Naperville District 203 School Board opts not to abate debt service levy this year
The Naperville District 203 School Board voted this week to reject a proposal to abate all or part of the debt service levy, citing financial uncertainty, especially with federal education funds, as one of the main reasons.
Each year, the district has the option to abate the debt service levy if it has adequate resources to make the required bond payments without the tax levy.
This year, the district was considering abating about $98,150, which would have been a savings of about $2 to $3 per household, Superintendent Dan Bridges said.
'Every dollar is an important dollar, but this is one of the least impactful,' he said.
The district has numerous uncertainties and is monitoring cuts or the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, board member Kristen Fitzgerald said, noting the district receives about $10 million in federal funding.
Fitzgerald added the district has not yet completed negotiations with its teachers union.
She said she understands the tax burden on the community, but the district's primary responsibility is to educate its students.
The relief to taxpayers was very limited, she said.
Board members also said the district may also incur potential expenses if it approves the Innovative School Experience, a proposal still under discussion that shifts the start and end times for students at all grade levels and moves to a block schedule for middle and high school.
Some of the ideas the district is studying that may incur expenses is offering a before care service to middle school students whose parents have to leave early for work or a 'zero hour' where students can come to school early for an extra class.
Board member Donna Wandke, the only one of six who voted in favor of abating the levy, said the board should do everything possible to reduce property taxes, especially for senior citizens on fixed incomes.
'The most important thing that I hear from our community is a concern about our property taxes,' she said. 'I think every piece that we can do to hear that voice is important.'
Wandke said the abatement is less than 1% of the district's budget, so it will not have an impact one way or another.
Originally Published:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Colleges, plagued by fraudulent ‘ghost students,' will soon have to ID aid applicants
With the growing success of criminal ghost students — bots posing as humans to steal millions of dollars in financial aid for fraudsters — California and federal regulators say they will start fighting back with an old-school technique: Making college students identify themselves. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education announced that starting this fall, applicants for federal Pell Grants will have to show up in person or appear on a live video with an 'institutionally authorized individual' to provide 'unexpired, valid, government-issued photo identification.' The department cited California in particular, where fraudbots have siphoned off $10 million of Pell Grants and $3 million in state Cal Grant student aid since last year. California college officials voted last month to implement 'robust identity verification protocols' at their CCCapply application portal, where 2 million students a year — including many fraudbots — first enter the state's community college system. 'I think that's great,' said Kim Rich, a criminal justice instructor at L.A. Pierce College near Los Angeles. She has become an expert at identifying fraudbots and says she typically clears out three-quarters of the students — most of them bots — that enroll in her classes each term. Once they register, the bots can generate financial aid applications and disappear when the money arrives. Before any student applies to the system or enrolls in a class, Rich said, 'you verify their identity. Period. End of story. It's simple.' And yet, making sure each student is a student is anything but simple these days. That basic expectation became harder for college systems and the federal government to confirm after 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to an explosion of distance-learning classes, mainly at community colleges that are open to all. Remote classes and lax verification protocols have made it far easier for criminals to impersonate students than in prior years, and then to disappear when the financial aid checks land in the mailbox. Despite the new pronouncements about a return to individual identification for state and federal financial aid, neither the U.S. of Education nor the California Community College Chancellor's Office specified how that would be achieved. Implementation difficulties became apparent at the May 21 meeting of the California Community College Board of Governors, where members debated the fraud crisis for more than three hours, ultimately agreeing to generally upgrade the CCCApply technology to try to screen out more fraudulent applications, and to generally enhance applicant identification. Love Adu, a member of the Board of Governors and an incoming junior at UC Berkeley, noted that colleges often used the identity verification software 'ID Me,' but that it excludes many kinds of students, including those who are incarcerated, undocumented, homeless or under 18. The last category includes high school students who simultaneously enroll in community college through the increasingly popular practice of dual enrollment. 'I experienced this personally and had to drive more than five hours to a college to identify myself in person because I didn't qualify for ID Me,' Adu said at the meeting. 'I had the means to do that — but I know that most students do not.' Adu urged her colleagues on the board to consider that when they eventually do hash out the specifics of how to check whether students are human. The board spent most of the meeting debating whether the state chancellor's office should be given the authority to ask the state legislature for permission to impose an application of, say, $10, on applicants in order to help authenticate them. Although the board eventually gave them that authority, students and faculty who spoke at the meeting said a fee would probably discourage many low-income students from enrolling and might not serve its intended purpose in any case. Instead, most speakers said they would prefer to figure out how to verify real students. 