Thanks for keeping us informed with this article Lorraine.
Great job also to Dr. Riordan and Mr. Hendricks - the powerpoint is very informative.
Times are tough...

I'd suggest sending a "past due" notice to Illinois, asking for the money owed the district, but there's no longer room on that pile.

In April 2007 sd229 residents voted in favor of a referendum allowing a 22cents tax increase. This was supposed to keep them solvent for 10 years.

I hope all concerned don't go "dollar wise and community foolish". In the 'burbs, the public high school is a centerpiece and one of the main measures of desirability. OLCHS used to be very highly regarded and indeed was a reason many chose to settle in Oak Lawn.

This is a critical time for both the school and the village. If the school continues to slip in terms of perception and performance, so will the community.

A moratorium on referenda? Things are a lot different now than they were in 2007. If the residents vote it down, then I guess they get what they deserve in the long run.

here here iuego, how can we keep giving them more money when they cant handle what they have now? do we really need a superintendent ? lets start there. then lets make everyone pay their way if they want extra activities.and its mighty nice that the teachers unions forgoing their raise. they need to feel the pinch like the rest of us.

And to think they wanted a brand new school which wouldve costed probably 60-100 million. The local real estate agents push for it so they could sell more houses and boost commissions. A few parents wanted it but it got shot down in flames because residents simply can't afford the bare essentials.

Luego, Lou, anyone blaming OLCHS admins for the financial bind: bear in mind the State of Illinois owes this school district, and every single district in the State, thousands of dollars. Illinois is several years behind. A school district has to budget the state money, but when it's not paid in, where do they then get it? I also hope you're writing your representatives encouraging them to shoot down any laws that would then turn the burden of pension/school function support to property tax payers, because then you'll really see an education implosion.

a little touchy OLG now are we? I bet you're a liberal who supports Quinn on top of that. Did you or anyone you know get hired in the district to be so overprotective of the admin?

i live in the district and remember the referendum well. I know it's different times since 2007 but you can't solely blame the state for the inability of taxing bodies to live within their means. or make projections on worst case scenarios. Its funny how the same very people who blame the state always vote for Democrats like Blago, Quinn, Madigan

Well I was promised in 2007 that if I voted for the referendum the district wouldn't need money or cut programs for another 10 years. We're only half way there.

That's the mindset of most local Democratic leaders.

This is not a Democrat or Republican thing and the President has very little to do with this issue as Federal dollars for education are minimal at best. Please don’t muddy up a very real issue facing our community with the us versus them argument.

Riordan is to blame! Why does he always find something or someone to blame. He is the CEO....right? He has been there in a decsion making capacity for a long time. When is he going to be held accountable? Just two years ago he was building a new kitchen for Ms Trotto.

We all have sticker shock with our last tax bill. the school district receives an automatic tax increase every time the assessors office compounds the taxes as they have done over the past few years. It does not matter how much money we give government, they will never have enough. Maybe the school district should find ways of buying local to save money instead of wasting our tax money by purchasing out of state. No I don't feel sorry for them, but I do have empathy toward the students who want to learn.

Start off by changing back to the six class load and see what difference it makes.

oaklawndad do u really think our public education is better than our private schools in oak lawn?

So take away the class where kids can sample different things and start making decisions on what direction their life is heading? Or can the class we eliminate be gym? I am an OLCHS graduate and decades since I last left the building I have never had to play dodge ball, climb a rope or do a wind sprint. (Before some wise guy asks - yes, I am still in decent enough shape to do any of those things). What about the extras? How much is football, baseball, fishing etc costing the school?

do what it takes 2 balance the budget

This may contibute to the problems that Illinois is having with all school funding.
http://oaklawn.patch.com/blog_posts/back-to-school-health-fair-on-august-10-at-shepard

get kids more involved, make them get off their xbox, go out sell decals candy whatever they need 2 do 2 pay 4 their uniforms ice time equipment .i see some doing their part 4 their activities y not all

Hello Q.C.,
What is your point that the health fair is a waste of money? What do you know considering your children attend private schools?

Dave W why don't you weigh in as mr real estate knowit all?

Grunty how did you get your nickkname? While on the toiler?

There has been constant issues surrounding Oak Lawn during the Mike Riordan era. Board bullying, teacher morale issues, rapid rise in expulsion and drug arrests, budget concerns, declining academic scores, and OLCHS has become a school with a terrible reputation in the south suburbs. Every time there is an issue, here comes a fancy PowerPoint from Mr Riordan with little substance or truth. When is the community going to demand better?

i hear u but one guy is not the reason 4 declining academic scores. vouchers vouchers vouchers

rapid rise in drug arrests are due to influx of lower class people from the city. Minority gangbangers cause this. the rise in expulsion is a good thing. a brand new building won;t stop this.

we cant tell the truth, we have 2 b pc. am i right liberal educators?

