During the last 2 years or so, "transparency" seems to be a term frequently used to invoke a sense of trust.
EA District 131 Superintendent used the term when trying to encourage voters to vote for a referendum. Our newly elected U.S. President has promised it, and most recently one of our Aurora Mayoral candidates promises "transparency & accountability."
*Definition of transparent:
1. obvious and easy to recognize: clearly recognizable as what it, he, or she really is
a transparent motive
2. frank: completely open and frank about things
was grateful for the transparent honesty of the reply
What do you see, or wish to see, be more transparent on the eastside of Aurora?
*Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
127 comments:
I would like to see women's clothes become more transparent. I think that would make the world a little more peacful.
peaceful
Why not men's clothes as well? Sauce for the goose...
But seriously, to me transparency in D131 would mean less secrecy. Publishing the check register is definitely a step in the right direction; so is this blog.
It's gotten so a lot of us are cynical. We've been disregarded & disrespected so often that we expect administrators to automatically deny us basic information and cover up their blunders, as they have in the past. Which is unfair to those administrators who are genuinely trying to be accountable to the public (and there are a few good ones).
It would be SO nice to be able to trust those in power to make decisions in students' best interests--and to hear a plan for fixing those decisions that have proven to be detrimental instead of just defending & denying blunders!
Maybe with a couple of fresh faces on the School Board things can improve a bit.
Just having information available to the public is a big part of transparency. For example, it's almost March and so much of our district website is still "coming soon" or "pardon our dust". I could care less about the fancy pictures on the site--I want actual information, not excuses this far into the school year!
I think they need to redo the committee format of the school board too so they are more transparent and not hide things in the minutes like when they renewed the Superintendents contract. I think these committee members should be more accountable to the public and teachers because they know what is going on to and turn the other way.
There are some things that are written on blogs that you know are not true but on here some things keep coming up and there is truth to it. One thing for sure I do believe that teachers ideas are overlooked and probably if you are not playing the good ole boy game you are thrown to the side.
I hope things do change for the better but it will take strong people on the board to stand up for what is right and we do have two and hopefully we will get more.
It not only takes strong people on the board, but the support of the community and not just on this blog.
I'm reading in the Beacon this morning that Dr. Roberts and Mr. Muhammad are pushing for a mandatory community service requirement for high school students.
I remember that Waubonsie H.S. used to have that, and it was a big headache for both students and administration. Now they do what EHS had done for years (and what works best for everyone)--recognize students who volunteer in the community with a special award.
Do we need yet another requirement for graduation? Or could this be perhaps a publicity ploy, from D131 administrators desperate to distract the public from all the dirt they've swept under the rug over the past several years?
I don't remember us parents and taxpayers being consulted about whether we think students should be required to jump through still another hoop--is this just another example of lack of transparency?
Transparency is only half of the equation. The other half is accountability.
ACCOUNTABILITY: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.
When we see our leaders wrongdoing and nothing is done to hold the wrongdoers accountable, we see anger and apathy grow in a community.
The purpose of a school board is have an organization that the adminstrators must be held accountable to. The board is supposed to be the final check and balance.
We have a growing problem when board members know about administrator wrongdoing and do nothing to stop them (or worse help to sweep them under the rug).
We need a board that is no longer going to just rubber stamp every idiot notion the administrators pass before them. We need board members that are willing to listen to teachers, community members and administrators and then use common sense judgement.
There must be transparency and accountability if we are going to provide the best possible education for our children.
I read the article too and think this is just something to make Roberts look good. Community Service should be a choice and not something your made to do to graduate.
The Board really needs to look into this. Does a school district have the right to require something like this for someone to graduate.
I would think they would work more on getting these children a better education and keeping them in school to graduate.
You will have a Board that still rubber stamps everything. Four of the candidates are old guard. Salinas, Wells, Chapa and Gonzalez.
Let's see if Roberts brings this to the board before doing this. In doing a search on this and reading articles in everyone of them it talked about the board approving this first. First the committee looked into it and took it to the Superintendent and he brought it to the board to approve.
We need a strong board that will do the job they are suppose to and not let the Superintendent and his PR person do it for them. It is not a formality for the board to vote on something.
Here is just on website where the board had to approve having community service as a requirement.
www.tcad20.org/media/EDocs/Community_Service_Policy.pdf -
Here is another website of a school district and how the board discussed the community service issue. I must say the minutes are impressive not just bits. Maybe someone can ask them how they do this and can give some suggestions for our district. Maybe whoever does the minutes gets help with them.
In reading about the community service requirements for graduation it seems that many schools have done this or thought about this quite awhile back and here is our district just thinking about it.
I know Anita and sometimes Annette post on here I wonder what there thoughts are about this and how it is being handled. Do they think the board should approve it first?
http://www.eths.k12.il.us/boardofed/minutes/071607m.pdf
I went and looked at the minutes from 2/17 and it looks like Dr. Gonzalez did do a presentation on the community service requirements. Did the board vote on it or was this just the presentation?
I do not see anything in the article though where the board approved this. So why are they putting this in the paper without the boards approval and if they did why didn't it say so in the article. It is their responsibly to approve this not the superintendents.
Here is a press release from another school district with something about community service requirements with no PR person talking about it.
http://nwi.com/articles/2009/01/21/news/lake_county/doc47e0d761dfc5b60e86257545000bb8e4.txt
From The Teaching Excellence Network on 12/3/08.
How valuable are high school community service hours?
by desertjim
The transition website of President elect Obama includes a page titled “America Serves”. The site says that the Obama-Biden administration intends to set a goal that all middle school and high school students engage in 50 hours of community service a year.
Of course, community service for high school students is hardly a new idea. Many high schools started adding community service to their curriculums 15 years ago. Now, schools all across the nation require some number of service hours as a graduation requirement. Pacific Collegiate school in Santa Cruz, CA, requires 20 hours of community service a year for high school students and 10 hours a year at junior high. South Houston high school requires 25 hours a year (100 hours completed by graduation). The largest requirement I found was at Robert F. Kennedy high school in Queens, NY. Students (sophomore-senior) must accomplish 200 hours of community service before being allowed to graduate.
The push for more community service from high school students is coming even as cynics are calling existing programs a form of forced altruism. Not only are some college admissions officers rolling their eyes at bogus sounding claims of service, but high schools are scaling back the requirements, acknowledging that a lot of the so-called service is meaningless. Lauren Swierczal, who took over last year as director of community service at a private school in the Bronx said, “I was finding [a] fixation more on hours than acts of service.”
Not everyone is put off by the community service requirement. Angelica Body-Lawson, a junior at private Horace Mann in New York said her younger sister, a middle school student with no hourly requirements, recently volunteered for a project that made crafts for the children of battered women, and the work went late into the night. Amasheka Collins, a junior at Harlem’s Frederic Douglass Academy worked with Columbia University students on a self-sustaining greenhouse project. She enjoyed the challenge and working with the Columbia students as much as the act of construction. Frederick Douglass students are now coaching elementary students in the neighborhood in their own robotics league. (6)
What is a reasonable expectation for community service from high school students? Should the service be part of graduation requirements? Do such programs contribute to a citizenry that grows up to see value in voluntary contributions to the larger community?
Labels:
How did you look at the minutes from 2/17. They are not posted
Encouraging community service=good idea.
Celebrating community service=good idea.
