What You Want to Know About LW 210's Decision to Close a School

Lincoln-Way District 210 supporters want answers from the Board of Education as they focus on the decision to close a school.

Most importantly to some: which school? To others, why close any? And still more—should they close two?

The board will hear from the public during a special meeting Saturday, August 1, and questions submitted in advance of the meeting will be answered first and a public comment session will follow. The district will not allow follow-up questions during the public comment session. We know you have more questions, and we want them to go on the record.

The district’s process of confronting its massive $5.5 million in debt and dire status on the state’s Financial Watch List has motivated supporters to educate and debate options among themselves. Earlier this month, the Board of Education swiftly eliminated any other option than closing a school, with one member stating, “I just don’t see any other way out of this.”

The Board has stated it hopes to have decided which school to shutter by its August 13 meeting.

Parents behind each school have rallied to save their children’s second home, each with impassioned exchanges sharing why their school should be the one spared. From a divided public, comes a common call—transparency and answers.

Last week, Patch asked Lincoln Way readers to share the questions they were submitting to the school board. This is what people say they want to know.

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RECENT COVERAGE

• Could Closing a School be in LW’s Future? Lincoln-Way 210 Faces Tough Financial Questions: District dismisses rumors and says “no formal discussions” of closing LW North or West as officials look for a way off the state’s Financial Watch list. (May 5, 2015)

• ‘I Am Disappointed,’ LW Grad Tells School Board. ‘Figure This Out’:Former student delivers a strong message to the District 210 Board of Education at Wednesday’s presentation about cutbacks. (July 1)

What questions do you have about the decision to close a high school?

• Would a referendum possibly save the school(s) from closure?
• Based off of the little information I have at my disposal, it appears that the district could operate out of LWC and LWE and close LWN and LWW and still not be at capacity for the remaining schools. Was closing two schools considered? Would current juniors be allowed to finish their time at their current school or will they, potentially, be re-aligned, too?
• Can you provide more information regarding the A and B scenarios that were released by the superintendent? What are the boundaries and grade school districts associated with each option? Also, in some of the options being considered, your data seems to show that some of the schools, particularly North, will be over capacity. Can we assume that these options are off of the table and that you are focusing primarily on the options that will give you the most balanced capacity for each of the remaining schools?
• What is the longterm plan for the school that closes. Will it be rented out and opened again if population dictates it or does the district plan to sell it outright?
• From a financial standpoint, Central clearly has the highest operational cost when open. What would the cost be to maintain district offices and IT at Central only? What other factors/considerations are preventing the closing of Central from being the clear solution?
• Which one will be closed?
• As long time residents and tax-payer in the district whose children all extended Lincoln-Way High Schools, we can’t state more emphatically how disappointed we are that this will now affect our grandchildren in the area. However, we also know that blame is not to be laid at anyone’s doorstep, as NO ONE predicted the crash of 2008 when strategic planning was being done to build North and West. That being said, North and West are state of the art buildings. Perhaps Central could be ‘mothballed’ or rented out so that students have the most updated facilities to attend? Also, if boundaries are to be redrawn, it only makes sense that Manhattan students would attend West. We have always wondered why those families “drive by” West on their way to Central...
• At the last board meeting, it was mentioned 24 “scenario” slides existed, why weren’t the other 16 made public?
• What is the specific formula used to determine which school is closed?
• What happens to the Lincoln Way Knights if you close Central. That name is iconic and should not be lost. — Tim Redmon, Dad/grandpa of Marching Knights!
• What will happen to ROTC?
• Where is the non biased independent consulting firm to come in and review and recommend which school to close?
• Since we know one school has to close, regardless of which one, how will leadership and addenda positions in the remaining schools be handled?
• Can any of the schools be leased out to colleges with the chance to take the building back if needed and what kind of revenue could this produce for the dist.
• What will happen to the administration and staff at the closed school? Will they be reassigned to the three remaining schools? If that is the case how will the district be saving money since salaries are the biggest expense in a school district?
• Is it possible to allow the seniors from the NON-CLOSING SCHOOLS to graduate from the school they have been going to for 3 years?
• Is there a potential to close 2 schools? And if so Mokena needs to stay at east. Can’t move them twice.
• Will there be an option for a kid who starts in a school that stays open to have an option to stay and finish (at least upper classman. Even for a fee?
• Also why isn’t there an option to have east over capacity and keep Mokena there, if projections are correct , how long would it be before it would be over capacity?
• Why would you change the dynamics of LWN and LWE especially since they are ranked as top high schools?
• Why not close LWW and move those students to Central? They will still be below capacity?
• Let the finances do the talking, If LW210 was a shareholding company and they close any school but LW Central. the stock would collapse and shareholders would insist on a change in CEO’s. The writing is on the wall, the two “state of the art” new schools need to carry the load with EAST and do what they were designed to do, maintain excellence in education in a safe and healthy environment and keep it affordable. How do they plan to keep costs lower by keeping Central open than the other two schools?
• Since real estate values change constantly, the most valuable location for possible selling of a school is obviously North since its closer proximity to I-80 and Chicago. Also, the two newer schools cannot accommodate as many students as Central and East since the older ones are well maintained and can hold 1200 more students each. Is all of this being taken into consideration for school closing decisions?
• If all households served by the Lincoln Way High schools were to pay more taxes, approximately how much would each household pay?
• How will attendance boundaries will be drawn?
• How will this affect transportation costs in general and specifically bus drivers?
• How many teachers and support staff will lose their jobs?
• For the 8 different scenarios of school closings that the district has provided to the public, what are the costs and savings for each of the scenarios?
  
