Amy Dillon is a Wilmette resident and parent with a child who attends New Trier High School.
Our continued investment in our schools plays a major role in maintaining Wilmette property values.
A friend asked for advice about where to relocate on the North Shore. She asked because I have a District 39 graduate, now a sophomore at New Trier. She asked if it really mattered which feeder district she settled in. I absolutely think so.
When you chose to live here, a fair number of you picked Wilmette for the schools. Ask any realtor. School quality is central to real estate value. If our electorate only hears the label “tax increase” and therefore fails to support the schools with this referendum, potential home buyers will go elsewhere. Realtors are saying it’s already started to happen in the last few weeks.
My friend investigated schools, from Lake Forest to Evanston, gathering opinions and facts. I was not surprised she chose Wilmette. She made this choice based on the very class size, teachers and programs this referendum seeks to support.
Because we’ve consistently invested in them, Wilmette schools are valuable to our children AND our property values. Our schools are not perfect but they belong to all of us. Let’s protect our real estate nest eggs. Can we really not afford $13.57 per week for an average yearly tax bill of $12,000? Vote Yes on April 5. One of your friends may be trying to sell a house!
Unless you identify yourself, I will assume you are a teacher that was not part of the contract negotiations. As School Board member, I certainly did have power to impact pensions. I voted against every "bump up" for a retiring administrator. Your reasoning, "just because my employer doesn't pay me what I want to be paid, I will go out and charge what ever my family desires--instead of reasoning with my family that just because the richer (Winnetka) neighbors spend more, doesn't mean their families are any better or their children are any smarter or have better characters than ours." The last time I checked, all three of my children had the same fourth grade teacher and she's still working in District 39--golden handcuffs--not sacrifice. Time to revisit the story about the Goose that laid the Golden Egg.
My kids are out if D39 next year, so I guess I could vote no. But - while I was there I got every iota if value out of 16 years, dozens of teachers, four Boards, and three superintendents. I held the schools accountable and while we often disagreed, D39 always delivered. I was an especially large consumer of the enrichment programs that are about to be cut. So, I plan to vote yes. For your kids and, I have no problem admitting, for the teachers and administrators who did their jobs very well. As for those of you who are so preoccupied with the (admitted) mess the public schools are in - I invite you to spend one tenth of the time i have spent addressing your concerns with people who might actually be able to do something about it. Those people do not include the grade schoolers whose programs are about to be cut.
I am glad we still have some conscientious people on the board watching the tax payers' money. US public school system has been singing the same song for decades - more money means better education. I am surprised to see that there are still people buying into it after decades. Everyone from the private sector knows it is the execution that makes the difference. Without change, more tax dollar simply means more fat cats hiding in north shore school districts. I will definitely vote No and force the school district to change the way they spend money!
Who is kidding who? I have no problem paying teachers but the problem with D39 is the bloated bureaucracy, back-ended pensions, and salaries that are way out of line for layers of administrative people. Imagine an "HR" person making $168,000 ?? Are you kidding me? Private industry would pay MAYBE $115,000 for this job with NO pension. And this person is scheduled to get 5 1/2% raises for each of the next 3 years! That brings the pay to $195,000 in year 2014! I bet you could find 100 people to do this job for $85,000. And dont forget, this person doesnt answer their own phone either----they ALL have secretaties that do that! And what do you think they make? The whole system is out of wack. And we have the ability to put our foot down right here and now and start to stem tide. They use the "home values" scare tactic--well, guess what, within 5 years, average tax bills of $20,000+ will hurt home values even more. Call their bluff and vote this thing down. I bet not one teacher gets fires, only "overhead"---which needs to go. Lets end the party.
As to the administrator to pupil ratio, you are comparing school districts with different sizes. What you should do is to give administrator-to-school ratio as a more reasonable number. For example, avoca has two schools, five admins, that is a ratio of 2.5. D39 has five schools and 15.5 admin, that is 3.1. That shows D39 is fatter than Avoca. Say No to Fatso!
Go to the IL State Board of Ed web site (www.isbe.state.il.us) and look at this press release when contemplating the likelihood of Wilmette D39, on the North Shore of Chicago, getting increased funding from the State: "Local school boards are grappling with decreased revenue and late payments from the state...During any given time over the past two years, the State of Illinois has a backlog of bills owed to schools totaling more than $1 billion and currently owes $4.6 billion to vendors. Given the uncertainty of state funding, many school districts have announced layoffs in recent weeks to meet statutory deadlines and better position themselves for financial stability." ... So... Given the uncertainty of state funding of education in IL, you take solace in the thought that Springfield might be there to fulfill its obligations to D39 on any level in the next few years? Got it. I'll rest easy tonight with that thought.
"If ISBE is required to make reductions in its General Funds budget for FY 2012, it will possibly not only have to make reductions to GSA. It may also be forced to make reductions in Mandated Categoricals, even though this could possibly result in a reduction of federal IDEA funding. It may also need to make reductions to other important priorities such as Early Childhood and Bilingual Education, as it has the past several years. It is unclear, however, whether there will be any discretionary funding available to offset these reductions as was the case in FY 2010 and FY 2011." In other words, D39 is on notice to expect LESS from the State in the future. In fact, so much less, that Federal IDA funding could be reduced. Is it a giant conspiracy to hide the stash of gold that the State of IL is going to reveal and send to Chicago's North Shore school districts in future years? Or, perhaps is D39 being truthful in noting that State funds are later and later each year, and decreasing annually. T Cleary, it seems you hold the State of IL in great esteem, so perhaps you're in for the conspiracy theory. But, the reality of the situation is painfully clear.