Requiring community service=bad idea.
I meant the agenda.
Approx. 6+ years ago, I attended community advisory meetings @ EAHS when few community members attended. I requested of Marin G. that we put more focus on student accomplishment in our handbooks, (i.e. Mayor's silver cord community service award & other clubs and class awards that may be earned while in H.S.) rather than handbooks only addressing rules & punishments.
I did much data gathering. A few years later, lo & behold, Marin had staff put together a small handbook, and it was finally distributed. I am unaware if it still made available at registration.
Many of our students do community service and don't even realize they are doing it. Many of our EA students have earned the silver cord and the Ted Brattin community service award. Many more qualify, they just didn't have anyone guiding them through the process to be acknowledged for their service.
Maybe making it a requirement isn't the best answer, but I think it is worth a try. Community service is beneficial in so many ways. I cannot see anything negative coming from a student working in their community. The total requirement will be minimul over 4 years.
Please enlighten me, so that I have a better perspective as we move forward with this plan. I feel this project benefits many more students and families than say a .....Magnet school.
I think community service should be a personal choice not something you need to do as a requirement for graduation. It is good for the school to promote something like this but to make them do it and not really want to is not the right thing to do.
We need to make sure the children are getting a good education and as we all know our middle schools and high schools are on the watch list from the state. Maybe we should focus on helping them learn before we force community service on them. If there are already programs in place with these awards why should we make them do it. In doing my search on this many schools have tired this and then taken it out as a requirement.
In response to February 22, 2009 10:53 AM—
As a supporter of community service I think making it mandatory is an excellent idea. Many schools in the area already do this and 40 hours is certainly not a lot of time over four years. Giving back to the community is a valuable lesson at any age. I know from personal experience I have learned and gained back more through community service opportunities than I have given.
I was at the meeting on Feb 17th and thought the presentation by Mrs. Conrad and Mr. Harmon was well done and thought through. The school already keeps track of service hours for the Silver Cord Award so the mechanism is already in place to track. They are also going to be sensitive to the families where the students work or take care of siblings. They can gain their hours during study periods or before or after school doing various activities in the school building.
Yes, I think the board should approve it before it becomes a requirement. I would also like to see a few moments at the end of board meetings for public comments on what was presented that evening.
Also just to get it straight I think that Sheila Conrad, (through listening to the Community Advisory Group and people like Rayanne, and Dee) was the one that spearheaded this idea, not Dr. R. He is just taking credit.
I find it amazing the way every time somebody exposes the wrongdoing in this district like Dr. Jerome Roberts using district personnel for his private use or Nestor Garcia using his position and taking money that is never reported to the district, there is a flood of crap added to this blog and a new category created by Rayanne to try and bury the reported wrong doing.
These people need to be held accountable for their illegal actions as do the others at central office who have been shown to be doing illegal things.
Public service by students is great but the bottom line is simple. The more requirements you require for graduation, the lower the graduation rate is going to be. This district already has an abysmal graduation rate but apparently the administration and board don't give a damn about the kids as long as it makes the administration and board appear to look good.
I'm sorry but I don't think it should be a requirement but an option. Are you going to stop a child from graduating from school for not having done community service? Isn't learning the most important thing? As we grow in our adult live we should have to have the choice of what we want to do with it. Why shouldn't we make it so all children have to play sports or be in a club to graduate? Who are you to tell someone how to live their lives? How about all of you educators just giving the students the education to make the right decisions to help in a community.
What else will you make to have a child graduate from school? There is to much government in our lives let us make our own decisions.
As we go to election time for new school board members I will have to make some hard decisions and Anita you are off my list.
2/22/09 @ 6:48 you are so right. It doesn't matter who thought this up but if you look many districts have stopped this community service requirement. I don't care who brought it up or who takes credit for it. If this is all our district can do for our children we are in bad shape. Giving them the best education is first and we are not doing this. Making them do community service to graduate is wrong it should be a choice and not a requirement.
From another blog.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Encouraging community service=good idea.
Celebrating community service=good idea.
Requiring community service=bad idea.
2/22/09 2:26 PM
Why doesn't this district like the West side make sure that the children who go to school here really live in this district? It might seem strange that someone would send their children here if they didn't but it does happen. The West side did and their enrollment dropped. But not us we are too concerned about if our children our doing community service.
Let's fix the problems we have before making more graduating requirements.
This district won't do what the west side did. The fact is, we get most of our money from the state and that depends on enrollment. The more students we have, the more money we get.
We hear this talk about making community service as a requirement for graduation but we don't hear anything about updating our out of date learning books. We don't hear of updating an old school like Waldo where if it is still true children sit in the halls. We don't hear how the district is going to make the test scores go up we hear that they what to make community service a requirement for graduation. What is wrong with this picture. If we can't provide a good involvement for our children before they get into high school how do you think they will want to do community service if where they come from is not safe or where they are cramped into a school. Yes the parents and the community needs to get involved before this but lets not make our children do something for the community before you give themselves something to be proud of.
The statement in the Beacon where the person called to thank the kids from Waldo was excellent. These students not only gave back, but cheered the other team. No one asked them to do it and they did it and this is the way it should be. To these Waldo students, I am very proud of you and so are many others. These students need to be recognized by this district. This was done from their hearts and that is the way it should be.
They should be recognized for losing and having a good attitude. Please. It is not that special. Get over it.
"Exposed wrong doing........and to try and bury the reported wrong doing."
Nothing was exposed, nothing was buried. I see no facts or witnesses to back up the accusations. If you have them and what you say is true, this blog is not the place to lodge your complaint. Even if brought before the school board, w/o evidence of your claims, there is not a violation. What do you expect anyone to do, on your anonymous statement alone?
Reports can be made and filed, anonymously, by those who were forced to work outside their job description.
Be a part of the solution or remain a part of the problem.
To February 22, 2009 6:48 PM-sorry you don't agree with me on the community service and therefore are not going to vote for me. i will continue to support the program and think that it will not keep our kids from graduating. 40 hours of community service is not the problem, it just asking our kids to give back to the community. It might be the thing that keeps some of them in school, when they realize they can make a difference.
Now back to the original topic-
Transparency and Accountability-
To me transparency means being open as much as possible, unless it invades privacy or confidentially rules. To put it in terms of the School District it means having open discussions with the community on issues like-
-the Magnet school,
-renewing the superintendents contact a year early and with a huge pay raise
-the community service hours
-the soft skills program
-busing
-how we are going to achieve acceptable test scores
-posting the check registry (and helping us to understand what it really means)
-the safety of the schools
and the list goes on and on.
I hate reading news about the district in the Beacon News or on a blogsite. We have a district spokesperson who should do a better job communication with us the important issues and we should be talking about the hard decisions that need to be made to make the district better.
Accountability means admitting when something is not working or a mistake has been made. It means being open and willing to try new things and not just continue on “because I said so” or “because it’s always been that way”
Has anyone ever looked at District 129's agendas & minutes on line? They are much more informative. They include details such as who is being hired, who is resigning, etc. instead of just a generic 'personnel report approved'.
It would be very easy to investigate both instances of wrongdoing. You simply speak to the districts maintenance people. The electricians, HVAC, computer, etc. and find out how many have been forced to go to Joliet to work for Roberts. You're only talking about a dozen people. It wouldn't be very difficult.
