District 201 Board Meeting - February 11, 2009

[Ted]

  This is a summary of the District 201 board meeting that occurred on February 11, 2009.  The meeting started at 7:22 and ended at 8:20. All board members were present except for the always absent Max Flores.


1. Parents protest firing of Morton West Principal John Lucas - Two parents (former Morton PTO President Rita Maniotis and Mary Forstyn) spoke out against the firing/resignation of Morton West principal John Lucas. Ms. Maniotis stated that she had seen the coming and going of three principals at Morton West and that John Lucas was by far the best. She said the under John Lucas test scores had gone up and attendance rates had gone up.

   Ms. Maniotis praised Lucas for bringing open communication to the school and a friendliness to the students. She said all the students knew him and who he was (unlike the previous principal). She said the atmosphere at Morton West changed dramatically after Lucas became principal. She also told of the many things John Lucas did to support the PTO, including attending all meetings and giving money out of his own pocket to reward the top 25 performers at the school.

  Ms. Manotis said  "John Lucas deserves a pay raise, not a pink slip." She then went on and stated that it didn't look good for a school board where 6 of the 7 members are from Cicero to fire the principal at Morton West without getting input from the communities that feed Morton West (Berwyn, Stickney, Forest View, Lyons and McCook).   Mary Forstyn made similar comments about the Lucas firing/resignation.

  I looked at Acting Superintendent Senters several times while Ms. Maniotis was reading her statement and his body language spoke volumes. He did not look happy. At one point, he looked like he was about to jump out of his chair. Throughout the reading of her statement, Senters was squirming around in his chair and kept crossing his arms across his chest.  After Maniotis spoke, Senters gave a short, curt response saying that the district "appreciated" the service of John Lucas; that technically Lucas resigned (i.e. he as not "fired")  and that all personnel matters are private.


2. District documents go online - The board announced a far reaching program that all district documents would be put online on the district's website.  The district will have post a check list that will have all the checks written by the district.  In addition, the district will post all collective bargaining agreements, all contracts and all bids. It was stated that District 201 would be one of the few districts in the state of Illinois to post all of this information online.  Board Member Joe Keating asked that the board meeting package also be put online (similar to what the city of Berwyn does) in the district's effort to go paperless.


3. Salvador Dali Lives!  - There were student presentations who had received awards in computer aided design and graphics, architecture and art, including one art student who had won a $1,000 award for a very good surreal painting that he displayed.  From afar, it looked like a human skull but as you got closer to the painting, you saw a series of human hands clasping each other. It was a very good example of surreal art and was very impressive.  He deserved to win the $1,000 prize.


4. Vocational Training - The district announced several steps to increase vocational training in the district, including the fact that a teacher in carpentry had acquired OSEA (sp?) certification as a training instructor and was now qualified to teach and certify OSEA certifications. Board President Jeff Pesek stated that this was part of an effort to bring more vocational traning back into Morton.


5. Half Year financials - The district is half way through the financial year. Both revenue and expenses are around 36 million dollars inthe operating funds so far this year.  Total revenue collected is $41 million and total expenditures is $45 million, which includes the payment of $9 million dollars in bond interest. Revenue collected is 46% of what was budgeted and expenses spent is 43% of what was budgeted in the operating funds. There was a minor transfer of funds between one account to another in the amount of $93,000.


6. Cicero special ed students going back to Cicero - Director of Special Services Vicki Parkinson announced that special ed students from Cicero who attend Morton West (because Morton West has the facilities to be able to serve them) will be moved back to the schools in Cicero. Parkinson said 140 Cicero students would be moved, freeing up 7 classrooms at Morton West. Ms. Parkinson did state that the move would cause a hardship on the 140 students because the Cicero schools did not have the type of facilities that Morton West had to handle special ed students. Ms. Parkinson said that District 201 has 1,040 special education students, including 77 students who receive training outside of the district.


7. Administrative re-structuring - An administrative re-structuring was announced in the board presidents report. Assistant Principals would now become "leaders in instruction and services" and that the district would "implement a philosophy of house training and building relationships with students."   Deans would now be responsible for "developing more discipline and encouraging positive behaviour".  It was stated that the reason for the re-structuring was due to inconsistencies across the different campuses. The new administrative structure will be implemented in the 2009/2010 school year.