If we took out most of the school program addotions and staff additions except for the prorated staff increase to cater the increase student enrollment, I'd bet we can have the same quality and save ourselves a bundle to pay for additional school programs. Send a clear message to the School Board and the Unions that we will spend money we have, not wished we had. Vote NO to this tax increase because you care.
MARGARET MCINTYRE DOES NOT LIVE IN WILMETTE. MARGARET MCINTYRE DOES NOT LIVE IN ILLINOIS. MARGARET MCINTYRE LIVES IN VIRGINA.
To say the least, your suggested solutions to the pension problem (voting against funding our schools) is at best naive. I have a strong feeling that your goal is to generate anti-union / anti-pension press coverage for whatever organization you represent. But if you are sincere, tell us all how you think voting no will fix a decades old pension issue? Is it a problem? Yes. Is destroying our schools and our home values going to fix it? No. Is it something that the voters of District 39 can have ANY impact on in this vote? No.
To not take responsibility for the choice and power local voters, local administrations and local unions have, is to deny the moral responsibility to our children. The adults here say they seek more tax revenue "for the children"s benefit" when in fact it will be these same children who will have much diminished young adult employment opportunities and long term career success BECAUSE OF THE CRUSHING PUBLIC DEBT THIS REFERENDUM PROMOTES! Take a look around the North Shore and you will see Morton Grove, and Nile snd other districts negotiating reductions in the teachers contracts to reduce the number of teachers that they must lay off. THAT' is ACCOUNTABILITY and RESPONSIBILITY. VOTE NO to save our children's and grandchildren's futures!
"Margaret Mcintyre-Farina Out here in Norfolk, we are still cheering for you! Hopefully, after you are elected, IL will come back, and we can afford to move back to Wilmette! November will be a tide turner!" Now I get it. Ms. McIntyre wants to live in Wilmette, but she can't afford it. So now she is trying to drive down Wilmette real estate prices by scuttling our school referendum. As a former school board member, she knows that 50-75% of all home buyers in Wilmette have school age children. They move here for the schools. She also knows that if she destroys our school system, she will drive 50-75% of the potential home buyers away from Wilmette and thereby cause our home values to decline. Presto - now Ms. McIntyre can afford to move back to Wilmette. Margaret, please stop. This is disappointing behavior to say the least.
"Margaret Mcintyre-Farina Out here in Norfolk, we are still cheering for you! Hopefully, after you are elected, IL will come back, and we can afford to move back to Wilmette! November will be a tide turner!" Now I get it. Ms. McIntyre wants to live in Wilmette, but she can't afford it. So now she is trying to drive down Wilmette real estate prices by scuttling our school referendum. As a former school board member, she knows that 50-75% of all home buyers in Wilmette have school age children. They move here for the schools. She also knows that if she destroys our school system, she will drive 50-75% of the potential home buyers away from Wilmette and thereby cause our home values to decline. Presto - now Ms. McIntyre can afford to move back to Wilmette. Margaret, please stop. This is disappointing behavior to say the least.
What is most amazing about this is that these people are all of the generation that stand behind the greatest ponzi schemes ever invented- social security and medicare. These problems are 100x as important as any other issue in our country. And they think our tiny referendum in District 39 is going to change the world? How about all of you go to work on fixing the mess your generation left in this world. Forfeit your social security benefits, pay for your own healthcare costs. I am sure that each of you alone are costing this country more than the amount of this referendum. And you would also be smart to keep educating the children of this country. Who else is going to pay for your outrageous entitlement benefits for the next 30 years?
As I said in another Patch response, when someone asked "why" would she put so much energy into fighting the referendum....I will repeat my previous response...I still have friends and family in Wilmette and IL and every additional burden on the public debt (TRS -IL taxes--Wilmette taxes) burdens my family and friends. I now realize how much better off we are in Virginia. Why would I want to get back on the Titanic? I already sold my home at the top of the market and watched the taxes increase $2000 a year for the new owners. The referendum will add another $800. The price can't go low enough to compensate for the additional taxes. Interacting here and hearing (again) the "more money spent on schools equals better schools myth", watching the greed of folks increasing the TRS burden, foisting that debt on less affluent people outside of Wilmette-- it's shameful. Our home has a water view, short drive to Williamsburg, in a state that is solvent. My daughter attends the Governor's school for the Arts, is enrolled in the pre-medical-science honors HS track and is headed for University of Virginia. My sons- -also headed for U VA--tuition now lower than U of I-Champaign where they were/would have attended. All of this is for half the taxes assessed on my former residence in Wilmette. Interacting here has given me closure!
Aside from the fact that Carol has already posted a bunch of retorts to the Decline 39 group, it is important to address why a non-citizen feels so compelled to continue to post on this topic. The answer is important because after the referendum vote, we all still have to live with each other while she does not. In a small village like ours the "personal is political" takes on a significance not usually associated with county, state or national elections. I want to live respectfully with my neighbors that vote no. I want them to respect my vote. I am suspicious of Margret's motivations, or anybody's who does not live in the District yet posts on this topic. Perhaps it is simply the altruism of "friends, family and the public debt." But I suspect Carl and Carol are onto something - there is another reason why she continues to post the same anti-tax, anti-union, anti-teacher posts. Profit? Position? Schadenfreude?
It's time we stopped equating quality with money spent.