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Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 receiving additional revenue from state's evidence-based funding program
As Gwen Polk prepares the budget she will present to the Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education in September, she has learned that she has approximately $6.2 million in additional revenue courtesy of the State of Illinois' evidence-based funding program. Though every school district receives some of the $9.25 billion appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly, Tier 1 districts like Waukegan and North Chicago School District 187 face a harder time adequately funding education, including a smaller property tax base, and receive the most. When the Illinois General Assembly approved the final $350 million in May — $43 million was held for distribution at a later time — Lake County's 13 Tier 1 districts and the Regional Office of Education were awarded 87.5% of the county's total, with District 60 getting 38% — $6.2 million. Polk, District 60's associate superintendent for business and financial services, said the proposed budget currently sits at slightly less than $327 million. With COVID-19 federal relief funds no longer available, the additional money from the state is a big help. 'We're all affected by the fiscal cliff,' Polk said, referring to the federal money schools received nationwide. 'The increase (from the state) is going to help.' Lake County's 47 school districts and the Regional Office of Education collectively received just under $16.3 million in additional evidence-based funding earlier this month from the state, bringing its total to more than $562 million to augment their budgets. For the Waukegan public schools, Polk said evidence-based funding provides for more than half of its total revenue, which also includes property tax income. The approximate district-wide enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is 14,000. By contrast, Barrington Community Unit School District 220, a Tier 4 district — they receive the smallest amount of evidence-based funding — with approximately 8,100 students, received just over $6.5 million. State Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, said evidence-based funding became law in Illinois in 2017 to help all schools get to a level of funding to adequately educate youngsters. 'Education is the great equalizer,' Johnson said, 'If students' schools are adequately funded they they get the support and resources they need. This helps students in low-income areas get those resources.' Originally proposing $550 million for the final round of evidence-based funding, Johnson said that with a tight state budget, $350 million was the most she and her colleagues could get passed. In Waukegan, like most school districts, the bulk of the budget goes toward salaries and benefits for teachers, staff, and administrators. The current evidence-based funding is 4.1% more than a year ago, but not close to full adequacy. With the largest share of evidence-based funding in Lake County, District 60's adequacy level is 72%, well below the ideal amount. Barrington's adequacy level is 119%. Some of the highest adequacy levels are found where the property values are also high. Leading Lake County in adequacy is Rondout School District 72 at 255% which includes parts of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Green Oaks, and Mettawa. Bannockburn School District 106 is at 202% while Lake Forest High School District 115 is at 193% and Township High School District 113 serving Deerfield and Highland Park High Schools is at 190%. District 187 Principal John Price said the adequacy level in North Chicago dropped from 78% to 71%. A year ago, there was a large influx of migrant children that is not the case this year. The district is receiving $1.67 million, the second-highest amount in Lake County. Price said District 187's budget is approximately $80 million, and its evidence-based funding totals just under $40.1 million.
Chicago Tribune
05-08-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Indian Prairie School District 204 board OKs e-learning plan renewal
Indian Prairie School District 204 is renewing its e-learning plan, which allows the district to offer remote instruction in lieu of emergency days. The e-learning plan is presented to the school board and Regional Office of Education every three years for adoption or renewal, according to District 204 Deputy Superintendent Louis Lee. Monday's school board meeting was the district's third time presenting it to the board for approval, for a renewal that extends until 2028. Lee said e-learning days are 'district-wide days that … allow student instruction to continue in lieu of the district's scheduled emergency days.' The district may use an e-learning day when school is closed for inclement weather, per its website, rather than calling off school. Lee explained that having an e-learning plan builds 'strength' around the school calendar and ensures continuity of instruction. E-learning days don't add to the days that the district may need to make up at the end of the school year, whereas calling off school for an emergency day does. District 204 was an early adopter of such a plan, Lee said at Monday's school board meeting, planning for it during the 2018-19 school year and implementing it for the 2019-20 year. 'Very strategic of the board, because we all know what happened in March 2020,' Lee said, in reference to the district's pivot to e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'As other districts were scrambling to get (e-learning) plans, many districts were formed based on ours, because we were one of the early adopters in the state.' Lee explained that an e-learning day is to offer five hours' worth of instruction. On the first day the superintendent calls for e-learning, instruction is asynchronous. Per the district's presentation at Monday's school board meeting, assignments are posted to Google Classroom or emailed, and staff are available via email or Google Classroom. If the superintendent decides to have a second consecutive e-learning day, there will be synchronous instruction. There's a five-day limit on e-learning days per year, Lee said. Indian Prairie offers a sample schedule and additional information on how e-learning days work on its website. For e-learning days, the district must ensure all students have electronic access. Lee explained that the district has 300 hotspots for students to use, for example, but noted that something like an electricity outage on an e-learning day might require a teacher to make special arrangements for any students who lose access. Lee said the district will continue to provide professional development opportunities to staff on remote instruction. There was no public comment during the public hearing for the e-learning plan, and it was approved by the school board at the meeting. From there, Lee explained, the plan goes on to the DuPage Regional Office of Education for final approval. 'It doesn't take away snow days,' District 204 Board President Laurie Donahue said on Monday, 'but it gives us more options for protecting our calendar and not having to go into the summer.'
