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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.
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.”
The following is a press release from Robert Lee, candidate fo District 300 school board:
EAST DUNDEE – Robert Lee, candidate for District 300 school board, highlighted his efforts to incorporate new web based technologies into his campaign. He released a YouTube video in the hopes of communicating to more voters directly before the April 7, 2009 election, and plans to release more in the coming weeks.
“Before the holiday, the Policy Committee discussed the use of technology in the classroom. It made me realize how little I know about it,” Lee said. “I decided to incorporate that technology into my campaign to both communicate with the community better and educate myself about its potential.”
Lee continued that the Policy Committee’s discussion included a detailed presentation by the technology staff of the district, which helped to spur his interest into different technologies available. Additionally, Monday night’s board meeting saw a presentation directly from students on the power of web based technologies in the classroom.
“Incorporating these simple and widely available technologies opens up tremendous opportunity for the school district. We could literally broadcast public meetings to the entire community to view at their leisure, and the utility in the classroom is obviously invaluable. Most importantly, these technologies are of minimal cost, helping the district to do more with less money.”
In the coming weeks, Lee plans to release more videos about why he’s running for District 300 and the issues important to his campaign. He encourages people to use the same tools to communicate with him about
the issues, as well. Lee hopes to incorporate all his videos on his website soon. In the meantime, he said community members can visit http://www.youtube.com/leeforillinois.
The following is a press release from Robert Lee, announcing his candidacy for District 300 school board. It is posted here for the benefit of the community and does not represent any official endorsement at this time. For more information, visit the campaign website: http://www.robertwadelee.com
ROBERT LEE ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR DISTRICT 300 SCHOOL BOARD
EAST DUNDEE – Robert Lee, a member of the District 300 Community Finance Committee (CFC) and resident of East Dundee, announced his campaign for the District 300 School Board.
“District 300 is a fundamental part of my community. I’ve had the privilege to be part of D300 with the Policy Committee and CFC. Now, I hope that my neighbors give me a chance to serve them further on the Board of Education,” Lee said.
Petitioning for the April 7, 2009 consolidated election began on October 29, 2008, with the goal of each candidate for the Board of Education to collect at least fifty valid signatures. Lee feels that should not be a problem for him considering his involvement with some of the District’s committees.
“I have been exposed to the finances of the school district and the policies that govern the district’s activities. Also, I worked with other members of the community to develop ways to improve the district’s communication activities. That exposure has given me insight into what the board must do to establish a strong district for current and future students to enjoy. We still face significant issues regarding our budgeting process, program evaluation, and curriculum that must be resolved, though.”
Robert notes that since the referendum, non-capital expenditures have outpaced incoming revenues. He continues that another referendum will not be necessary if the school district begins to implement policies that control reckless spending. Additionally, he notes that district safety issues are important for the future of the school district, and wishes to see the curriculum improve in a way that develops students who take personal responsibility in their education seriously.
“I’m running because my community is important to me. East Dundee and District 300 are my home, and will be for a long time. I want to make sure District 300 is a source of pride for students, parents, families, and taxpayers are proud in.”
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For more information about Robert Lee or his commitment to the District 300 community, please contact him by telephone at (847) 844-0397, by cellular phone at (970) 420-6468, by email at rob@robertwadelee.com, or by visiting http://www.robertwadelee.com.
The following notice appeared on the D300 website:
ALL D300 SCHOOLS WILL BE CLOSED ON THURSDAY, FEB. 7, 2008, SO THAT THE ROADS CAN BE THOROUGHLY CLEARED BEFORE RESUMING CLASS ON FRIDAY. HOWEVER, ALL EXTRACURRICULAR AND CO-CURRICULAR AFTER-SCHOOL MEETINGS, PRACTICES, AND COMPETITIONS WILL BE PERMITTED TO OCCUR ON THURSDAY AS NORMAL. THANK YOU.
Chicago Tribune has this quote from Dr. Ken Arndt in an article posted this evening:
“If there was a popularity poll now, I’d be worse than Fred Thompson,” said Ken Arndt, superintendent of the Carpentersville-based Unit School District 300.
Arndt said he got so many complaints from parents that his e-mail and the district phone system each crashed.
He’s already called off school twice this winter, and as it is will see the school year extend through June 16.
Make that June 17th.
With a forecast of 10-14 inches of snow, why didn’t they close this morning, like the rest of the surrounding districts? Wasn’t this what “snow days” were created for?