The second allegation is even easier. The soccer teams that use East Highs fields have given Nestor Garcia thousands of dollars for the use of that field. Has any of that money been placed into the districts accounts? It's easy enough to speak to the soccer players and find out how much money has traded hands the past few years.
The problem is that the only ones who can really investigate this are the board members. Roberts isn't going to investigate himself and none of his subordinates have the power to. The board are the only ones who have the power to investigate and we know this board won't. In fact they will probably give hm another raise and contract extension instead.
It is my understanding that the soccer teams don't pay anything to play on the fields.
I'm sure no money makes it to the district from the soccer teams. But Nestor Garcia has received thousands from them.
I was a a board meeting back in Sept. of 07 where presented a check for $1,000 for use of the soccer field.
If you know for a fact that Nestor is taking money from them you are at fault as much as Nestor. If you have proof you can even contact ISBE and they will handle it.
As an employee of the district, There are only certain things you can do without incurring the wrath of administrators. Sometimes, our only option is to let events you see be known in places like this blog and hope those who see it will ask the right questions to uncover the wrongdoing of our superiors.
There is nothing that anyone can do if your telling it on a blog. Where is your proof? If you have proof show it on here. If you can't trust the administration there are other avenues you can take and if you get crap from the administrators hire yourself a lawyer or talk to some who would proably be happy to take a case if you where fired.
Here we go again having someone from central office or administration or maybe PR trying to stir up trouble on this blog. If I was Nestor I would be mad that the people I work for would use me as a ploy to stir up people about the misuse of funds from the district for my own benefit. Taking thousand from a district is a no no and when people do a search on him no matter if he did it or not it is out there for people to see if they do a search on him since you give no proof.
As far as Roberts making workers of the district coming over to do work for him at his home in another district will also be all over if someone does a web search. Is this how low some of you will go to ruin a persons life. It is not us on the blog we speak of things that have happened and not what we can't prove.
I'm sure as we go to elect new board members some are worried about what will happen if the old school board members get voted out but to make these kind of statements when some might lose their jobs will not be good for them when they need to get new jobs if the employers do a web search.
So YES WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE in electing new school board members but we are not that low to make up things that are not true that could hurt someone in getting another job if they have too.
I consider myself a pretty informed parent and voter. I read the paper and watch the news. I call my sons teachers and go to parent conference and read the board bits on the websight. How else do you think the district can be transparent? I have always had my questions answered when I have asked at my sons school. A few times I have called the service center and have gotten answersss there too. I always thought that I was pretty informed about what was going on. I reallly don't understand why everyone on this blog thinks the district is not being trasnparent. My sister and her family live in another district. They get their news about the school district the same way I do from the paper and by calling their kids schools. they dont feel their district is hiding information, why do people in this district?
Transparency for me involves being able to access information that I need and deserve to have. The good news is, in the last year or so we've had a bit more information available online (board bits updated regularly; check register published). The bad news is, certain important information is still not forthcoming online. The high school website is still filled with "pardon our dust", "coming soon", or "thanks for your patience". And Dr. Roberts promised back in August that "soon you will be able to" click on administrators' pictures and read information.
I'd like to know how the folks in the central office define the word "soon". Because thousands of taxpayers are effectively being denied information (and transparency) by this delay.
I feel and know the district is not being transparent when they renew a superintendants contract a year early with a supstantial raise and not informing the community(if a board member had not caught this, it would have just been snuck bY),when they let a Magnet Academy open without taking it to the board first, is not suppose to cost the district anymore money and does, when the school board allows a superintendant to go against policy(paying for workshops that should not be and letting them take their families) also taking a secretary that should not have been taken and her family. These are just some examples.
Sorry, forgot to put my name on the above posting
Getting information from teachers are a good form of information. But as for the day to day dealings and how your money is being spent will not be in the newspaper or on the news. Parents call teachers to get information on how their kids are doing in class but they do not tell you what is going on in the whole district that is not their job.
As a parent and a community member you should be aware of changes in policy that will effect you child, how money is being spent and what changes this district is doing to improve your child's education. That comes from the school board and the superintendent and if you don't attend school board meetings you will not know what is happening. If you attend meetings you will see how they hide things in minutes so you really don't know what they are doing. If they decide to change a program or a way they are teaching your child that will not first come from a teacher that comes from the district and when they decide to change it it is to late for you to complain. It will also not be in the paper unless the district decides to but it in there.
So remember it is the school board job to make policy, approve what is taught in the classroom and anything else in the district. It is the Superintendents job to do what the school board has put in place and that is not what happens in this district it is the other way around. The Superintendent changes the rules to suit him and most school board members let him do it.
The Board Bits for the February 17th meeting are online today, and I noticed several mentions of the proposed "community service initiative". My question is, does everyone understand that this initiative will be MANDATORY? If so, I wonder how many will support it wholeheartedly?
I'm one who is all in favor of community service. I volunteer 3 hours each week tutoring immigrant women learning to speak English. I volunteer because I want to help my community and because it makes me feel good to help someone else. I'm not sure I'd have the same attitude if it were something I was required to do!
Why can't our district use carrots instead of sticks to accomplish its goal to get kids to give back? Some examples might be:
--have a recognition banquet for volunteers (like the "Top 10%" scholars banquet held every spring)
--publish Silver Service Award achievers' names in the newspaper
--give a small plaque or trophy to recognize Silver Service students, preferably at one of the spring awards assemblies at EHS
--put a special seal with "Silver Service Award" on high school transcripts, so colleges can see that a student willingly gave of his/her time to the community
There are SO many ways to encourage students to volunteer; why does our administration choose to make it mandatory, and (it looks like to me) without even consulting students or parents first??
Mandatory public service, required of East High Students;
and Convicted Criminals.
Will the kids need to wear the orange jumpsuits?
You make some good points 2/25/09 @ 9am.
I think it is a good idea for everyone to do community service where rich or poor. what your stasis in this district is on the receiving end of charity or not you can help in little ways. As some as said instead of doing study hall if you don't have homework to do go and help someone to read or do math. There are many children in this district that help others in other ways. But we also lead by example. How many of the administrators or the superintendent do community service in this district. We have some of these that don't even live in this district but get a nice pay check from us do they also help in our districts or theirs?
I do believe it is a good thing to help the community and no matter your situation you can help in some matter. But before we make it a requirement for graduation we must make sure that their leaders are also doing this no matter if they live in the district or somewhere else.
Where I work your raises and bonuses are based on your performance and community service. But as we know the district workers work for the state and the teachers get raises based on the union and the administrators, superintendent, maintenance workers and service center workers are base on what the teachers get. I'm not trying to come down on the teachers because there union is really all about the union and not the workers because you can see the union is more on administration side than the teachers but if you want to make community service a requirement for graduation than you should make sure the people working for the district are doing the same thing in the community they are working in.
The service center and maintenance is not based on what the teachers get, or they would be getting much less. In this district the above mentioned is way overpaid.
That is what I have heard.Wouldn't it be nice if the district would be more transparent? Or maybe like some say we get our information from the news and papers about our district.
Regarding February 25, 2009 7:52 PM
"The service center and maintenance is not based on what the teachers get, or they would be getting much less. In this district the above mentioned is way overpaid."
Don't know who specifically you're referring to as 'the service center' but secretaries and maintenance got a less percent raise than the teacher's did, so how would they be getting much less if they got what the teachers do?