Chicago Tribune
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Kane County Regional Office of Education Superintendent Patricia Dal Santo retiring
After 13 years as Kane County's Regional Office of Education superintendent, Patricia Dal Santo is retiring at the end of the month, officials said. And, in her place, the Kane County Board appointed John Jonak at Tuesday's board meeting to serve the rest of her term as superintendent. Jonak was originally set to serve as an assistant regional superintendent in the office, succeeding Deanna Oliver, who is also retiring per the Kane County Regional Office of Education. But Dal Santo, upon deciding to retire, recommended Jonak to the county board for the superintendent position, a spokesperson for the office told The Beacon-News. The Kane County Regional Office of Education serves over 100,000 students, according to officials with the office, across nine school districts in the county: U-46, Batavia 101, West Aurora 129, East Aurora 131, District 300, Central 301, Kaneland 302, St. Charles 303 and Geneva 304. Dal Santo took over as regional superintendent in 2012, a news release from the Kane County Regional Office of Education said. She has worked for the regional office since 1993 and previously served as its director of Alternative Programs, having worked at East Aurora School District 131 before that. A Republican, Dal Santo won reelection in 2014, 2018 and 2022, according to Kane County election results. Per the state, Regional Office of Education superintendents serve four-year terms, meaning the position is up for grabs in the 2026 election, the county clerk's office confirmed on Wednesday. According to the release, Dal Santo was involved in developing and piloting programs related to educator licensure, compliance and professional development registration during her time at the office, and helped inform a truancy intervention approach used by other offices that includes family counseling and prosocial activities. She is also a former president of the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, according to the release, and is a representative for the Illinois Coalition for Educating At-Risk Youth. Jonak previously worked as the superintendent of Rosemont Elementary School District 78, per the release. He will assume the role of regional superintendent on July 1, serving out the remainder of Dal Santo's term.
