Why District 112 Should Not Delay BDR3: Letter

The following letter was written and submitted to Patch by Monica Kornberg.

Many families, the world over, have chosen a community in which to live based on a particular school only to have that school close shortly after their move. Huge bummer; I get it. But, best I can tell, this hasn’t harmed anyone or caused disease. If anything, this bit of adversity builds character. As adults, we need to lead our children through example and not freak out when undesired events occur. Ask military parents. Ask refugees. The school is a building. It’s the teachers that are making the magic happen, not the bricks. If you told me tomorrow that my children needed to change schools next week, I’d say “Which one and what time?” I’m not feeling the hardship here.

BDR3 is based on financial urgency. It is not conspiracy or fraud; it’s math. The board, as well as previous boards, has taken more time on this issue than the time it took your child to get from birth to 5th grade. Nothing the BOE does is rushed or arbitrary. Glaciers are melting faster, sadly.

As far as letting teachers go, this is also neither rushed nor arbitrary and is done in accordance to state law. And the laws that govern corporate America are far different than the laws of the Illinois State Board of Education. Teachers want to work in school districts that are financially strong and stable, districts that are able to pay them and pay them well. Why would the best teachers available want to work here if we go into reserve spending? And why would anyone want to live here if our school district’s finances are in disarray? Hello? Property taxes?

BDR3 does NOT prevent other models from being considered and the Superintendent’s Reconfiguration 2.0 is doing just that. We should be thanking and supporting 2.0 for their hard work and long hours rather than attacking the board for being tough enough to do the right thing while taking abuse from community members that won’t take the time to understand all the facts. We should be thanking the board for their hard work and 24-7 commitment to Highland Park, Highwood and our military families.

Ask yourself, are you serving others or only demanding service?

Monica Kornberg
Highland Park