I don't know why anyone is worried about what the teachers and support staff make in raises. They are lucky to get a three to four percent, cost of living raise. In other words adjusting for inflation, teachers barely break even. When you factor in the increased cost teachers are paying for health care, they have actually lost money in recent years.
What this district should be reviewing is the outrageous pay increases that the central office level administrators have been getting. In recent years 20-25% increases have been almost standard and some administrators have even received pay increases of over 30%. That's over 30% pay increase in just one year.
On top of that the district over the past 7 years has hired administrators at a much higher rate that other sectors. There has been a 7% increase in the number of support staff, a 12% increase in certified staff (teachers) and a 25% increase in the administrative staff.
The questions should be:
1) Do we really need this many administrators and
2) Should we be paying the administrators as much as they are currently making?
Can anyone tell me who to contact about out of district students? I have two younger children that attend St. Pauls on Benton. I was speaking with one of the teachers a Mrs Peara and she had made the comment that her daughter goes to East Aurora, I said don't you live in Elgin she just chuckled. Time passed I seen Mrs Peara at church with her husband, Isaid to my self I just seen Mr peara at the teachers confrence. This has been bugging me, who do I call?
My first question would be how she has gotten away with it so long because I've heard she has been doing this for awhile.
The first point of contact I believe should of been when she registered her children. How did she get something with an East Aurora address to prove she lived here. My guess is that the district knows and I don't think they will do anything.
What I would do if I had proof that I could give someone I would contact ISBE because they would be the only one to do something.
As stated before the more children that go here the more money the district gets so they don't really follow through like other districts do like the West side has done to get children that don't live in there district out of it. I believe they have made some pay back money to them.
Good luck with this. If you are really serious do your homework get proof and because I believe that the district won't do anything contact Illinois State Board of Education.
What is her first name?
I did a people search on Robert & Karen Peara and found this.
People Search Results
Make your selection below Addresses available instantly!
People found: 1 that match R PEARA in IL.
= Available Information
first name mi last name (req) city state age
# Name Age Phone Address City/State Relatives Premium Information
1 Robert Peara
Robert E Peara
Robert F Peara
Robert Pears
Robert F Reara
48
Address Available Phone Available Elgin , IL
Chicago , IL
Hanover Park , IL
Joseph Peara
Karen Elizabeth Peara
Rochelle S Peara
Sarah M Peara
Shelley Peara
View Details
I also looked up St. Pauls Lutheran School and read her bio on the schools website to find out what her husband names was and she stated that it was Bob which usually means Robert. She talked about going to East Aurora Schools and living in Chicago for a time. I believe this is her and there is no address in Aurora. I wonder how St. Pauls would feel if they knew she was lying to the district about where she lives. Also if they do they are suppose to be a church and if the condone this what does it say to the people that send their children there.
I believe that some in the district knows about them and shame on them because you can check for free on the web to find peoples addresses.
I checked. There are no teachers or students in this district with the last name of Peara or anything even close. The nearest was a teacher whose last name was Pearson and children named Perez. You may want to get your facts straight before you make any calls to the district or ISBE.
Faculty
1st Grade
Email:
kpeara@stpaulaurora.org
Phone:
630-896-3250 x16
My name is Karen Peara and I currently teach 1st Grade. This year is my 25th year of teaching.
I was lucky enough to follow in my father’s footsteps by attending and graduating from St. Paul. I went to East Aurora and then to Concordia, Chicago where I met my husband Bob. Bob works for Benjamin Moore Paint Company. We will be married 24 years in June.
We have 3 daughters, Kristen 22, Sarah 20, and Rachel 15. They also graduated from St. Paul. Kristen and Sarah attend Aurora University and Rachel is a sophomore at East High.
My first two years I taught at a small school in Chicago. After that I taught 10 years at St. John’s in Elgin. I have been at St. Paul ever since.
I knew from the time I was in 2nd Grade that I wanted to be a Lutheran school teacher. I loved my 2nd grade teacher, Miss Niemann so much. She always did the most wonderful things with us. Miss Niemann was the one who inspired me to be a Lutheran educator and I will always be grateful to her for that.
I did a search in the yellow pages on my computer.
Robert Peara
400 Lovell St.
Elgin, Il 60120-3859
Looked up the name to see if anyone named this lived here. What came up is the above.
I think someone has their facts straight.
The average person can't check the names of students in a school so you must be an administrator or someone who works for the district. If the average person can get the names of children in our district than you need to tighten your data bases so people out of the district can access that information because that could bring a lawsuit to the district.
Sorry it should of said can't. I'm sure the parents of this district doesn't want someone they don't know looking up their children's records.
Interesting press releases from the district with the Peara name.
http://www.d131.org/PDF/News%20Releases/2004-2005/Class%20of%202005%20Earns%20nearly%205%20million%20in%20scholarships.
pdfhttp://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?RecNum=4867&SubjectID=63
http://www.d131.kane.k12.il.us/PDF/News%20Releases/EAHS%20First%20Quarter%20Honor%20Roll.pdf
That looked like a bio from a school website to me. That means it would have to be from St. Paul's website. If this is so, then Karen Peara wrote it herself. These sites are accesible to anyone to read. Since she does not work for the district there should be no problem. I do not know how to access St.Paul's website, so I cannot check it out. Whoever did this could you please let us know how to get to it?
According to my daughter, Rachel Peara is not only a member of the sophomore class at East High but an honor student and outstanding volleyball player.
I think we have a lot of people here who need to get lives.
No I think you need to get a life. Why would someone from Elgin send there child to the East side and until someone can prove that these people have lived on the East side of Aurora will we believe it. The name is not a common name and do a search yourself to see if they have an address in Aurora.
So I would say ask this student where she lives. She might be great and deserves to get the best but if she doesn't live here she needs to go to the school she lives in.
Here is the website for St. Pauls.
http://www.stpaulaurora.org/school/
Look under about us and you will see teachers. There is a picture of Karen Peara and if any of you know that the is the parent of Rachel then you know something is wrong.
Is this person paying tution for the child or did she for her other children that went to school in this district? If not then she is no different than the illegals that everyone speaks about. A free ride at this communities expense.
It seems we are a on witch hunt here in this blog.
The Peara's are very nice people. Going back to another topic-I believe one of them earned a Ted Brattin award for outstanding community service.
I don't know where they live, but one thing is for sure-they have helped bring our overall school GPA up. The mom works in our community teaching many of our neighborhhod children. The girls have invested in going to Aurora's University.
Granted, if they do not live in East Aurora, they should pay like is expected of others. But this is not a family I wish to try and make a bad example of, when they have brought so much good to our community.
Next subject please.
Good people do bad things and it seems like this family is doing just that. What are they teaching their childen when they live in a different city but because their Mom works in Aurora they go to school here? Why don't they move here? They don't have to live in Aurora to go Aurora University unles they want to cheat them and say they live here.
If they are such good people why are the stealing from the district. You can bet they are not paying tution so there children are getting a free education.
So you think that because they have a good GPA and do communtiy service they should be able to break the law.
From Elgin Township Property search.