'I think we can all agree that we can no longer minimize the effects of this problem. Something must be done,' Eleni Gastis, president-elect of the faculty senate at Laney College in Oakland, told the board members before imploring them to 'find other strategies to mitigate fraud before we ask our students to pony up.' She is among the instructors and staff members up and down the state who are forced to spend increasing amounts of time trying to identify and disenroll fake students before they can collect financial aid. Instructors report there are so many bots that there is often no room for real students. 'It takes faculty hours of time that they could be spending supporting our students,' state Chancellor Sonya Christian said at the meeting. 'It takes our classified staff hours of time to support students that they don't have.' Statewide, security software detected and thwarted fraud in 31.4% of applications this year, up from 20% in 2023, Chris Ferguson, head of finance at the state chancellor's office, 'We needed a plan yesterday,' Gastis told the Chronicle on Friday. And when a plan is created, she said, it will have to be made clear to students and be fair to 'marginalized and fearful communities.' Following Friday's announcement from the feds, even officials at the state chancellor's office said they weren't sure what to do next. The office is 'waiting for additional guidance,' a spokesperson for the chancellor's office told the Chronicle. Even then, it might be awhile before a plan is in place. Once guidance arrives, the spokesperson said, 'we will consult with our community college stakeholders to determine what processes and procedures will be needed to comply.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
This is my classroom. ICE isn't welcome here.
By Teresa Puente | Edited by Patricia Guadalupe I teach at a university in Southern California, where almost half my students are Latino. We are what is known as an HSI, a Hispanic-Serving Institution. It's a designation for colleges and universities where at least 25 percent of the full-time students are Hispanic. It's also a designation being erased on some government websites, including the U.S. Department of Education. It's not just the erasure of diversity, equity, and inclusion, known as DEI, that is harming colleges and universities across the country. It's the active threats by the Trump administration to defund universities that support DEI. And it's the threat to deport students and others in our communities. At least seventy international students in the California State University system have had their visas canceled, and that includes some six students on my campus in Long Beach. No explanations were given, but this is part of the nationwide attack on universities by the Trump administration. The Trump Administration then reinstated the international student visas, but their actions have created chaos and confusion. Students who are undocumented or DACA recipients also live in fear, and other students who may have legal status are fearful for their parents who are undocumented. A student told me right after Trump won that her mother is undocumented. 'I'm really worried,' she said. She had missed some assignments, and after she explained the situation, I gave her an extension. Other students have told me they are stressed and have a hard time focusing. After Trump won, some students told me they were too depressed to come to class and felt anxiety. Others were angry. The mood has stabilized as we head toward graduation. We have an annual Latino graduation ceremony and Latino faculty and staff had to consider what could happen if ICE were to crash that ceremony. The organizers decided to go ahead with the event but posted a note on the event website explaining that the university does not share immigration information with U.S. immigration agencies. Fortunately, on my campus, we have some support for our students. We have what is called a Dream Success Center that offers support and free legal services for students and their parents through the immigrant rights group Central American Resource Center (CARECEN). It's hard to know exactly how many undocumented students are on campus, as there is no list. But there are an estimated 9,500 undocumented students at all of the 23 CSU campuses. Only around half of the undocumented students have temporary status with DACA, also known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This program began in 2012 during the Obama administration and grants temporary work and education authorization to certain undocumented minors. While Trump has vowed to end the program, those who already have DACA can renew for now, but new applications are halted under ongoing legal challenges. Our campus felt like a safe space, but threats of raids are unsettling. I always create a welcoming environment in my classroom. I tell my students they can ask for help beyond what's on the syllabus. I can refer them to various campus services, such as immigration lawyers, counseling, and basic needs to help pay rent, or refer them to our food pantry. Our university system has a website with resources for undocumented students that includes legal services, mental health, and admissions information. Additionally, the California Nonresident Tuition Exemption, known as AB 540, allows eligible students to be exempted from paying out-of-state tuition. We have student clubs on campus that support undocumented students. I'm on the board of the Latinx Faculty & Staff Association (LFSA), and we work to support our immigrant community on campus. Since December of last year, we have hosted two 'Know Your Rights' workshops, which include a guest speaker from the local immigrant rights organization ORALE that does trainings and advocacy work, and operates a hotline to report ICE activity in our city of Long Beach. Our union, the California Faculty Association (CFA), recently co-sponsored one of the 'Know Your Rights' workshops with LFSA and has organized campus protests against ICE. About half of the overall student population on the CSU Long Beach campus is Latino, and around 25 percent are Asian American. Regardless of