8. District education foundation - Board President Pesek announced plans for the formation of an education foundation for District 201.  I thought District 201 already had an educational foundation to raise money for the district?  I remember seeing an article last year in the LIfe about a fund raiser and have seen information about it online??


9. Approval of policies - The board approved (via the consent agenda) the annual policies on Parental Involvement, Safe Schools and Facilities Use.  At past board meetings, when polcies were approved, an overview of the policy would be given by the superintendent and changes to a policy highlighted.  In the open forum, Mary Forstyn asked why an explanation of the policies was not done this time. The response given was that it took too long to read the entire policy out loud and that the reason they had to create and approve the policies was because the law required them to do so. The response made it sound like the policy statements were a burden they had to create for legal reasons rather than a living document that they could use as guildelines in their daily work.


10. Expulsions - There were two permanent expulsions and 13 regular expulsions. The difference in this batch of expulsions was that all the "other" expulsions were for two year (normally, many of them are for a year of less) and  4 of the 13 regular expulsions did NOT include being put in the alternative school. In most cases, a regular expulsion means moving the student to the Alternative school. However, they are 4 cases in this batch where a student was expelled for 2 years wtih no service at the Alternative School.


11. Federal stimulus bill - In open forum, Mary Forstyn spoke about the fact that money had been taken out of the stimulus package for school construction. She urged people to call their legislators in Washington to get the money put back into the bill. It sounded like some of the money had been put back into the bill in conference but not all of it. 


12. Usual business - The usual business of approving the minutes; paying the bills and payroll; hiring, resignations and leaves of absence for personnel; staff travel and student travel (including a student trip to France); approval of bids and contracts; approval of the budget preparer and calendar; approval of homecoming events (homecoming will be from September 21 to September 26); disposal of property; facility requests (including a request from the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council ??) and the gift of a vintage organ and $1500 form National City Bank.


  The next board meeting with be on March 11, 2009 at the Freshman Center.

[Ted]

  Email from District 201 about this:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 12, 2009

Contact:
Eric Kohn
(p) 312-575-9500
(c) 773-209-3435
(e) eric@urqmedia.com

  Morton 201 Embraces Transparency: Board of Education to Post Check Register, District Contracts Online

  Cicero, Illinois... At their regular meeting on Wednesday, February 11, the Morton High School District 201 Board of Education moved to open the books on the District's spending and budgeting by resolving to establish an online version of the District's check register and roster of contractors for easy public access and perusal. The detailed payment information will be accessible online at the District's website at www.jsmortonhs.com.

   "Our schools are mainly funded by our local taxpayers," said Morton 201 Board President Jeffry Pesek. "As stewards of public dollars, we have a deep respect for our duty to spend these funds wisely. This new online feature will provide residents the ability to 'follow the money'. Taxpayers will be able to see how and where their money is being spent."

   "The other benefit of taking advantage of this opportunity afforded to us by the digital age in which we live is that taxpayers can gain a better understanding of all the costs that go into running an 8,000 student school district," Pesek added. "This will help residents get a better appreciation for the excellent job our administrators, teachers, and staff do with limited resources."

   The District's online check register will record the date, amount and purpose of all payments made by the District, except when otherwise prohibited by law. Additionally, the District's website will keep record of all who hold contracts with the District valued at a minimum of $25,000 annually. Board resolutions, policies, procedures, rules, proclamations agendas and Board meeting minutes will also be posted along with the financial information.

   Morton High Schools serve more than 8,000 students from the communities of Berwyn, Cicero, Forest View, Lyons, McCook and Stickney. In 2003 Morton celebrated its 100th anniversary and is proud to continue into the twenty-first century with vocational and college preparatory courses.

  The District Offices are located at 2423 South Austin, Cicero.

[java]

Ted,
Thanks for attending and recapping the meeting.

The transparency effort is a commendable move by this board.

Mark

[Ted]

... The transparency effort is a commendable move by this board.

According to a couple people I spoke to , Margaret Kelly is making transparency one her main campaign themes (i.e. there was more transparency in bids and contracts when she was board president than under the current board).

  Adding this initiative to the election mix should make transparency an interesting issue in the campaign.

  Ted

[mustang54]

... The transparency effort is a commendable move by this board.

According to a couple people I spoke to , Margaret Kelly is making transparency one her main campaign themes (i.e. there was more transparency in bids and contracts when she was board president than under the current board).