Chicago Tribune
20-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
DuPage Regional Office of Education moving education center from Addison to old Indian Plains School building in Aurora
The DuPage Regional Office of Education is moving its Center for Student Success, which provides alternative education programs to students in the county, from its current location in Addison to Indian Prairie School District 204's old Indian Plains School building in Aurora, officials said. The agreement was approved by Indian Prairie's school board at its meeting Monday. Classes will begin at the new location on Aug. 20, according to a news release from the DuPage Regional Office of Education. The Center for Student Success hosts several programs for students, including Rebound, Partners for Success and the Alternative Learning Opportunities program. The Rebound program allows students who have received out-of-school suspensions of four to 10 days to continue doing school work rather than remaining at home, said DuPage Regional Office of Education Regional Superintendent Amber Quirk, while the Partners for Success program places students out of school for longer periods of time. The Alternative Learning Opportunities program helps individuals looking to earn a high school equivalency prepare for the exam needed to earn it and look into postsecondary options. In the new facility, the Regional Office of Education also hopes to host workshops for educators, Quirk said, as the Indian Plains building is bigger than its current space in Addison. The DuPage Regional Office of Education operated programming out of the Old Mill School in Addison for more than two decades, Quirk said. She said the current building needs renovations, and that they're looking for more space. The move to the Indian Plains building is temporary, however. The lease agreement is set for a two-year period starting July 1, per Monday's meeting agenda, with the option to extend for a third year. The DuPage Regional Office of Education has said it is continuing to look for a permanent location for the center. The Indian Plains building at 1322 N. Eola Road in Aurora has not been used for student programming by the district for several years, according to a memo from District 204 Chief School Business Official Matt Shipley. It is currently being used for professional development, offices for a few district staff and storage for the district, all of which will be located to other facilities when the Regional Office of Education begins using the space. The building is 'near the end of its life,' per the memo included in Monday's meeting agenda, although it has been maintained up to code. The district is developing a plan for eventually divesting itself of the building. The first year's annual rent of the space is set at $175,000, per the lease agreement between the district and the DuPage Regional Office of Education, with increases to $185,000 for the second year and $195,000 if the office extends the lease for a third year. That covers all operating and maintenance costs for the facility, the memo from Shipley said, and the Regional Office of Education is to reimburse the district for custodial, maintenance and utilities services, as well as use the district's food service program.
Chicago Tribune
11-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
East Aurora's David Ballard recognized for work as school administrator at annual Kane County education awards
David Ballard, East Aurora School District 131's associate superintendent of staff and student services, was recently recognized for his work as a school administrator by the Kane County Regional Office of Education. Along with other teachers and staff from districts in the county, Ballard, supported by family and district employees, received an award by the county Regional Office of Education on May 2 at the Q Center in St. Charles, according to a press release from the Kane County Regional Office of Education. The Kane County Educator of the Year Awards are a reminder of 'what is worth advocating for in education,' Regional Superintendent for Kane County Patricia Dal Santo said in the office's news release. Nominations for the award, the press release said, are reviewed by a group of student teachers, retired teachers, university representatives, business representatives, national board certified teachers and Kane County Regional Office of Education staff members. Gemma Gurney of Central High School, part of Central Unit School District 301, took the top award, while a number of other teachers and staff — from districts in Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and more — also went home with awards. Ballard has worked in education for 30 years, he said, and spent 13 of those years at East Aurora. He previously worked as a principal at Johnson Elementary and Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy, as well as served as the district's executive director of secondary education. Now, as the associate superintendent of staff and student services, Ballard oversees the district's human resources department and student services, which includes special education and related services. A lot of his work involves recruitment, hiring and retention of teachers and other staff, he said. But his team also, for example, helped plan a district-level awards event held on May 8 that recognized staff members and retirees. The team Ballard oversees put together a book with recommendation letters from teachers, staff, parents and students that was submitted to the Kane County Regional Office of Education as part of his nomination. He said it was emotional to read the letters written in support of him. 'I think I got about halfway through and I was getting a little choked up, and another administrator came and knocked on my office (door),' he recalled. 'I said, 'Oh, thank you, gosh, I'm glad you're here … I was about to just break down.' And he said letters from students from his time as a principal stood out. 'I always tried to be visible as a principal,' Ballard told The Beacon-News on Friday. 'I never wanted them to view having to come to the principal or talk to the principal as being a bad thing.' Nominees for the Regional Office of Education awards at East Aurora are collected via an internal, anonymous vote, according to district officials. A committee within the district determines one person to be nominated for each award category, which is then submitted by the HR department to the Kane County Regional Office of Education. But, though his team is responsible for submitting the nominations, Ballard didn't know that he would be chosen by the Regional Office of Education this year, and said he was surprised when his name was called. Ballard was not the only nominee from East Aurora — three teachers and two other staff members were also nominated for different categories, according to the Kane County ROE's website. Now, his work in the district will continue on as usual — if not busier, Ballard said, noting that the end of the school year and summer are the busiest times for recruiting and hiring staff for the coming school year. And, as he works with his team on hiring for next year, among other responsibilities, Ballard noted that his win this year was a recognition of a group effort. 'I didn't feel it was just my award,' he said on Friday. 'I felt it was something that recognized all of us collectively.'