Property Address: Subdivision: Vincent S Lovell Addn
400 LOVELL ST Tax Description: Vincent S Lovell Addn Lot 7 Block 1
ELGIN ,IL 60120
Lot Size: 6,600
Billing Information: Est. Lot Size: 50 X 132
PEARA, ROBERT F & KAREN ELIZABETH Lot Acres: 0
400 Lovell St Property Class: 0040 Residential
Elgin , IL 60120
Year Type Land Building Total
2008 Normal 12,182 58,277 70,459
2007 Normal 11,791 56,404 68,195
Sale Date Sale Amount Doc #
4/1/1994 $ 118,000 94K037312
7/12/1989 $ 107,500
All property assessments DO NOT include exemptions
It makes you wonder why parents would lie about where there children lived to go to another school district. The children went to St. Pauls Lutheran on Benton street through 8th grade it looks like and they all did very well. All where on the honor roll played sports and lived in Elgin. For some reason their parents sent them to East Aurora where they did very well in school and played Volleyball and did well. Two have moved on and go to Aurora University and play Volleyball and do well. You can do a search and see that. The Aurora University gives a profile on the players and it says their Hometown is Elgin and they graduated from East Aurora.
Why are these parents enabling there children to lie? They are very good students but there lives are a lie since they live in Elgin. They have gotten a free education from district 131 and yes they have done well here but the fact is they live in another town. Someone in this administration knows all about this. How about the coach of Volleyball don't you think she should of?
What are we teaching these children by letting them continue to lie about where they live. How can this administration justify punishing any child that lies about something and letting this continue.
We might not have money problems but wouldn't you like to hear something like this if we did. It seems hard to believe that other districts are complaining about how the state is coming through with money and the East side is getting money. This is a district that is thinking ahead what is ours doing?
Anonymous school district 129 said...
The district will seek questions, comments and suggestions from the public at:
· 6 p.m., March 2, in the West Aurora High School cafeteria, 1201 W. New York St., Aurora, enter door #22;
· 7 p.m., March 11, at Todd Early Childhood Center, 100 E. Oak St., Aurora; and
· 7 p.m., March 12, at Lincoln Elementary School, 641 S. Lake Street, Aurora.
Like most families, businesses, institutions and governmental entities, the school district is facing a loss of revenue as a result of the economic recession. Factors affecting the district include:
· A decision by the state not to pay its obligations to local school districts on time;
· The possibility that the state may not pay some of its obligations at all this school year.
· A financial penalty imposed by the state for passing an operating rate referendum;
· The possible elimination and severe funding reduction of state early childhood grants for next school year.
· The elimination of some federal grants for next year; and
· A drop in property values, which is slowing the rise in equalized assessed valuation.
In addition, the district’s student population decreased this year, primarily as a result of an aggressive residency program that discovered nearly 400 students who did not live in the district.
As a result of these factors and the uncertainty about future funding, the school district is preparing a fiscally responsible budget that assumes a worst-case scenario but is flexible enough to respond should new funding become available. This includes taking this opportunity to reevaluate programs and look for ways to operate more efficiently.
A new federal stimulus law, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, tentatively has allocated more than $4 million for District 129. However, the funds are narrowly aimed at low-income and special education students, and the district does not know yet when the money would be available and whether it could be used to offset existing costs.
If the state fails to fund early childhood education next school year, the district’s proposed financial reduction calls for the elimination of its programs, with the exception of special education students, who are funded differently.
In addition, the plan proposes to close two school buildings no longer needed as a result of a drop in the district’s student population. The district would gain efficiencies by lowering operating, energy, maintenance and staffing costs.
The plan also calls for adjusting class sizes, while not exceeding district maximums, which would also lower staff costs.
Finally, the plan would slow refresh cycles by postponing the purchase of busses, painting of schools, installation of security systems and other non-emergency items. However, it would not eliminate the implementation of Vision 129, the district’s comprehensive plan to improve student learning. The district is still planning to increase instructional time in core subjects next year by lengthening and restructuring middle and elementary school days.
2/26/09 2:08 PM
Anonymous school district 129 said...
Reduction Assumptions
Revenue Assumptions
* Enrollment-No Increase
* General State Aid-Decrease--$9.9 Million
o Potential General State Increase Recommended
o Foundation Level @ $5,959-No Increase
o Average Daily Attendance-No Increase
* Operating Rate Penalty
o Operating Penalty Legislation
* Federal Revenue-No Increase
o Federal Revenue-Potential Stimulus Plan-Two Year Proposal
+ Title 1--$685,100
+ IDEA-Special Education--$1,630,400
+ Construction--$2,110,200
* State Grants-Dropped in Concert with List
o Arts and Foreign Language $98,420
o Class Size Reduction $335,205
o Fast Growth $374,629
o Preschool for All $240,000
* Federal Grants-Dropped in Concert with List
o Title 1 Reading First $1,089,376
o IEP (Bilingual) $74,085
o Improvement of Instruction $39,304
* New Construction Estimated @ $6.9 Million--Decrease
* Equalized Assessed Valuation 6.36%--Decrease
* Tax Objections Increase
* Corporate Personal Property Tax Replacement @ 0%--No Increase
* Student Fees/Local Revenue Estimated @ 5.26%--Decrease
* Unemployment Insurance—Increase
* Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Contribution—Increase
* Title 1 IMRF and TRS Contributions-Increase
* Dunham Grant Funding for Academy—Eliminated
* Revenue Summary
o Education $7,824,557—Decrease
o Operations and Maintenance $407,680—Decrease
o Transportation $600,774—Increase
o Social Security/IMRF/Working Cash $42,807—Decrease
* Expenditures Year to Date Summary
Expenditure Reduction and Revenue Increase Options
Teaching and Learning
* Delay Implementation of Professional Development and Instructional Materials Phases of Teaching and Learning Plan of Work
* Evaluate Drivers Education Program Including FTE (5) Allocated, Program Schedule and Fee (Maximum Allowed $250)
* Freeze All During the Day Field Trips
* Evaluate/Re-Configure Middle & High Alternative Program Delivery Model
* Evaluate/Re-Configure Early Childhood/Preschool Special Education Program
* Delay Instructional Technology Refresh Cycle
* Delay Implementation of New Student Services Software
* Allow Early Out at High School for Students with Graduation Credits
* Establish Course Minimums and Parameters for Elective Offerings
Safe-Secure Facilities
* Audit All Facilities to Determine Available Space
* Evaluate Allocation of Students/Boundaries to Determine Efficient Use of Existing Facilities Including the Number of Facilities Online
o Consider Closing Facilities for Programmatic and Efficiency Reasons
o Efficiency Includes Operating Costs, Transportation Costs, Maintenance
* Delay Implementation of the Facilities Plan of Work
o Consider Federal Stimulus Plan’s Impact
o Continue to Respond to Issues of Safety
o Delay Regional Office of Education Non-Critical Recommendations
* Delay Implementation of the Bus Refresh Cycle
* Evaluate Custodial Model to Determine Cleaning Alternatives
Fiscal Responsibility
* Decrease Elementary Staffing to Adhere to AEAW Maximums (Target 29)
* Decrease Middle School Staffing to Adhere to AEAW Maximums (Target 17)
* Decrease High School Staffing to Adhere to AEAW Maximums (Target 24)
* Decrease Staffing as Result of Early Childhood Program Change
* Decrease Staffing as Result of Relocation of Students
* Evaluate District and Building Level Administration
* Zero Base Budgeting for Equipment Purchases
* Increase Average Daily Attendance (ADA)-Revenue Increase
* Increase First Day Attendance
* Develop Retirement Incentives to Decrease Cost of Staffing Mix
* Increase Fees for Registration and Selected Instructional Services-Revenue Increase
* Increase Facilities Usage Fees-Revenue Increase
* Increase Food Service Fees-Revenue Increase
* Communicate with All Unions to Determine Options for Economic Conditions
* Evaluate Benefits Program to Determine Efficiency and Effectiveness Options
* Examine Alternative Revenue Funding Financing Options
* Increase Free & Reduced Lunch Count
* Rent Facilities Not Used by the District
* Delay Implementation of New Financial Services Software
Community Involvement
* Develop Volunteer Program Including Volunteer Coordination and Recognition
* Develop High School Broadcast Journalism Program to Support Web Casting
* Evaluate the Use of Outside Vendor for Web Casting Needed with Broadcast Program in Place
* Collaboratively Develop with A+ Foundation the “Fund A Need” Process
2/26/09 2:09 PM
We would never be proactive because the Board is just not the caliber of the West Board or any other one. We also have money problems Jay Augustine is just not telling us. I just can not believe we are the only one out of the State, Federal and Local not to have problems. Were is the budget for the Magnet School is that why Jay is not talking???
