District 210 Community Group Touts Positive Actions in 2016

Any citizen who doubts that he or she can make a difference in local government or community matters can look to the example of Lincoln-Way High School District 210, where regular people getting involved in day-to-day workings of the financially troubled district have begun to initiate monumental change in a year’s time.

The District 210 community awoke to the issues facing its high schools after the Board of Education and administration disclosed after more than a decade of balanced budgets and a deceptively rosy public facade that the district was, in reality, in severe debt – debt so staggering that the State of Illinois placed the district on its Financial Watch list. The Board responded to the designation by quickly voting to close eight-year-old Lincoln-Way North High School as a proposed solution to keeping the State satisfied with this “forward progress.” Stunned community members demanded, but still have not received, justification for the closure, and immediately joined resources to search for answers. Their work and constant pressure over the past 18 months have slowly prompted the Board of Education to move in a positive direction.

People Power

“The people of District 210 were literally shocked into action, and we have answered the call of students, taxpayers, parents, and business owners who were reeling from the disclosures and subsequent decisions of the Board of Education,” said Liz Sands, a leader of Lincoln-Way Area Taxpayers Unite, the self-organized community group that began investigating the district in 2015. “We have a very long way to go with transparency and accountability in this school district, but we are grateful for the significant victories we have achieved this year. We feel these elected officials are listening to the speeches, the emails, the phone calls, the detailed requests for information that we share every Board meeting, and every day.”

Here are several of the areas in which the Board has taken progressive steps in the past year, largely resulting from community guidance:

Acting Openly

• Started videotaping meetings. The Board now videotapes and posts open meeting actions for citizens who cannot attend monthly meetings.
• Posting Board packets online. Anyone can now review the information that Board members have in their packets for meetings. This can help anticipate questions that Board members should be asking.
• Posting audits, AFRs, and budgets on its transparency web page.

Righting the Organization

• Updated its organizational chart. For far too long, the formal organization of the Board put administrators as equals or even leaders in the decision-making process. In reality, the Board answers to the people, and today, the organizational chart has “community” first on its org chart. This positive step acknowledges that the Board comprises elected officials, and hires administrators, including the superintendent.
• Engaging the community for strategic planning. The district voted to take advantage of the no-cost services of a strategic consulting firm, and developed a survey to gather community input. A group of community members is meeting in early December.
• Facilitated a financial-planning assessment. The Board has taken steps to have independent assessment of its financial activities.
• Hired a new auditor. After using the same auditor for more than 20 years—unheard of in the private sector—the Board voted to use a new firm to give an unbiased, fresh look at the financial actions of the district.
• Formed a functioning Finance Committee. Though the Board still lacks an Audit Committee, it has established an independent committee dedicated to reviewing financial decisions in the district and bringing recommendations back to the Board for action. These meetings are also taped.
• Corrected $523,000 deficit in the Building and Trades account. This money was incorrectly coded in budgets, and was improperly used.
• Returned $4.6 million of bond proceeds to the Capital Improvement Fund. This money was also incorrectly coded and was being misused.
• Preparing realistic budgets that are not balanced, and show actual deficits.
• Filled treasurer position with someone who has documented financial experience.

Keeping An Eye on Revenue

• Acquired appraisals on property. The Board has been in the real estate business for many years, owning three unused parcels of land earmarked for future high schools. The Board recently agreed to seek sealed bids for the sites, and the superintendent personally said he would inform local realtors and farmers that the land will be for sale.
• Asked Aunt Nancy's for a stipend. For-profit daycare provider, Aunt Nancy’s, has operated in district schools without paying any rent. The district has paid for playground equipment and utilities during this time. Now, the district is charging the provider rent, and will go out for competitive bids.
• Put new vendor contracts out for bid, instead of renewing contracts year after year without healthy, potentially cost-saving competition.
• Ensuring that the Lincoln-Way Foundation Executive Director is not currently being paid with district funds.
• Preparing budget versus actual reports, to share the realistic state of the district.

Operating Properly

• Added the traffic light on Schoolhouse Road. After intense research and government outreach from parents, the Board took this serious safety measure for students of Lincoln-Way Central.
• Required that Aunt Nancy's have the correct amount of insurance coverage for the businesses running on district property.
• Removal of plaques honoring embattled former Superintendent Larry Wyllie, who is now under federal investigation for his alleged role in the financial decline of the district. Students and community members were insulted by the recognition of Wyllie in all four high schools.
• Usage of the high-tech, energy-efficient co-generation facilities in the schools for the simultaneous generation of heat and electricity.
• Rectified Driver’s Education fee structure. The district is charging families the proper fees for Drivers’ Education, and has returned monies it overcharged in past years.

“These steps are encouraging, says Sands. “And they were likely taken because of the diligence of our community members.”