan is to test every child and if they fail the test, place them in a dual language class. We can have children who only speak English placed in classes with all Spanish speaking children, speaking only Spanish simply because they couldn't pass a test. How will this help the child? It won't. It simply brings more cash to the district.

As always, it's about the money. The teachers have no control over it, they follow orders like every employee in this world, so quit blaming the teachers.

Look in the mirror said...

Clearly the teachers are morons at the HS if they believe you can lock anyone into a building. It is a major safety violation. The teachers dont keep the interest of the students and the students know many teachers are there for the money. The teachers dress and act like the kids with many teachers coming to work in the same cloths the slept in after partying all night. If you wonder why the students have no respect start with the teachers.

re: Look in the mirror said...

Look in the mirror -- or

Maybe don't-- it will be pretty disturbing I am sure. Your comment "teachers are there for the money" should we be volunteering our time? After I hand out deodorant, toothpaste, soap, clothing, and listen to all of my students cry on my shoulder and then try and do lesson plans to engage them, and then have them on their phones, coming in late because there is no tardy policy- There is not a single teacher I know who does what you fantasize about here. Teachers are not repected because the administrators and district do not respect them. We write referrals and nothing happens; kids know this and know that they run the school. My colleagues are washed, well-dressed professionals who want the best for their students even with all of the obstacles we have in front of us to teach our kids.

Please said...

The East Aurora teachers to look and act like the kids. They also act like we owe them for working at East. Lets be clear many can not cut it in another district. They dont have to have respect because they are the kids buddy. The tardy policy can not be enforced because many have to walk miles to school but when the teachers could have changed their schedule by 15 minutes they said no showing they dont care for the kids.

Someone please Muzzle Annette said...

The village idiot, I mean Annette Johnson has been on here posting again. Over and over you make unsubstantiated claims to support your warped view of reality. The teachers didn't lock children into the building, the administration did for years. Only this year did the new interim superintendents state that the district had been sited by the county for using the mag locks. The teachers job is to teach, building issues are administration. The teachers have simply asked administration, how are we keeping account of the dozens of kids who are entering and leaving the building all day long. They are wandering the neighborhood, not in class and not being held accountable. The teachers have asked about many possibilities including cameras or extra PPA's to monitor the doors etc. The administration removed the locks with (as usual) NO plan in place. The school district is legally responsible for these children. If a child leaves the building and is injured, some smart lawyer is going to sue the district for millions and get it.

What data do you have to support your claim that teachers from EA cannot cut it in another district? I can show you dozens of examples where they don't just make it in other districts, they flourish. We lose so many great teachers because of ignorance like yours. As for your statement about bussing, the teachers are still waiting for a documented plan from the district. Are you ever going to get off your a$$es and devise one or are you just expecting the kids to jump on any yellow vehicle that drives by next August?

The only people who prove day after day their commitment to the children of District 131 are the teachers and staff. They chose the district and stay in the district in spite of all the issues that the board, administration and community have. They are qualified by the same certifying agencies as every other teacher in this nation. They can go anywhere they choose but they choose to stay here in this dysfunctional environment because this is where they can do the most good. Imagine if they had supports in place to help them with this mission. It would certainly be a much better environment than we have now.

Band parent said...

I agree with everything you say EXCEPT I seriously doubt that it's Annette who is bashing teachers. Annette helped save the district band camp last summer, and for that she has my eternal gratitude! Others have mentioned that (unlike the folks in the central office) Annette actually picks up her phone and speaks with community members, answering their questions and concerns.

The teacher-bashers are most likely Stonebridge tea-party folks whose kids are long grown and who object to paying a nickel more for OUR kids. They'd probably tell you that they walked 5 miles through the snow to get to school, uphill both ways!

stop bashing you are poor excuses for teachers said...

Annette was at our BKC today and I doubt she would bash teachers she is very supportive of our programs and unlike some of the other board members she works hard for the district. We just received a large grant from the Dunham Funds and the man speaking mentioned Annette advocating for us along with others.

The current union leadership needs to stop bashing her we have been better off with her than others who ran the board leadership.

I am hoping a teacher is not suggesting doors get locked on students. Did you ever stop to think of a fire or someone with a gun and the panic or stampede it could cause . If you are a employee please resign you have no business working with children.

Put the blame with the parents said...

The students walked out of school last year as well. They would kick the doors open and leave. Working at East, I often thought what if we need to get out quickly? Many of us do not have the physical strenght to kick a door open. I do side with admin nobody is going to control the 200 kids in the building that just dont want to go to school. We need to stop blaming everyone and start blaming the parents. If they leave school the parents get calls from the auto call system so what do they do nothing. It is not the admin, Johnson nor the teachers and lets not forget they put in additional cameras I believe the number was about 24 cameras. What has happened nothing. Its the kids.

Re: Annette said...

Dear Annette;

No of course teachers don't want students to get locked in. There is I am sure, a technology that would suit our needs. Teachers watch as many as 20-30 kids walking out of the building daily. We never had this problem until this year. If one of these kids gets raped or run over god forbid how will you feel then? Also the litigation against the school will be enormous.Also thank you IT for throwing out hundreds of perfectly good Chrome Books because you do not like servicing anything related to Google. In a poor district where we scramble for technology for our kids, this is an abomination. You could have given these away, raffled them, etc. Poor planning and lack of forethought as usual.

grow up said...