It has been explained here, again and again.....131 might as well not have a board. The majority ALWAYS rules in favor of what the superintendent requests.
The purpose of that board is to oversee his work as being in the best interest of the districts children.
The Board priortized Dr. Roberts contract before more important issues, a year early, with a much higher value than would have been if they had allowed the final year to be completed under his old contract. I am sure the fear of he and his ol' time board friends is his contract would come up (june) after the new board would be in place.
131 may have been able to replace him for not moving in the district-heaven for bid he would actually have to live in Aurora!
To follow that up, they caved in to threats from the secretaries. Dr. Roberts & board-can you say "outsource?"
One of you bloggers has been petty in commenting they would not vote for Anita because of her stand on ONE topic. You better re-evaluate, and look at what is important to the candidate as a whole. Be an "educated" voter.
Ask Fernando Salinas how many times he has missed meetings and what his wife's secretaries salary means for him and his family?
Ask Juanita how many trips she has gone on (and taken her grandchild/ child)and our tax dollars have paid for. I cannot afford to go to Florida/ Disney area with my family.
I guess when the superintedent takes his wife & son and says it is OK to mix business with pleasure, while a failing, cashed strapped district pays for it, how can a board member refuse?
Well at least 4 others did!
People! Look at the candidates, ask yourself their motivation for being on the board. Is it self serving or public serving?
You are correct look into the people that are running why is the District not having a candidates forum. They had forums on getting the referendum passed. Why are the candidates not allowed to come to PTA meeting who are these people that are running? Is it because the ones that are qualified will not be given a voice.
Vote for Salinas!
Any of the candidates can write a letter to the Editor about running and they would probably print it.
I don't think someone would not vote for Anita even though they stated that for just one thing. It was probably just a gut reaction and when they thought about it they realized that wouldn't help anyway.
It would be nice to see if The PTA or some other school group could put together something for the candidates so the community could hear how they think things are going in the district.
Feb. 28, 2009 at 9:01AM is correct in their whole statement. Do not penalize Anita Lewis for her comment. This is one issue and she is being honest on how she feels. Lisa Morales also went along to make sure if there was an issue with the travel arrangements she could correct them. Her family went with also. Shame on Roberts for this. NO place of business does this.
The Beacon is doing a election survey they will not print individual candidate letters. The Tribune is also doing a Election Survey however these are short pieces and you can not tell who a candidate really is by this article. The mayor will have at least 4 debates yet the city only effects are tax by 8% over 50% goes to the schools. West is having debates why not East.
Is it because Salinas will look like a idiot. Went he was defeated last time he never had the guts to show up at a debate.
I will vote for Salinas when hell freezes over. He is not a good example for the Hispanic community.
Anita I was having a moment when I read what you wrote about the community service and while I still think that it shouldn't be a requirement for graduation I believe you have some of the best qualifications for the board.
I do believe Annette Johnson also will be a good candidate. She has financial background which will be good for the district.
I also believe that we need a good Hispanic on the board that could help Hispanic children and parents learn that learning the English language and keeping the Spanish language would be a thing for all.
The West Side does so much more in getting information out to their district even when it comes to school board elections and as most can see how they are handling their money concerns. Not here in district 131.
In reading the blog on this posting I haven't seen anything more about the questioning of the children that some believe live in Elgin. Does anyone know anything more about that? It looks like the West side did something about their problem. They said they had 400 students that they found that didn't live in the district and took care of that even though they are going through money problems. Is the East side going to keep putting their heads in the sand and over look it because it brings more money in and not for the good of the education of the children but their pocket books? If the West side can find a solution for this so should we and if we can't we need to go over and talk to the West side and see how they found the solution. We might have been the 1st. School District in Illinois but we haven't moved to much forward from that like others.
The people on this blog are still missing the point. The majority of the districts money comes from the state not from local taxes, which means the more students we have the more money the board has to give Roberts bigger raises.
This district has no reason to remove students from the district because then they would lose money.
The West Side loses money when they have out of district children in their buildings. The East Side gains money when they have out of district students in their buildings.
The only way this district will lose money on out of district students is if they stated spending money on the children.
No we are not missing the point having out of district is wrong. By letting out of district children here cost more in the long run. The only way they get more money is for bilingual programs and programs like that. The West side loses money also when this happens that's why they cleaned house.
Not that this administration or school board cares but they are stealing from the district and again breaking state and local policy. Who are they to pick and chose out of district children that go here. What is this teaching these children?
No you are wrong. They do get more money for every kid that attends.
If they get so much money why did we need a referendum?
Nobody says they get a lot of money you idiot. They just said that what they do get, is based on attendance. Why is that so hard for you to understand.
6:15
West has a candidate forum scheduled at AU on March 10th. They had one last election cycle too. They did some set questions and some from the audience.
3/1/09 10:13 AM
See how the West side handles things they aren't afraid to let all their candidates speak.
I am a reader of this blog but a first time writer. I am saddened to read so many negative comments about a family whose children attend East High. I understand that a blog is a place to share opinions and air laundry, but to publicly mention someone's name in conjunction with words such as "stealing" and "illegal" is slander. Instead of adding fuel to the fire, consider the idea that there may be no fire at all. Perhaps they did pay the amounts needed to attend d131. Perhaps the children are living with a family member due to financial concerns or personal matters. It may be that your presumptions and google searches don't really lead to the entire truth. And it may be that discussing such a private matter in a public forum is really embarrassing.
If you suspect that someone is attending community schools but does not live in the district, by all means look into it! But please be respectful of others and their privacy, and deal with it in a mature and non-accusatory manner.
Contact someone you trust in authority. Check in with them often to make sure the issue is being addressed. And if they are not giving you the answer for which you are looking, take the next step higher. But by all means, let's not disrespect others. This is the most important part of the education of our children.
And whoever the staff member is that used the district database for this discussion - shame on you.
This family has been doing this for years and the district knows it. There are some others also. You can bet they are not paying tuition or there would be no need to discuss this. First time writer or not no means any harm but wrong is wrong and if it is why hasn't anyone from the family said something. It is a fact do your research and you will see that no one with that names lives in the city of Aurora. If you read the mothers bio she has where she works her husband and her have been married many years and are happy.