• A phased boundary or feeder school distribution change will minimize negative impacts on the students, why has the board not made this a priority in previous presentations.
• The west side of the district clearly does not have enough students to warrant keeping two high schools open. Why has your focus not been specifically on Central and West?
• How can you justify displacing students across the district by closing North when it’s New Lenox that doesn’t have the enrollment numbers to support two high schools?
• Is keeping the number of displaced students important to the administration, teaching staff and BOE? If so, why is LWN being considered when LWN Option A displaces the most students of all reasonable Option A’s.
• If this decision to close a school is budget dictated, why has there been no discussion of hard cost?
• What are the board’s top 10 decision factors, in order of importance, and how much weight do these factors carry?
• What assurances to we have—the concerned public—that what got us into this mess has been permanently fixed? How can we be certain that we are receiving all pertinent information?
  
• Can you see the disservice you are doing to our students, by assigning boundaries to correlate with Jr. High School assignments for each of the Feeder Districts?
• What are the specific cost efficient dollar amounts for closing each of the 4 schools? Will you share these with the public before deciding which to close?
• Is the closed school going to be the school that costs the most to maintain and/or operate?
• Is it the intent of the school closing plan to only close the school temporarily? If so, what’s the expected length of time that it will remain closed?
• If the school bus transportation provided by the District is not utilized by a student and if this is truly a District and not Individual Schools, why can’t a student choose to attend the school that their home is physically closer to?
• Why can’t boundaries be created to include the closest radius to each school?
• Two of LW210 schools are located in New Lenox. However, by one of your proposed school re-assignment scenarios, if Central is closed then more than half of the New Lenox student population will be sent to East, including those residing within walking distance to West. Why not allow of the entire New Lenox student population attend the remaining school that is still in New Lenox?
• Has LW210 ever allowed a student to attend another school in the District, other than the one they were assigned to attend?
• Has LW210 ever allowed a student to attend a school inside the District, when they did not reside within the boundaries of LW210?
• Will you post all submitted questions and answers on website or anywhere else, so that those who could not attend could read the same information given at the meeting on August 1?
  