  Adding this initiative to the election mix should make transparency an interesting issue in the campaign.

  Ted

It won't be an issue in the election. Its done. They said last night the information might be on the web site within 2 weeks. So transparency is a mute point as an election issue.
The last board was more transparent because it had no consent agenda. This goes further than they did because they will post every bid not just the winner.
  After putting test scores and graduating rates in the tank along with tapping out borrowing power while running up 200 million in debt while letting the buildings fall apart at the same time
I cant see any themes she could come up with that people would find believeable. With a track record like that I would be embarrassed to even put my name on a ballot.

[new2berwyn]

Mr. Ted:

according to what I hear from the busniess meeting of the board there was a man at the last meeting to talk about this stuff.  The man at the last busniess meeting said that he and the board are putting these items on the computer site for people to see.  Now i hear you say that people say Miss Kelly is going to talk about this aas she run for the board.  When did this Miss Kelly come up with this idea.  It seems that maybe she was goign to copy these people of the board.

I do not think that is right.

[Ted]

Mr. Ted:

according to what I hear from the busniess meeting of the board there was a man at the last meeting to talk about this stuff.  The man at the last busniess meeting said that he and the board are putting these items on the computer site for people to see.  Now i hear you say that people say Miss Kelly is going to talk about this aas she run for the board.  When did this Miss Kelly come up with this idea.  It seems that maybe she was goign to copy these people of the board.

I do not think that is right.

  You are confusing two things - One issue is publicly announcing at board meetings who bid on contracts, what the amount the bids were,  who was awarded a contract and for what amount.  That is the issue of transparency and openness.

  The second issue is the posting of District 201 material on the District 201 website.  That is more an issue of ease of access to material but it is related to the issue of transparency. Those are two distinct but related issues.

  For the last two years, the new board has not announced publicly at board meetings who is receiving a contract, the amount of the contract, the purpose of the contract and what other companies bid on contracts and the amount of the bid.  For the most part, this is approved as part of a consent agenda, In most board meetings there are no public statements on what companies are receiving contracts, the amount of the contracts and what other companies have bid on. The times that has happened have been sporadic.

  For example, last night the only contract where the bids were announced and the amount of the bid awarded was for the Freshman Center Security System.  The names of the companies and the amounts of the contracts was not announced publicly for the following contracts:  West Senior breakfast; the Youth Outreach Services; East Sneior Prom DJ; East Senior Prom Photographer; East Senior Prom decorations; Rugby Club Fundraiser; Cintas Food Services Supply Orders; 2009/2010 Student Agenda Planners.  There was discussion about contract with Royal Publishing, Pepsi-Cola and Varsity Calendar Company but the amount of the contracts were not stated publicly.

  That is one of the issues I have raised on BTF the last few years.  I believe that is what Dr. Kelly is referring to when she talks about transparency because, when she was board president, every contract was described, the company that got the contract was announced, the amount of the bid was announced and all other companies that submitted bids and the amounts of those bids were also announced.

So, Mrs. Kelly is not "copying" anyone's ideas.  The fact that the board will now post all contracts and bids should not preclude them from announcing and discussing contracts and bids at the board meetings.

I am glad that District 201 is going to post this material on their website. It will go a long way.  But, I also believe that bids and contracts should be announced publicly in board meetings as well.

  One does not preclude the other.

   Ted

[Ted]

Mr. Ted:

according to what I hear from the busniess meeting of the board there was a man at the last meeting to talk about this stuff.  The man at the last busniess meeting said that he and the board are putting these items on the computer site for people to see.  Now i hear you say that people say Miss Kelly is going to talk about this aas she run for the board.  When did this Miss Kelly come up with this idea.  It seems that maybe she was goign to copy these people of the board.

I do not think that is right.

  btw, the "man" who spoke at the January board meeting about putting the district's check register online was Dan Proft. Mr. Proft is the district publicist. He is also the publicity firm for the Town of Cicero, the Morton College Board, the Cicero elementary school district and for Larry Dominick's political organization, the Cicero Voters' Alliance.

  It is ironic that Mr. Proft would talk about transparency because the contract that the district awarded to Mr. Proft in August of 2007 was anything but transparent.  There was no discussion about the contract or the amount of the contract or even the fact that the contract was for a publicist.  Dr. Nowakowski talked about all the other contracts on the August 2007 agenda but he just whizzed on by the contract awarded to Proft, saying absolutely nothing about it.