You don't say anything about what they said about Nestor taking money from the school or Roberts using maintenance workers from the school. I believe someone who writes on the blog said they didn't believe that and I don't but your upset about this.
You are kidding thinking they are paying tuition. If I was able to pay tuition for my child to go to high school it wouldn't be at East Aurora not that there aren't good things happening there but why would I expose my child to that environment when I could send them somewhere else.
I believe someone stated they saw the parents at church and they seemed to be very happy.
Karen Peara in IL: 1 records, 1 unique records.
Full Name Age & Birth Year Relatives & Associates Street Address & Property Value City & State Zip Phone Number Photo Free Criminal Records Check Advanced Results
KAREN E PEARA 48
(1961) Robt Peara
Robert F Peara, 49
400 LOVELL ST ELGIN ILLINOIS 60120 847-741-5580 View USDOJ Background Check
I don't really know why they are doing this but someone posted about this and there is some truth to it. Two other of their children have graduated from the district so if there where some family problems you would think they would of solved them by now.
Yes, families go through tough times but do you really think they are letting the children stay somewhere else during this time it has been years.
Maybe the district needed good volleyball players or need students that made good GPA scores but whatever the reason it is wrong.
I think someone from the district dropped this one like others to show how things aren't done right here.
And whoever the staff member is that used the district database for this discussion - shame on you. Yes, shame on them because they don't know how to use it since the children names our in there.
Rayanne you need to stop these posts NOW. Posting kids names and addresses is not appropriate.
These are not the kids names they are the parents names. I don't believe any of us would post the children s names and if you ever do a search on a child's name you can't find them.
Why don't you read back a few posts and you will find their names and a link to their names on a document. So yes there are people that stupid. You are one of them. I hope you all get sued for slandar.
Rayanne, being such a "good and distinguished" board member. You should be advocating children's rights. TAKE THEIR NAMES OFF THE BLOG and DELETE ANY INFORMATION WITH THEIR ADDRESSES.
Clayton must have been in charge of this years "making choices for excellence awards". There were at least a dozen awards given including the one Clayton received for himself. Every single award winner was black.
This isn't Maywood or Bellwood or Harvey where the population is almost entirely black and it is likely and understandable that all the awards would go to black recipients. The East Side has a black enrollment of less than 10% and every award winner is black? Something seems very out of wack here.
As we have many times before seen Clayton's racism, I believe it starts with him. However as the board is very aware of Clayton's racism, the fault ends with them.
I have read back and I don't see the names of the children. Which post are you referring too. If you are referring to Karen's bio that is out there on the web. She has done her bio and it is out there on the web just like all the kids if you do a search. Anyone that wants to do a search about this family can see this on the web if they do a search and it seems that the East side has these names when they are talking about the volleyball team. I have looked and the only address I see are of the parents. You are making people look for the kids address and they are not there. Copy and post what you are saying is true. If the names are posted then that means that anyone who wants to do a search can find them. If you are referring to the bio of the mother than you need to blame her not Rayanne. There is no reference to the addresses. There is no mention of where the children live so you are fueling this fire not them.
Go do a search and you will find all the information you need and Rayanne didn't put all this on the web. It is out there if you want to look into it.
Rayanne don't take away public information. Why if these people live in another district and being their children to our district would we not want to know that. It is our there all of our information. Anyone wanting to know about people can access this. So NOW THAT IT IS OUT THERE DO YOUR RESEARCH AND ANY PARENT OR TAXPAYER CAN SEE HOW THIS DISTRICT DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THEM.
For any parent that has issues with how there child has been treated in this district and to the parents of children that go to Waldo who have issues we can know that this district is more concerned about a family from Elgin that they don't pay taxes in this district but we will give their children an education before the ones that do.
Can you tell me why these children are so special. Some of them are going to Aurora University so those names can be made public. Who are these people and why are they any better than the children that live in this district.
What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive. That is what this district and their parents are doing.
THERE:
According to my daughter, Rachel Peara is not only a member of the sophomore class at East High but an honor student and outstanding volleyball player.
February 26, 2009 9:20 PM
I think that D131 should rent those schools if D129 closes them, send the students from Waldo there. Then tear down Waldo and rebuild it since this district is landlocked and has no place else to build. What are your thoughts on this?
Lincoln Elementary is older than Waldo and is overcrowded with 250 elementary students. It wouldn't house even 200 middle school kids.
There are also imaginary lines on the ground called district boundaries. The state frowns on making children cross these lines. Apparently, only the district office can cross these lines as their address has a 60506 zip code.
Waldo also has historical status. That is why the district spent most of the upgrade dollars for the three middle schools at Waldo. At that time, it was decided that tearing down Waldo and building a new school would be cheaper than reparing the old but the districts hands were tied because of the historical aspect of the building. Thus, the district took a lot of the money intended for Simmons and Cowherd and funneled it into Waldo.
I think that this topic has gotten way too much attention.
For those of you concerned about the addressess. They are accessible to millions of people with a few clicks thru the internet.
Those of you calling this family names and making accusations-either call the district office and report it, check with the family and ask them yourself if you are so concerned. To keep blasting them here on this blog resolves nothing.
My children went to school with 2 of these girls. They are a very nice family, whose parents attended many events at the school. We have far more students moving in and out, back and forth across the river-I don't see those names being hammered in here. Those students whose parents are not as concerned with their children's education. Whose children have brought nothing but problems to our schools, so they move the children only to have them return in a year or 2.
Where was the outcry when another board members grandchildren got caught attending West for YEARS while living on the eastside.
Let it go-or work outside this blog to resolve it, if you truly want the truth to be found.
As always Rayanne has to have the last word. Nice family or not they are getting a free ride on our dime. Again why live in Elgin and go to school here. The district knows the names of the others also.
How about no more of Mr.K.
7:53, there was no mention of Mr. K. that I could find previously on this particular thread.
But since YOU brought it up, I will mention this:
When you Google someone's name in quotation marks, you will see a list of websites mentioning that name, in order of popularity (number of "hits"). Google "Kevin Kaisershot", and you'll see 1,680 sites listed. The 4th most popular (most viewed) site is the Openline thread from 2005 discussing how Mr. K. was bullied out of his high-school teaching position.
Thousands of people read the news release and/or interview about Mr. K's recent award, and many of them are probably interested in finding out more about him. One thing they're definitely finding out is how he was treated unfairly by this district 4 years ago.
So don't think this issue will go away soon. And thanks for being the first one on this thread to mention it!
So don't think the issue of letting now residents go to our schools like the Pearas.
What happened to Kasiershot is bad but he is not the only one who has proably been treated bad by the admininstration. There are more important things that need to be dealt with and if we have a board member that can't let it go then she should.
Well, if you vote in Anita you will have another member who can't let it go.
I have a little more faith in Anita that she will not use being on the board for a ruse to get back at the board for what happened to Kasiershot. She seems to have many good qualifications that the district could use. Hopefully her and Rayanne will not band together to keep this up with that subject since we have so many others. One thing would be to do like the West side did and really look into all the residency issues no matter who it is. It is true the district gets more money for the children we have but Jay says we have no money problems it shouldn't be a issue.
