Chargers to receive Welcome Home Sunday

CARPENTERSVILLE – Five villages in the Dundee-Crown High School area will partner with D300 this Sunday afternoon to welcome home the DCHS Boys Basketball Team from the state tournament.

Police from Algonquin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, and West Dundee will participate in an “Official Escort” of the team bus en route to Dundee-Crown High School.  The Carpentersville Fire Department will also join this celebration.

The Official Escort will start at approximately 2 p.m. along Route 72 in Sleepy Hollow.  The route will continue east on Route 72 through downtown Dundee, turn north on Route 25, west on Route 62 into Algonquin, south on Route 31, east on Huntley/Main into Old Town Carpentersville, and veer around the north side of Carpenter Park before eventually ending in the school parking lot.  Fans are welcome to stand along the Carpentersville Bridge or in Carpenter Park.  Pom dancers and “Super Fans” from Dundee-Crown will be in Carpenter Park to cheer on the team as the bus passes.

The Dundee-Crown team is headed to the Final Four this Friday evening (March 20) in Peoria, playing games both Friday and Saturday to determine their ultimate placement in history.  Regardless of the outcome, the team and Coach Lance Huber have already broken records, baffled odds-makers, and stirred an intense pride in DCHS fans of all ages.  Never before has Dundee-Crown been to the IHSA state finals for boys basketball.  Never before has any boys basketball team from the Fox Valley Conference gone this far, for that matter.  The last time the community saw this level of excellence well preceded the merger of Dundee and Crown High Schools, with Dundee High School taking third in state in 1946 after winning the state title in 1938.

The idea for the Official Escort came from Carpentersville Village Hall, with Carpentersville officials contacting the District 300 Department of Communication Services on Wednesday as news of DCHS’s historic trip to the state finals swept across the region.  D300 Administration and DCHS school officials collaborated closely with police, fire, and municipal officials to make Carpentersville’s vision for its hometown team become a reality.

Lee on D300 Ethics Reforms and Student Fees Increase

Rob Lee, candidate for D300 Board, has issued press releases regarding his position on the progress made on ethics reform and opposing increases in Student Fees.  The releases are posted in their entirety below:

ROBERT LEE STATEMENT ON PROGRESS FOR DISTRICT 300 ETHICS REFORMS

I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made in the Policy Committee on important ethical reforms for District 300.  I stand committed to the principle that District 300 must not engage in business with vendors or contractors that seek to influence district elections with political contributions.

More so, I have a sincere hope and belief that we, both as a committee and a school district, will implement these reforms before too long.  In light of what has happened in our state within recent months, all levels of government need to look long and hard at whether an opportunity for conflicts of interest exists in their policies.  District 300 has an opportunity, and I believe our board has an obligation to close that loophole as soon as possible.

In the Policy Committee, we’ve asked the question – how will this policy be implemented?  I support a policy which clearly states the expectations of the district, but still allows the administrative staff enough flexibility to enforce the policy fairly and efficiently.

Including a statement of the policy with documents such as bid packets and a request for quotes is one such way.  We include other requirements with those documents already, and this requirement would not be anything capricious.  I do not find it unreasonable to require a vendor or contractor to avoid political conflicts of interest.  For example, vendors and contractors must demonstrate they meet prevailing wage requirements, something far more stringent and pressing.

What is most important is that District 300 is that we make an effort to close this potential loophole.  Waiting for our own version of the former governor to emerge is unacceptable.  We have an opportunity now to pass what is a difficult, but necessary, reform.  By the progress we’ve seen with this policy, I’m encouraged that we’ll soon see it done.

ROBERT LEE OPPOSES PROPOSED INCREASE IN STUDENT FEES FOR DISTRICT 300

Robert Lee opposes District 300’s proposal to increases student activity fees, as presented at the Board of Education meeting on Monday night.

“I find it ridiculous that we’re raising student fees in light of our economy and other actions of this school district,” Lee said. “Families are facing tough obstacles in the current economy, and last month the district admitted to hiring more teachers than were necessary. In light of that, the district is still asking parents to pay more activity fees on top of what is already paid.”

Lee highlighted the admission that District 300 hired fifteen and a half more full time elementary teacher positions than necessary for the current school year, costing the district hundreds of thousands of dollars that was not needed.

“I do not believe the District has asked teachers to take a pay-cut next year as a result of its poor financial planning, nor do I think it would be fair. Equally, I think it is horribly unjust to ask parents already facing tough times to pay more money for their children’s school activities.”

Lee said this demonstrates another reason his proposals for Financial Impact Statements (FIS) and quantitative program evaluation are critical to improving District 300.

“An FIS would have given the District a five year cost projection for these student activities, allowing for proper budgeting beforehand. Additionally, the District should be able to demonstrate student achievement and performance will drop without parents paying higher activity fees. I will never support an increase to student fees without both these critical pieces of information available. In fact, I wouldn’t even consider it for my vote.”