  I would have expected a decision by District 201 to contact with a publicist would have warranted public discussion in a board meeting rather than sneaking it in with no discussion at all.

Ted

[n01_important]

Ted,

Once again, thanks for the effort you put in to keep us knuckleheads informed.

4. Vocational Training - can't the HS work with the community college to offer more vocational training?  Morton College could offer more program not only to the HS but to the community-at-large.  Or would that make too much sense?

7. Administrative re-structuring - re-structuring is way to hide bodies when leaders make mistakes.  Ask a lot of questions when a leader feels he/she needs to "re-structure".

8. District education foundation - who is going to contribute to the foundation?  HS dropouts?

9. Approval of policies - un-f@#$23 believable. 

Is anyone from Berwyn running for Morton 201?  We need to change the leadership in that board.

[Berwyn Patsy]

Has the school board changed it's policy about members missing 3 meetings, and
then they are out? (Max Flores)

[Ted]

Has the school board changed it's policy about members missing 3 meetings, and
then they are out? (Max Flores)

Pat,

  Max Flores did attend the regular board meeting in December, so I doubt it matters any more.  It is a moot point.  The April meeting will be the last meeting of the current board.

  So, even if Max Flores missed the March meeting, it would be meaningless for the board to vote to replace him at the April meeting because the newly elected board would take power in the May meeting.

  Ted

[Ted]

4. Vocational Training - can't the HS work with the community college to offer more vocational training?  Morton College could offer more program not only to the HS but to the community-at-large.  Or would that make too much sense?

  Actually, one thing I forgot to mention in my recap is that the board did announce that District 201 and Morton College had agreed to a program where students who passed a Spanish speaking proficiency exam would receive simultaneous credit at Morton college.  Morton College will also be setting up a concurrent enrollment program with District 201 for Morton College students who need to take courses in remedial math and remedial reading.

  District 201 does have several "simultaneous" credit situations in conjunction with Morton College where a student can take a course in District 201 and get simultaneous credit for it at Morton College.

  As for vocational training, I think the whole purpose of vocational training is to give educational experience in a trade or craft that kids who are not college material can use to get a job after high school.

7. Administrative re-structuring - re-structuring is way to hide bodies when leaders make mistakes.  Ask a lot of questions when a leader feels he/she needs to "re-structure".

  To be truthful, after hearing this last night and re-reading my notes, I wasn't quite sure what was being re-structured... <LOL>.  When the plan was explained last night, I was thinking - Well, shouldn't assistant principals ALREADY be leaders in instruction and services?  Shouldn't deans ALREADY be trying to maintain discipline and bring a positive attitude to the school?

  I really didn't get what the significance of the change was or what was being re-structured.

8. District education foundation - who is going to contribute to the foundation?  HS dropouts?

  They talked about former Morton students and the community helping to fund the foundation. Both elementary school districts in Berwyn have a similar type of foundation.

  What puzzled me is that a foundation ALREADY exists for Morton High School.  Why is the board creating a new foundation?  Why not just get involved and support the existing foundation?

  I don't get it.

Is anyone from Berwyn running for Morton 201?  We need to change the leadership in that board.

  Is that a leading question?  ....  <LOL>

  Actually, there was a big change in leadership after the April 2007 election. The incumbent board president and one of the incumbent board members (both from Berwyn) lost their re-election bid and 4 people from Cicero were elected to the board.  The current board is made up of 6 members from Cicero (5 of whom are employees of the Town of Cicero) and 1 member from Berwyn.


   FYI, I am running for the District 201 school board in April.  The people who are on the ballot for the April election to the District 201 school board are:

Here are the people running who are from Berwyn:
Ted Korbos (me) - ran and lost in the 2007 election
Mark Titzer (a.k.a Java on BTF) - ran and lost in the 2007 election
Joe Keating (a.k.a. Jman on BTF) - current board member. first elected in 2001; only person on the current board from Berwyn
Margaret Kelly - former board member and board president; defeated in the 2007 election
Pat Fortunato - former board member; defeated in the 2007 election
Eulalia Ortiz - ran and lost in 2007 election

Here are the people running who are from Cicero:
Jessica Jamarillo-Flores - current board member, first elected in 2007
Laura Martin Salazar - current board member, first elected in 2005
Tom Weir - Morton High School alum (I think class of 71), heavily involved in the football program and other sports programs
John Ledvina


  That's the list of people running (unless anyone was thrown off the ballot)

[historicalperspective]

What is the name of the current foundation for Morton?  Dr. No always stated that the District needed a foundation but did not have one.