I did vote for Rayanne but it seems like she is stuck in one mode. I know it is hard to get anything done on the board but use common sense and fight the battles you can win the children deserve it.
Yes i did go to the St. Pauls web site, that is the correct person under Karen Peara. No i'm not on a witch hunt I'm on a b ch hunt I want two administrators held accuontable If they know about this then they should be held accountable. Quick math about $60,000.00 give or take any discounts. Since I am a tax payer I want to see my money paying for our local students. bill them buco or send them to collections, then fire Conrad and Gonzales. Oh by the way I do have proof, so I should turn this over to the state
How do we KNOW that the administration KNOWS they should not be there. They could easly use a fake address and I don't think it is the administrators job to double check every student in District 131.
I have noticed that Rayanne does use any means to bring up Kaisershot at board meetings but when someone made a statement that a teacher with the district had gotten 30 years and at the end of the school year the principle didn't recognize it and then the HR person even said it wasn't policy and it was. Why can't she find a way to bring that up at board meetings like about Kaisershot to make a point to the board?
Yes it is the administrations job to check address and if they can't ask the West side how they do. A simple check of a name will show you and that goes for any student that goes to the schools. When parents come in to register and they don't have the proper information and they are told to bring it in and they don't that is a red flag. You have to be careful about the homeless but many districts do this and we should be able too also. We all know though that this district isn't going to look into anything and as taxpayers I think no matter what the situation is they should look into it.
Some of you are a real hoot!
:o)
The only time I mentioned Kaisershot was when he earned an award and was not acknowledged. There are so many others in the district who have done far less in accomplishments and the district showers them with accolades.
Those who seemed to be bothered by something I say revert to mentioning K. like it is a jab. It is those folks who seem to have a problem letting go, not I.
I hardly think giving up my personal time for 4 years and NO compensation is worth grinding an ax. I volunteered to help "fight the battles you can win (because)the children deserve it."
I continue to do so, with little public support. I ran to be the spokeperson for my community, and I do it even when I stand alone at the board meetings, voicing my neighbors concerns.
To pretend to know my motives is like an anonymous virtual lyching. The difference is, you know I am here, and I can chose to defend myself, or ignore those, as I do often. You are hooded in anonymity.
The family whose residency is in question is not here. I will not judge them and what they may have done. That is NOT my job.
I am sorry, I must go. I have a board meeting to attend tonight. Hope to see you there. :oD
PS-People seem to hear only what they choose.
I did bring up the person with 30 years, I even suggested doing more acknowledgements of those who do things daily, without thought of a pat on the back, rather than pick one or few, now and then.
It should be in the minutes, I went on a bit about it and elaborated about what is done at my job, by way of acknowledging employees service anniversaries.
Gotta run.......
Yes, Rayanne some on here are a hoot. But maybe you can't see the forest through the trees. Maybe you did bring that up about the teacher but you did not do a big posting on this blog about it. From what I heard you talked a lot about the Kasiershot thing and it keeps coming up do that also for the teachers. I wonder if Kasiershot has said anything about what keeps being said about him and if he does he also needs to talk about all the others that has been done wrong. We need to move forward and fix the things that we can in this district.
As we all know it's the board bits and not sometimes what the board members say. If you did say something I'm sorry I didn't see it in the board bits.
As far as going to someone in this administration or some in the board about certain thing that they do not like if we have children in this district it might effect them so sometimes we only have this avenue to vent since we don't want our children to take the Rafe of what we believe in.
Kaisershot refuses to talk about this issue today much as he did in the past. It was a huge insult and incredible wrong done to him--it still brings up fresh hurt, and I don't blame him for it. He does not want to continue slinging insults, all he needs to know is that he was on the right, and he will dutifully continue his job until he may retire. Hopefully that'll be sooner rather than later after the way this district has treated him.
If you cannot stand up in what you believe in, then why even comment about it? You are telling your children in your lack of actions that your words are just that-words. If your children get Rafe they will be able to handle it as they see you do it. You are setting the example. Doing this sets the path for them to stand up for what is right. I thank God for being raised this way. Even if I got Rafe, it came out right in the end. Sometimes we all make it harder than what it is or appears to be. Stand strong, put your faith where it should be and you will be amazed at what can be accomplished.
At the board meeting last night a community member got up and volunteered to organize a Candidate Forum. So hopefully one will get scheduled.
In addition, "TribLocal" which is an internet site and a paper that gets delivered on Wednesdays,free is going to print candidates opinions from a survey that was sent to us all. They have also encourages all candidates to post their bio on the website. Mine is posted- go to www.triblocal.com. click on Politics- and go to Aurora. Hopefully all the candidates will post soon.
Great info, thanks Anita!
I checked it out and it is nice.
I read you bio and thought you did a good job in writing it. Hopefully the others will to.
I see the West Side puts alot in that paper about their Schools.+
Sorry Anita I spelled your name wrong in the last posting.
To the district employee and parent from St Pauls. Take all information and documentation you have and turn it over to the principle Ms. Conrad with copies to Ms. Gonzales and Mr. Roberts. If you want to remain anonymous do so. Just be sure to include copies to all those listed above. You might also try sending your findings with a copy of the article from the West Side to the Daily Herald and the Sun Times. The Herald has been "friendly" to the situation we have here in D131 and might be interested in a story such as this.
To the District, if this parent has paid out of district tuition for the last 10 years instead of stealing from our district, why don't you just produce the statements showing they paid.
One last thought on this subject of "stealing" an education: Don't forget the nice scholarships that the two oldest daughters received from Aurora University. AU reserves scholarships for just EA students. IF these 2 girls received scholarships from AU (and they did, free rides I believe) and they were scholarships reserved for EA students only, then they stopped 2 true residents of this district from having the opportunity to attend AU (free of charge). Last count that was 22,000 a year I believe. This would bring the dollar amount robbed from the students of this district to be approximately 204,000.000
or 2 students with out of district tuition of 5500.00 x 8 years which equals 44000.00 plus 2 full rides tuitions to AU at 20,000 per year for 4 years equals 160,000.00 for a combined total of 204,000.00. This total does not include the 3 student, just the first 2.
I think these numbers speak for theirself.
Now, to everyone that wanted to post their thoughts, opinions, and comments, how about sending your outrage where it belongs. GO TELL the people that can do something about it and don't stop until something is done. Or next time you complain about the lack of some program, no money for improvements, not enough of a raise, or no funding for your students college tuition remember where OUR funding is going. Then decide WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!
Oh by the way, I have filed my complaints and would appreciate someone helping out once in awhile.
To March @ 8:PM
I could not agree with you more. I have not filed a complaint on this one, but have on other issues in the past. Yes, everyone else, you can do it anonymously. I also like what Laci said.
If you do it anonymously how do you know the problem has been fixed?
Where you file the complaint, they let you know the outcome but do not give your name to who the complaint is about. Also, you will see results and if it is about the school board it is usually brought up in one form or another in a meeting sometimes.
Laci sometimes things come out ok but in this district I have heard to many stories about the children losing out in the long run. Maybe in your situation things worked out but not in some of the cases I have heard about in this district.
As question was asked about who to tell about this and it looks like someone looked into it before they judged someone and there was a discussion. Not unlike some of the other threads that have been on here.
Let's not preach lets help to part of the solution with helpful comments on how to handle this or any other situation that comes on the blog.
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