Can someone let me know if this is working. Technical difficulties here at the start. Thanks!

Not working yet

Can't see it, says the district network is blocking it. I am sitting right by you.

The stream is working, but the sound is awful

@Stscy. So far. The Board will discuss these issues at length after public comment.

What is very interesting to me is that when these exact option happened, REPEATEDLY to LC on numerous times, no one in the district was very understanding of what they were saying. Ironically, LC students traveled to Plank and now Traughber neither of which are closest to their home school areas. Take a lesson from LC, a school is what you make it and how positive their parents present it as an opportunity, not as a punishment. KIds take their leads from parents.

The students I do have the most empathy for are 8th graders. They should be allowed to finish up at their jr. highs.

This is working off site.

Does anyone know why on the propasal PPoint, why the %'s for F/R lunches are included with the enrollment totals for the jr highs. Just curious what the reasoning is?

Bravo to the CH spec ed parent speaking! Stablization for spec ed is so overlooked!
ISP teachers for Jr High's were housed all at Plank for years and the programing that was possible for them to acheive a typical Jr High experience was so effective. This year, now they have been split among 2 Jr highs. I don't recommend this.

Wow...Steve who is the guy who just lectured the Board? I may have a new hero...

Can someone tell me if the PPT that is being shown is available online? I would love to be able to see the detail from the special programs slide!

@Kendra http://www.boarddocs.com/il/oswego308/Board.nsf/files/8RFVM5815BE7/$file/2012.02.13%20BOE%20Boundary%20Presentation.pdf

@Pat. You're telling me.

The Transportation numbers for Wolf’s Crossing does not make any sense - 308 would not bus to BE then to Murphy. They would ONLY drive South to Murphy, a much shorter distance

I'd like to know why the board feels that special needs children are not due the same considerations as all the other children. Every argument applied to every other group applies to them and is magnified tenfold. The board seems to be bending over backward to accommodate every other group, and their first suggestion is to move special education. I would really love for the board to answer to this ... do you consider those with special needs second class citizens that don't deserve consideration?

According to the SUPERINTENDENT’S ATTENDANCE BOUNDARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE the Wolf’s Crossing Range in minutes to Bednarcik is 8-15, then the Range in minutes from BE to Murphy is 10-11 for a total time of 18-26 min (which they claim is about the same as for Homestead). But this is not accurate. Students would not drive North to Bednarcik then back South to Murphy. The REAL Range in
minutes from Wolf’s Crossing to Murphy would be only 10-11

Anyone know to what are the attributing the projected decline in enrollment at LC? Foreclosures? They mentioned something about moving the KG for one year of relief with the decline in enrollment taking them "the rest of the way" (for as long as they anticipate the new boundaries working.).

Gotcha! Thanks! : )

Was there a meeting lastnight? What was this one about now?

In the six years we have lived in Oswego, it has been my observation that it is the LC students who are moved around from school to school the most. It also seems that it is these children, who are the most vulnerable students in the district, who are placed last. They are placed wherever there is room. This doesn't happen once in awhile, this happens EVERY year. I totally agree with Donna and SC. These students are the ones who need consistency the most, but they get it the least. There seems to be very little importance given to these students and what is best for them. It appears that what is best for a particular school is given more importance. The impact on decisions that are made about these LC students isn't known to the people who are making these decisions.

Every year I have been here in Oswego, I am told at my child's IEP meeting that placement isn't going to be known for some time. Last year I found out about half the ISP students being moved to Traughber this school year from another Parent. Whether they mean to do this or not, it appears to me that information is kept from the Parents as long as possible. They can't make a decision about placement just before school starts and not expect these students to be negatively impacted.

Why is it necessary to put these kids through stress and anxiety every single summer while they wait to find out where they will be going to school?? Let's have a little more consistency, PLEASE!

