Should the Morris schools (Saratoga, District #54, Nettle Creek, and MCHS) consolidate?
Must Read - paper on the benefits of consolidating Morris schools.
NREA Consolidation Report
Mackinac Center Report on School Consolidation
Illinois Assoc. of School Boards
"The Illinois Association of School Boards shall seek, encourage, and support efforts for school district reorganization — in all forms — to include a requirement that before such reorganization is deemed passed, a majority vote of voters in each of the affected districts is necessary. (IASB 7.2: Adopted 1987; Amended 1988, 2006)"
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12 comments:
Wouldn't consolidation bring the curriculum together for all schools and cut down on administration costs, transportation costs, etc.? Sounds like a natural thing to do if we care about the children of Morris.
I think consolidation would be a huge plus for us out in Nettle Creek. Y'all in district 54 wouldn't complain so much if you had to deal with our self-serving school board. At least there is someone in charge of your schools that actually cares about the finances and the students and makes decsions to better things for your students. Not so at NC. Here it's all about what's best for the kids of the board members. That would change with consolidation. Don't even get me started on cirriculum, at NC there is none. My kid didn't learn anything in science last year, and forget about art....Be glad you don't live in NC.
Based on 2007 figures, if we were to consolidate all schools in Morris (NC, Saratoga, WOak, Shabbona, and MCHS) the total of students attending the consolidated district would be 3031 students. Well below the point of detrimental return (6000 students) spoke about in the Mackinac report. Therefore the savings should be great and the curriculum would inherently be cohesive.
Nettle Creek scored the highest on the ISAT out of the local schools in 2007. Though the once-a-year test, the ISAT, doesn't measure true learning, it is the only indicator we have to compare the schools.
Yes, NC does test well. Could be they "teach to the test"? Many schools do this. I know my kid may as well have not gone to school the whole last 5-6 weeks after the test, learned nothing, no homework, nada. The test was over, I guess the teachers figured their job was done.
I think a better assesment of the schools would be a poll of parents, how do they think the their school is doing? How do they think their school compares with the neighboring schools? Do they think their children are getting a good education? What do they think of the leadership, or lack therof, of their school adminstrators/scool board? Couple that poll with an evaluation of the teaching staff, and tie that to test scores.
I think the pros of consolidation far outweigh the cons. But realistically in NC it's all about the insiders preserving their power base and would fight giving up that up.
I've heard that there are students that live next to White Oak and attend Nettle Creek. Also, I've heard that there are students who can see Shabbona from their home and are bused to Saratoga. If this true, it is very inefficient and unfair to the students.
Based on 2007 numbers, the weighted average of the operating expense per pupil of all the Morris schools is $8,088. This would be much lower if the schools consolidated because of savings from less admin, coordinated transportation, better resource usage, etc.
More than $8000 per student? Wow. How was the weighted average calculated, and what are the numbers for individual schools? I can see big savings on administration and transportation, especially with the price of fuel. A huge plus for the children if they are all learning the same thing at the same time. No one would be lagging when they got to middle or high school. So exactly what is the downside here? As a taxpayer, I don't see one, as a parent I don't see one. What are we waiting for?
Isn't it curious that private schools could teach kids at a cost a fraction of that $8000+ per year, per pupil, and do a better job?????
8th Dwarf,
You're comparing apples and oranges. For the most part, the parents who send their kids to private schools are more involved, have more financial resources to do more for their kids, and the parents of private school kids generally have a higher educational level. Their are some great public schools and their are some bad ones. Many private schools screen their prospects as well. Public schools must accept all who live within their prescribed district.
Private school parents don't necessarily have more financial resources, their spending priorities are different. They ARE more involved both academically and in fundraising and therefore the children are able to learn more.I don't believe the private schoools here in Morris screen their students.
To the voters, parents, and board members,
please keep an open mind to the best interests of the community and consider a study on consolidation. Please read http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=223629&src=
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