Can't Trust Board That Referendum is Best Option: Letter

The following letter was written and submitted by Lilla Daniels.

Throughout my search for answers regarding the D112referendum, I’ve been repeatedly told that I should simply trust the Board and Administration, and that the $198 million referendum is the best possible solution. I really want to believe that, but my involvement in the district has led me to another conclusion.

When I first moved to Highland Park, Braeside was the best public school in Lake County. In the intervening years, things have changed: we have a new superintendent, new heads of curriculum, and several new Board members. While these people have dedicated their time and energy to the education of our children, our district has also changed. And not for the better.

For starters, the Board has ratified two unsustainable contracts with our teachers, asked the community for input on the viability of the middle-school campus (and then ignored our concerns), and petitioned the State of Illinois to increase the unsustainable amount of the referendum to $198 million.

Meanwhile, we are still waiting for a math curriculum to be introduced. While we wait, the administration admits that some students will fall through the cracks. We are still waiting for the introduction of an elementary school science curriculum. We are still waiting for an improved writing curriculum. We are told Common Core is to blame, but others suburbs—including Deerfield—seemed to have this figured out, with superior test score results.

I have been told by 112 that we use a “hodgepodge” of materials for math. That means teachers are free to use whatever materials they want, and to teach the materials in any order they see fit. I’m fairly certain that this approach does not produce an equal education for all students.

In the midst of financial crises, we issued Chromebooks that the PTOs paid for. Yet this project had no pilot or teacher training. When I asked why, I was told: We are “building the plane as we are fly it.” The My Path suffers from similar issues.

Repeatedly, I’ve heard this: “We are the only district doing this.” That doesn’t comfort me. Now 112 wants to experiment again in an untested middle school of more than 1800+ students.

I wish I could just “go along with it,” but my four years of working on the PTO have given me a different view. I’m not against spending money on buildings, but I’m against forever altering our community to do so.

Lilla Daniels