My husband and I would like to thank the people who have volunteered their time to the boundary committee. You won't be able to make everyone happy and that is just the way it is. I'm sure you have more information that is not available to the rest of us in which you are making your decisions from.
We also find the rock throwing at the new board members disgusting. There are many people who voted for these people whether some like it or not. It's about time that some people realize it wasn't the new members who put us in the financial mess we're in. I read in the Ledger that Dr. ODonnell needs to ask for more monies from the tax payers again well it won't come from my husband or myself.
Mrs. Swanson, Mrs. Pasteris, Mr. Walsh and Mr. Lightfoot thank you for service and not everyone is slinging mud.

thank you many members of this school board. You watch our money and make the best of it. Children adjust and that makes them stronger. I am glad my adult children do not have to temper this monitoring. I would be embarrassed.

peace,

jerri powell

I am sorry for your loss Patricia. Our families are our anchors. The note of embarrassed is that our children do not see confidence, trust and smooth adjustment to name just a couple items. Our bumps in the road will look small in years to come. This might have looked judgmental in my original comments. It is simply frustration for the times. I like just the facts. I read wall street but on a local level your resources are different. This is why I do not comment much anymore.

in the times of such loss for families, I truly support anything fiscally conservative. I appreciate simple direction.

Peace
Jerri

I find the comments by the Transportation department interesting and do worry about the students. We can SEE our Elementary school from our home...and yet, due to the slow arrival of the busses at my daughters school from the middle school....she waits at the school 10 additional minutes after the other busses have left and sits on the bus for 30+ minutes. In Kindergarten. I hope that they can figure out safe and timely transportation for these families being relocated.

Option 4 with all 3 Aurora schools staying at Bednarcik is the best choice for ALL Oswego308 families (1st of 2 posts) -

These are the numbers from the proposal on Board Doc's from Monday board meeting – enrollment numbers for the future may change slightly once they get updated numbers from RSP –

- Bednarcik capacity is 950
- Current Bednarcik enrollment is 972
- Option #4 with HM, WC, WH staying at Bednarcik means -
- in 2012-13, it will be 939 students (which is less than what we have now)
- in 2013-14, it will be 984 students (which is around what we have now)
- in 2014-15, it will be 1072 students
- in 2015-16, it will be 1094 students

We can have all 3 Aurora schools at Bednarcik for at least 2 more years - As you know families don’t want to go down if they could stay. (Junior high students start lunch at10:29am, but high school students start at 10:49. Not much time difference)

No matter who goes down to Murphy, the district will lose property tax receipts / operating revenue. If you were looking to buy a home, would you buy it in Wheatlands Elementary area if it was going to Murphy? Or, would you buy it in Homestead or Wolf's Crossing instead? The district/school board is always under pressure to keep the tax rate low.

Option 4 with all 3 Aurora schools staying at Bednarcik is the best choice for ALL Oswego308 families (2nd of 2 posts) -

If they send 1 of the schools down, the district will have less tax receipts and therefore less operating funds. That will result in cuts to programs or staff. In today's Chicago Tribune's Trib Local section, Indian Prairie 204 School District announced it is considering 110 layoffs, $1.4 million reduction in lower-level high school and extracurricular offerings, increasing middle school and high school athletic fees, raising technology and pre-school fees, on and on. Our district still needs to come up with $800,000 to open Murphy. Something has to give.

Either open Murphy with 1 of the Aurora schools, and lose operating funds. Or, open Murphy without an Aurora school at savings of $100,000. To me, it makes perfect sense to save $100,000 and not bring any of the Aurora schools down, especially since in the next 2 years, we can be at Bednarcik without even changing up the LRC space or adding temporary classrooms.

Consider Prescott Mill's analysis of drop in home value in the last 2 pages of the document, http://dl.dropbox.com/u/984672/Prescott%20Mill.pdf. If 503 homes drop about 6.46% in value, the district would lose $125,247 in revenue. The district money all goes into 1 big pot, and a loss at Prescott Mill or in ANY subdivision, is a loss for everyone else in the district.

@Jill, I have read the document referenced in Prescott Mill's analysis that relates to the drop in property values. This study is based on many, many factors: racial integration, socioeconomic disparity within boundaries, test scores, parcel sizes, real estate turnover and renovations, even individual housing characteristics such as number of bedrooms, etc. Proximity of home to school is only one element discussed, and that is in reference to elementary schools only, not middle schools or high schools.

The number 6.46% appears ONCE in the document, and is actually related to racial integration. Therefore, that number must be considered WITHIN the context of the rest of the document with all factors taken into account. Taking the entire document into account, one can only conclude that these numbers are not relatable to Bednarcik's situation.

Moreover, this report is eight years old, dated 2004.

