Elmhurst's 'Wrong Side' Victim Of Greed: Ex-Teacher

ELMHURST, IL – Merging school districts is often controversial. Resentments linger for years, even decades.

In Darien, mere suggestions of combining three tiny elementary districts get shot down.

In 1974, Elmhurst voters approved the merger of York High School with elementary districts 46 and 3.

Nearly a half century later, Elmhurst resident Paul Guerino is still mad about it. On Tuesday, the retired teacher spoke to the school board.

He said the consolidation was the result of the "unadulterated greed" of those south of Armitage Avenue, which was District 46.

North of Armitage, voters gave a "resounding no" to unification, while those on the other side supported it, said Guerino, who taught in local schools from 1960 to 2005.

North Elmhurst, he said, is seen as the "wrong side of the tracks, the wrong side of North Avenue and the wrong side of Armitage."

"Why would anyone choose District 3 over District 46? Money. The District 3 salary left the District 46 salary in the dust," Guerino said.

As a result of unification, he said, District 46 teachers saw a "big bump" in pay, while those in District 3 only got a slight increase. York teachers, meanwhile, would see their pay frozen for two or three years, he said.

"District 3 was flush with cash," Guerino said. "District 46 ... was in very bad financial shape. Downtown Elmhurst was almost a ghost town."

At the time, District 3 included a new junior high and three schools that were two decades old, while District 46 schools were "old and decrepit," Guerino said.

Guerino is no stranger to consolidation battles. He is the president of the board for Bensenville Fire District No. 1, which is a "paper" entity that pays two other agencies to provide fire service just north of Elmhurst.

He has resisted calls for District No. 1 to merge with Bensenville Fire District No. 2, one of the entities that provide service to No. 1.

Illinois has far more local government entities than any other state, even those much larger in population.