It shows how much you do not know that you think this is only a problem this year. This was a problem last year, but you had your binky and security blanket in mag locks so you felt all warm and tingly inside. Kids left out of doors last year, and the years prior, you just chose to ignore it. Kids Chuck Norris kicked the door at door 13 that the mag locks didn't work any more last year. Be more informed and step out of your bubble, although you must love Trump's America where you can spout out your opinion and fake numbers to skew your biased viewpoint and nobody holds you accountable for it. You are so misinformed to think we never had this problem until this year. The problem has always been there, it's just come inside your bubble and now you need your binky!

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/opinion/ct-abn-crosby-steam-academy-st-0524-20170523-story.html

newshound said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-tier-1-busing-st-0519-20170518-story.html

Gerry is a zero said...

Gerry Mestak again comments against busing are getting a bit old. It is a time to celebrate not to remain cautious. We are the last in the State to have busing. What does that mean from him that we should not have it or it will not work. Why does it work in every community. The correct response should have been thanks to the administration for caving because the teachers think they should dictate when they start and go home. Hopefully they will deduct the $400,000 from their wages.

Taxpayer 3 said...

Read the article on a child getting bullied is this not Scott Dart the last of tge Mike Popp coball that has been left? Dart and the teacher clearly should get fired. The mom should sue both of them

EA okay said...

The school district lets a child get assulted on the playground and the principal and teacher can't say sorry. We teach child to say sorry but they are so high and mighty they can't. If this same student lived in Naperville they would have been fired.

Walk a mile in their shoes said...

To the critics of our EA teachers-
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/02/10/teachers-at-low-income-schools-deserve-respect.html?cmp=SOC-EDIT-FB

Largest graduation class in our history! said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-east-aurora-graduation-st-0531-20170530-story.html

Bad news said...

Embrassing news report on NBC this morning about one of my colleagues. The mom is right apologies go a long way. The building admin Scott Dart should have asked her to apologize. Is this not the hold over from the Mike Popp era. It seems all of the 204 inplants treated everyone rudely. I remember a report from Mr Padron showing he was brought in for more money than our principal with all her years of experience that had a Ed.d .

The teacher along with Dart should resign they have made us all look bad. It is a wonder DCFS is not taking legal action.

The Buck Stops Where? said...

Only on this blog ad in District 131 does an employee get the blame when their boss doesn't do their job.

The teacher, when made aware of the incident, filled out all the correct forms and informed the administrator of the incident. There are confidentiality concerns and other staff members whose job it is to deal with bullying in the school. The teacher followed protocol. At that point, it was the administrators job to deal with contacting the correct staff (counselors, social worker, resource officer, etc) regarding the bullying. It is never the employees job to tell their boss to do their job.

We are never going to repair relationships in District 131 when you have administrators like Beatrice Reyes Childress going to the press and stating that it was the teachers responsibility to make sure the principal did their job.

If Beatrice can't handle the buck stopping on her desk, she definitely doesn't deserve the top spot in the district.

newshound said...

Here's a link to 32 pages of recent articles about our district:

https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=40659684

Hermes sucks said...

Jerry Mestak has overstepped again by telling the teacher not to say she was sorry. That folks would have stopped it all. I know her and she is a good person and yes she was told to follow protocol. Dart screwed up but Jerry intimidated her. She followed the unions advice and this is out of control. What people don't know was she was bullied by our union and by Dart. Childress never talked with her and she needs to understand Hermes is a toxic place. Sem is also bad news and should not work with younger children.

Hilarious said...

So it's not the teachers job to reach out to students parents when concerns or issues arise?! Unbelievable. Teachers are perfect in 131 and can do no wrong......poor test scores? That's bc the students are poor........no classroom management? That's because admin sucks........a mom is not informed about her child getting picked on by students in class? That's the principals fault the teacher filled out a form........grow up. It's hilarious how whiny teachers on here want admin to be held accountable but want nothing to do with accountability themselves.

Unbelievable said...

The board and administration set policies and protocol in District 131. The teacher followed the district protocol, filled out the correct forms and informed the administrator of the situation. At that point it became an administrative investigation into the incident. Teachers are not allowed to interfere with an administrative investigation. Many teachers in District 131 have been written up and even received Notices to Remedy and threatened with termination for interfering with administrative investigations. The teacher was absolutely correct not speaking with the parent or child or newspaper any further and I am sure any union leader would be sure to inform the employee of these realities. Their career would be on the line if they did.

If you disagree with the established policies and protocols in District 131, you need to take it up with the board and administration who set the rules and quit trying to blame the employees who follow the policies as set forth by their bosses.

It was the administrators responsibility to contact the parents and deal with the bullying situation. The administrator dropped the ball and all the finger pointing on a blog (or by Beatrice in the newspaper) can not change these facts. There is a reason the Federal Government had the district administration under supervision for years regarding bullying. There is a long history of the district administration trying to cover up any and all embarrassing issues. The only reason we are hearing about this is because the parent went to the police. How many more bullying incidents are even being covered up by the district leadership?