• Is the advice and opinion that Mayor Balderman has given the Board a factor considered to determine which school should be closed?
• What exactly is the advice/opinion from Mayor Balderman?
• Each mayor only represents part of the entire district, and may have their own special interests for their constituents. We heard Mayor Balderman speak; we heard him tell the Board that he has already told them his opinion and what he would do—even though he did not elaborate and tell the audience this opinion. In my opinion Mayor Balderman has the Village of New Lenox in mind.
• The ex-mayor of Manhattan spoke and Margo McDermed attended the meeting. (she even waved to the Board when she arrived late). Do each of these politicians have their own agendas? They do not represent the entire Lincoln-Way Community. The Lincoln-Way 210 School Board members have been elected to represent several communities- Mokena, New Lenox, Manhattan, Tinley Park, Frankfort and, unincorporated Frankfort—which does not have a mayor.
• What factors are considered to determine the school to close? Please provide the community with each factor.
• Government bodies have guidelines to follow when making decisions, what guidelines are considered in regards to the closing of a school? Is there a point value system in place where more points are awarded to more important aspects? Is a pros/cons checklist followed?
• I have read that Lincoln-Way North has the lowest operating costs of all four high schools and the highest capacity percentage. To me it seems like Lincoln-Way North is the most efficient of all four buildings. If the board needs to make a financial decision why would closing the most efficient school be considered as the best option? Shouldn’t it be that you would close the least efficient school and work the options around that plan?
• At the public hearing, you stated the district is in great financial distress and the only option is closing a school. Has the board looked at leasing out the buildings and consider closing the school that would bring in the most “rental” money. This option should be considered to help off set the budget deficit. The marketing of leasing out one school should be considered and closing the school that would generate the most income should also be considered. Thank you, Lori Schloegel
• How many current board members were members when the decision was made to build North and West?
• All four Lincoln-way schools are not only used by students but the community uses them for recreation such as swimming and the weight rooms. It would be to the best interest of the community to even out each of the 4 schools instead of over crowding them as they were about 11 years ago. I would think if you need to close one it would be chosen but the highest cost to maintain. What is going to happen to our taxes? We now pay for 4 schools. Why is the district not pressuring the state to pay what they owe us? Was the Illinois lottery suppose to contribute to the schools? If a school is leased out, where does that money go? Will that school that will be closed ever open again and if it does will they keep the Lincoln way name?
• I heard that West and North can only hold 2,500 students each and the Central and East campuses can hold 3,700 each. This sounds like an obvious decision. Also, North is the most valuable real estate to lease out long term or sell since its close proximity to I-80 and Chicago.

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OTHER RECENT COVERAGE

‘We Cannot Have 4 Schools Open,’ Says D210 Board Member: Board of Education members say they anticipate a formal decision will be made in 30 to 60 days. (July 2)

‘Kids Will Bounce Back,’ L-W North Student Tells Board: If a school closes and students have to be relocated, they will be just fine, one student told the Lincoln-Way Board Wednesday. (July 3)

D210 Board Member: ‘Numbers Speak for Themselves,’ School Closing Only Way Out: Board members vote to table tax hike and cutting extracurriculars, saying neither would ultimately be enough. (July 17)

What questions do you have about the financial problems, the district budget and how the district spends money?

• What are the reasons for considering leaving Central open for students when the operating costs are so much higher than the 2 new state of the art LEED certified schools?
• Will other reductions be made, such as eliminating perks enjoyed by employees? I see many municipal vehicles used by staff unnecessarily. Company cars went out many years ago in the corporate world. We use our own cars/trucks and pay our own gas/insurance maintenance. We don’t provide our carpenters with free trucks just because it is required for the job, why does Lincoln-Way?
• As a former educator and administrator, I understand the overwhelming tasks that face a district with regard to strategic planning, financial expenditures, and allotments within a district. I would like to state that in my view, 2 things contributed significantly to the current scenario: the aforementioned “unpredicted crash” of 2008 AND the failure of the State of Illinois to pay districts what they 1) have formerly paid and 2) SHOULD be paying. This cannot be emphasized enough; the State has a huge role in Lincoln-Way’s present situation. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Luoma (Frankfort).
• Will there be a pay freeze on administrators salaries going forward?
• What are the costs involved with the closing of a school and maintaining the integrity of the facility?
  Have there been any significant changes in the tax payer base? How does the revenue generated in the last five years compare to the last ten years? Similarly, how has the cost structure changed over the last five years versus over the last ten years?
• Which potential closing would save the district the most money?
• Could transferring from pensions to 401ks save money?
• If money is your real concern, then why would you closed a new school and sink tons of money into a school that is old and requires a lot of updating and will continue to need repairs since everything is old and warn and replacing old with new is very costly. As time gos on, material and labor go up. Has anybody on the board taken any of this into consideration?
• I have looked at utility bills that someone posted on the facebook page. Lincoln-Way Central has a sewer and water bill that is over $200,000.00 more than Lincoln-Way North for the 2014 year however, this cost is looks to be consistent for over a two year period. Why is the sewer and water bill so high at Central?
• Limited the currency rates including from over spending and limit the budget so we could have more teachers hired to educate the students included.
• Why are we holding on to property in Frankfort ans south of Manhattan? Shouldn’t that been sold along time ago? Why are we on the watch list? If, all the teachers and employee’s took a pay cut and we raised our taxes can we survive till we get a new president and perhaps the economic situation will turn around?
• Why are we holding on to property in Frankfort ans south of Manhattan? Shouldn’t that been sold a long time ago? Why are we on the watch list? If, all the teachers and employee’s took a pay cut and we raised our taxes can we survive till we get a new president and perhaps the economic situation will turn around?