Does this have anything to do with the fact that there were parents questioning why classes were canceled on Friday?
According to the Northwest Herald, some D300 schools are closing early, although elementary schools were reported to be on regular schedule.
To the dismay of some, and the delight of others, school started this past week for D300 students.
For folks on the West side, particularly who use Miller Rd and/or attend Liberty Elementary school … how’s that new stacking lane working out?
Though yet to be completed, the waiting/stacking lane at Liberty Elementary school at Miller and Huntley Roads on the Village’s West side will probably be one of the things that will be on President Bill Sarto’s list of things accomplished in the Village. The stacking lane will help ease traffic congestion along Miller Road, particularly at dismissal time at the school.
However, not everyone is happy about the new lane. Some residents have come forth at Board meetings to express their disappointment that the Village is spending $66,000 for a temporary waiting lane. The decision to get something done to ease traffic problems as soon as possible is due, in part, to the fact that members of the Village Board, in a special meeting with members of the District 300 Board, parents of Liberty students and residents, had agreed to work to resolve the problem.
Problems with acquisition of land necessary have put off going directly to constructing a permanent fix. In many cases, land owners will donate the portion of their property needed for such things to the Village or the school. That has not happened in this case. Eminent domain proceedings will have to be filed in order to obtain the land, which could take much more time.
D300 officials came back after the meeting and said that they would not contribute to the temporary fix, though. Despite the fact that this would benefit the school, and provide a quick solution to the matter, D300 opted to leave it all up to the Village to fix. This is a problem that D300 officials allowed/created when they built (and build) schools without any consideration for traffic coming to and from the school.
Now, once the stacking lane is completed, the Village is looking to put more restrictions in place to ensure that the money it has decided to spend for the parents and residents of Liberty is not in vain. Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski will call for a ban on parking west of the stacking lane.
This seems like a good idea. After all, if the Village is footing the entire bill to get a fix in place quickly, then folks need to be utilizing it. And, if there are further problems, then D300 needs to get those things fixed … while also living up their end of the deal on the permanent stacking lane.
Here’s something that should definitely be of interest to Carpentersville Action Network readers …
McHenry Country Blog has some in-depth coverage on “tax hike committee” Advance 300 actions to stop the anti-“pay to play” item that was on Monday nite’s District 300 meeting agenda.
When Algonquin’s John Ryan beat school board President Mary Fioretti, one of his issues was following in the footsteps of Cary Grade School District 26. In this neighboring school district, board member Chris Jenner led the way for school districts statewide with a similar ordinance.
Tonight, Ryan’s proposal is scheduled to come up for a vote.
“Chair” of Advance300, Nancy Zettler, says there’s “no problem” with pay to play in D300. But, McHenry County Blog would argue otherwise, noting that companies that contributed a total of $37,000 collectively, received over $76 million in D300 contract awards.
Folks may recall that Advance 300 was highly instrumental in getting passed a huge referendum for D300 in March 2006. Not too long afterward, D300 began proclaiming their money woes again.
Others on the D300 board, however, don’t like Ryan’s insinuations.
Yes, I have a problem with Advance 300‘s very existence. And, yes, I do care “about the kids” and “about making D300 the best possible”. I have a problem when District actions are heavily influenced by any small political conglomerate, because it forces districts to cater to one or the other, taking away from the democratic process by taking individual actions and ideas out of competition.
The NW Herald quotes board member Mary Warren as saying …
“There is no pay-to-play here,” board member Mary Warren said. “We take the low bid, and I think this could hinder us.”
But, The Daily Herald reports …
Last year, Burnidge Cassell and Associates, an Elgin-based design firm, donated $5,000 to Advance 300, the group that successfully campaigned for two large tax hikes in Community Unit District 300.
After the election, District 300 awarded Burnidge Cassell a no-bid contract to design new schools that would be financed by money the district gained in the 2006 referendum.
Now, apparently Burnidge-Cassell has been under contract for several years, before the referendum. However, I think it contradicts Ms Warren’s statements. But, if it’s not a problem, why not make sure it doesn’t ever become a problem?
And, take notice of how Advance 300‘s arguments mirror that of the Board members …
After all the problems that seem to keep coming up on D300 with finances, you’ve got to begin to wonder whether there is something more to it …
Carpentersville Action Network 
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