While we are all concerned with our property values and the resulting impact on the district's budget, you need to use accurate data from more reliable sources to support your claims.

Hi Jill,
I'm no expert on this so I can only help with what I know from info I've asked for. It's called the multiplier/tax rate that we pay the school through our taxes. The school district will let the county know what they need from the tax payers in-order to fund the school. From what I've been told they can not exceed a certain amount or there is a cap. We also get money from the state, but with our current state finances we might not get what's needed to cover those costs. If the money is not there than Dr. ODonnell will have to ask taxpayers for more via an operating referendum which the community will go to the polls and either approve or reject. The additions that are to be built at the H.S.'s will need that referendum approval to operate ( teachers, furniture, books etc.)at some point. When that would be needed depends on how the operating fund we have now is doing. If the economy hadn't tanked and everyone that was expected to come would have bought homes they would have brought more dollars into the district with their property taxes. We would probably be building a third H.S. a few more elementary and Jr. High schools. If we all want to keep what we have and not cut anymore we will need to collect that extra money from the taxpayer. I'm sure someone else has more detailed answers and will add to this or correct any errors I have made.

My youngest is nearing the end in 308 and I'm extremely worried for our students and teachers.

@Robyn -- I would love to see signs of improvement, but all I see are foreclosures and homes in my area selling for well over $100K less than what they were purchased for only a few years ago. Well after 2004. Including the few that have sat empty, with no signage on them for a couple of years now. Every so often the bank must send someone to mow the lawn. That's it.

I don't think they will be able to pass an operating referendum. Needed or not. I hope that they are thinking about that and planning for how to operate without it. I'm not even saying that I would or would not support one. I'm just saying that I do not think they will get one through, period.

@Robin Vickers: Thank you for your recent post regarding the forward actions of previous Boards to stem the financial stress of our district during the 2008 housing crash. During that period we asked each building adminstrator to cut their building budgets by 10% after additional cuts were already in place. We did not hire the number of new teachers that were required by our increasing student population, the administration took a pay freeze for one year and we reduced the budget by millions.

That being said, the "rebound" we are experiencing will NEVER resemble the heydays of pre 2008. The economies of that time are past and our new reality is softer than we experienced in the past. Has anyone tried to get into one of Rt 34 restaurants on a Friday or Saturday? The lines are long and the restaurants are packed. We have welcomed several new businesses to our community, including Jersey Mikes, the Cupcake Shop in Mason Square, the Man Store, the Craft Brewery and the Pizza Shop downtown. The new economy will continue to grow and we will settle into our new normal.

More time needed to decide: Wait at least 1 year to send 1 Aurora school to Murphy -
Current enrollment at Hunt Club is 338 students, Old Post is 409, and Grande Park is 411. There are elementary schools in the district with fewer students than other elementaries so demanding opening up Murphy with same conditions as other junior highs, while I sympathize with Grande Park residents, doesn't hold water when it is currently not done at the elementaries that are already in existence.

There is still much information that the Board of Education needs to in order to decide which Aurora school will go to Murphy -
1) Can Wolf's Crossing realistically be a walking school? Could this be accomplished by end of August when school year begins? What capital improvements have to be made? What are the associated costs? What are the liability issues?
2) What are the most efficient transportation routes to Murphy from Wheatlands, Wolf's Crossing, and Homestead? All Wheatlands students (including Four Points subdivision) can take Hafenrichter to Route 34 to Route 30 to Murphy (current high school route). Four Points can also get onto Route 34 at Ridge Ave where there is a light. These are very efficient routes. Starting point for all schools is Route 30 and Wolf's Crossing. Which routes from each of these schools/subdivisions would be most effective? If Wolf's Crossing becomes a walking school, it would be best to avoid Eola Rd and Wolf's Crossing St. (Continued)

(Continued from previous post)
3) Relieving Bednarcik and giving Bednarcik manageable enrollment for the long term - Homestead is landlocked. However there are numerous unimproved lots in Wheatlands, and there are undeveloped land in Wolf's Crossing. Having both Wheatlands and Wolf's Crossing go to Bednarcik would provide much less stability to Bednarcik enrollment than if 1 of the schools - Wheatlands or Wolf's Crossing - went to Murphy.
4) There are differing enrollment numbers and projections given by the district. Board of Education needs to receive accurate numbers.