immigration status, we know that ICE does racial profiling, even if they officially say otherwise. I've had to ask myself, what would I do if ICE came to my classroom? This is a real possibility as the Trump administration has said there are no safe spaces from ICE. Under previous administrations, including Trump's first term, ICE had a policy not to raid churches, hospitals, or schools. But that has changed. Rather than worry, I came up with a plan. It upsets me that I have to prepare for the worst. I was concerned after Trump won in 2016, but they didn't raid schools in his first term. I decided to take a stand for my students. I have a No ICE sign in my office and a stack of red rights cards on my desk. If ICE comes to my classroom, the first thing I would do is start recording and ask my students to record me. I would then explain that this classroom is only for students enrolled in the class, and I would ask ICE agents to leave, something I would do anyway for anyone interrupting my class. I would also advise my students of their constitutional right to remain silent. I learned through the 'Know Your Rights' workshops that, as citizens, we protect those who are not citizens by refusing to answer questions about our own citizenship status. We have also distributed the red rights cards on campus. The university administration has emailed some guidance to faculty, telling us to refer any ICE encounter to university officials. They have suggested using language such as, 'I'm not trying to obstruct you (ICE), but I do not have the authority to respond to your request.' Then ask them to go to the administration office. Now, the tricky part is, what if the ICE officers refuse to leave? We have been advised to contact our administrator or dean, or call the campus police. Our campus police chief told LFSA that he and his officers won't help ICE or give out any information about faculty, staff, and students. We need more campus officials, faculty, staff, and students to stand up. We can follow the example of Harvard University, which is suing the Trump administration. Harvard President Alan M. Garber has said the university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. 'No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,' he wrote. On the heels of Harvard's pushback, the American Association of Colleges and Universities released a statement signed by nearly 250 higher education presidents to speak out 'against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.' CSU Long Beach is one of the signatories. And in the K-12 level, the California Department of Education announced it will defy the Trump order to eliminate DEI in the state's 1,000 school districts, a system with more than 5.8 million students, of which 56% are Latino. 'There is nothing in state or federal law ... that outlaws the broad concepts of 'diversity,' 'equity,' or 'inclusion,'' wrote Chief Deputy Superintendent David Schapira in the letter to school districts, county education offices, and charter schools. We should not tolerate the attacks on DEI, and we must protect our campuses and communities from ICE. We are already seeing cases of wrongful deportations, random cancellations of international student visas, and egregious detentions of U.S. citizens. I'm reminded of the famous 1946 poem, 'First they came…' by German theologian and Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller. Do not wait until it's you. Read the original article on MassLive.
3 days ago
New York won't rescind Native American mascot ban, despite Trump's funding threat
NEW YORK -- New York education officials won't rescind the state's ban on Native American mascots and team names, despite threats from the Trump administration that it risks losing federal funding. Instead, New York officials suggested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday that they could broaden the state ban to include names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups that the department deems offensive. The federal agency last week determined New York violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by issuing a statewide ban on the use of Native American mascots and logos. The department's civil rights office found the state ban is discriminatory because names and mascots that are still permitted are also derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the 'Dutchmen' and the 'Huguenots." New York officials said they're willing to work with federal officials to 'reach a resolution as to the appropriate standard,' wrote Daniel Morton-Bentley, legal counsel for the state education department. Morton-Bentley also noted in his letter that the federal government's current stance in support of keeping Native American team names and mascots runs counter to the agency's previous stance on the issue — not to mention those of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, tribal leaders, state governments, and professional organizations that have long deemed them harmful and offensive. What's more, a federal judge in New York earlier this year dismissed a lawsuit brought by some local districts that have refused to comply with the state mandate to rid their schools of offensive Native American mascots and team names, Morton-Bentley wrote. The education department and its civil rights office, he argued, is 'not a court of last resort for unsuccessful litigants.' Spokespersons for the federal education department didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon last week visited Massapequa, a Long Island town that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot, and was among the local districts that unsuccessfully challenged the state in federal court. McMahon said she would give New York ten days to sign an agreement rescinding the ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempting to 'erase' their history. New York school districts have until June 30 to commit to replacing offensive Native American mascots or team names, or risk losing state funding. They can be exempt from the mandate, however, if they reach an agreement with a local Native American tribe. The state education department said as of Thursday, three districts have sought and received extensions as they work to comply with the mandate. Massapequa was not among them.