I am interested to know what this District Foundation is and when it was created.  Please assist me with such information.

[Ted]

What is the name of the current foundation for Morton?  Dr. No always stated that the District needed a foundation but did not have one.

I am interested to know what this District Foundation is and when it was created.  Please assist me with such information.

  It is called the Morton Scholarship League.  They had a fund raiser last April on April 28.  The article says it was formed in 1935. The Illinois Secretary of State documentation indicates the organization was formed in 1937.  WIth either date, it has been around for over 70 years.


Here is an article from the Life newspaper:

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/news/x1804948102

  Scholarship league sells tickets for annual dinner

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Cari Brokamp, cbrokamp@mysuburbanlife.com
Berwyn Life
Mon Apr 28, 2008, 04:59 PM CDT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Berwyn, IL -
   
    The Morton Scholarship League, a local organization that helps District 201 students continue their education past high school, is selling tickets for its annual dinner.

   The dinner is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, at the Skylite West Banquet Hall, 7117 Ogden Ave., Berwyn. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m. There will be a cash bar and entertainment provided by advanced vocal and guitar students from District 201.

   This year will mark the organization's 73rd year, which, since 1935, has distributed more than $350,000 to more than 1,100 students who might not have been able to continue their education otherwise.

Tickets are $20 per person and can be obtained by calling Wanda Moy at (708) 899-2923 or Julie Rawers at (708) 484-5110.

[Ted]

What is the name of the current foundation for Morton?  Dr. No always stated that the District needed a foundation but did not have one.

I am interested to know what this District Foundation is and when it was created.  Please assist me with such information.

And here is information from the Illinois Secretary of State site:

Entity Name  MORTON SCHOLARSHIP LEAGUE 
File Number 24958558
Status ACTIVE 
Entity Type CORPORATION 
Type of Corp NOT-FOR-PROFIT
Incorporation Date (Domestic)  01/21/1937   
State  ILLINOIS 
Agent Name KAREN A HALLA 
Agent Change Date 04/19/2000
Agent Street Address 2423 S AUSTIN BLVD 
President Name & Address 
Agent City CICERO 
Secretary Name & Address 
Agent Zip 60804 
Duration Date PERPETUAL
Annual Report Filing Date 12/08/2008  For Year 2009

[Ted]

What is the name of the current foundation for Morton?  Dr. No always stated that the District needed a foundation but did not have one.

I am interested to know what this District Foundation is and when it was created.  Please assist me with such information.

  There is also this organization, which seems to have been "involuntary dissolved" at around the time of the Klingenberg scandal.  Was this organization part of the Klingenberg scandal?  Does anyone know?

Here is the information from the Illinois Secretry of State's Office:

Entity Name  J.S. MORTON FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE 
File Number 54104774
Status DISSOLVED 
Entity Type CORPORATION 
Type of Corp NOT-FOR-PROFIT
Incorporation Date (Domestic)  01/13/1986   
State  ILLINOIS 
Agent Name MARK S MORO 
Agent Change Date 04/30/1992
Agent Street Address 2423 S AUSTIN BLVD 
President Name & Address 
Agent City CICERO 
Secretary Name & Address
INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION 06 01 93
Agent Zip 60650 
Duration Date PERPETUAL
Annual Report Filing Date 00/00/0000  For Year 1993

[EC]

If memory serves me right, this Moro guy had something to do with some sort of spending scandal and may have been a board member. Their was some accusation that the district payed for a board member's tuition (Kloslowski?) and this one may have had a say in it, I think. Not totally sure.

[oldberwynite]

If Margaret kelly wins, then we may as well have George Svach and Koslowski back in, these people might have been the sneakiest board members ever,they were the ones that hired Klinginberg, who had many problems before dist 201

[Berwyn Patsy]

I am still amazed MK has the nerve to run again! 

[OakParkSpartan]

I am still amazed MK has the nerve to run again! 

Ditto.