To those who support the voucher system in education: that's only the beginning of the costs that the voucher holder assumes. The money spent per annum on an individual student by a school district comes nowhere near matching the tuition cost for a student in a private school. It's one of a few huge objections private institutions have against vouchers. The amount of fundraising that is essentially required of private school students now, in addition to tuition and fees, would therefore also fall far short of what it takes to support student in a private school with their current academic and support requirements.

What a voucher system would do ultimately is lower academic performance across the board. As Andy noted earlier, most parents, if given the opportunity, would send their kids to a private school. What happens when they fill up, as several most certainly would? What if you want Jack or Jill to get into St. Linus and are told there simply is no more room? It's a system with a myriad of issues that frankly education systems, public and private, are not equipped to address.

The cherry on the voucher sundae is this: what happens when the State Of Illinois runs out of money, and vouchers become IOUs? This will certainly happen, they can't pay their bills as it is. Will Brother Rice accept a note with $3000 printed on it that isn't worth the paper it's printed on? Are they willing to get in line behind OLCHS, Richards, Hannum, Simmons, OLHMS, etc. with their hand out for payment? I think that answer is NO.

quite drinking the kool aid oaklawnguy the voucher system would force our public educators 2 do a better job. why do u think the unions r so set against them.and 4 your info it cost way more per student in public schools. get yer facts straight.

With so many opinions here, go over to OLHS in August and offer up money saving ideas in the forum. 1,800 students in the school. 20 parents show up to discuss the issue. during last school year, there was a seminar for parents on substance abuse. attendance by parents? barely over a dozen.

when was the last time you've heard that a union opened a current contract and make salary concessions before the contract end date? think hard.... how about a teachers union? think real hard. what the teachers, admins and board accomplished with those concessions for the last 2 years is testament that all want to work together to do it right for our students in oak lawn.
the parents in oak lawn need to wake up, smell the coffee, and get engaged with making the community and their school a better place.

thats true spartan, it was mighty nice of the teachers union 2 postpone their raises while the rest of us struggle

take a look at your tax bill and compare against last year. now look at who is getting what. do you see the chunk that the k-8 gets?

thanks prophet,finally someone with the courage 2 say it like it really is!

spartan, i wish i still had a tax bill, lost my union job 2 illegals, then lost my house.now renting

Spartan Pride- Since the comparison of the elementary school districts and the high school has come up. Maybe you can tell me why are the fees at OLCHS six times what I pay at my local K-8 school? What is the salary comparison between the average high school teacher versus the average elementary school teacher?

Please remember you started the comparison not me.

let me explain one more time 2 oaklawndad, vouchers will make the teachers that dont care anymore work harder 2 keep their job when they see parents taking their kids out of public schools and in to charter or other private ones. the parents would have a choice of the school.i think the parents know what would b better 4 their child.that would bring our failing education system up to our standards not the governments. and why should tax payers pay 4 any ones pension. most of us are hurting

And where is the proof that this system will work? I have read you spout the same line over and over but you haven’t provided a link. I agree that the pension system in Illinois is screwed up. The upcoming changes in state law will hold teachers more accountable. You can dictate what the standards are if you get involved. This isn’t a movie, sitting here saying “vouchers” three times will not make them magically appear. Which of the local private schools could absorb the 2000 kids at OLCHS that would obviously go streaming out the door to the promised land of education? Build a charter. With what money and how long will that take?

thanks 4 the correction, i went 2 olchs. is oaklawnguy and oaklawndad the same person? r u guys teachers? oh and did i say illegals, sorry i meant undocumented

hopefully wer done talking about public education and we can talk about r useless us postal service. ( i mean were and are)

Lou- I am not oaklawnguy and I work in the corporate world (the land of pay freezes, outsourcing, rising healthcare costs, and fund your own retirement) as does my wife, the kids are school age and the dogs have their papers. Let’s keep it one issue at a time, but I do enjoy getting Christmas cards in the mail.

tenure or not they would b laid off if they didnt have kids 2 teach.by the way, i dont hate teachers, just bad ones . they have a big influence on our kids.as for the mile long paper trail, u just made my point 4 me. teachers union is a big part of the problem. lets really put the kids first. god bless u guys ,its been alot of fun talking to both of u.i hope thers no hard feelings and id love 2 send both of u Christmas cards.

Why does OLCHS need a superintendent When there is only one school in the district?? Never understood that. Public sector unions are killing this country. The government won't fund the pensions, the unions don't want to give up the perks and want raises when most private section employees see hours cut,benefits lost and no raises. It's called shared sacrifice

Why are we paying over 30 teachers over $90000 a year, for a job that only lasts 9 months? The only teachers that deserve that much are coaches, and teachers that are required to work extended days. Just because they get a Masters, does'nt make them a better teacher to our students! And why do we have to pay a incoming superintendent more that the person they replace? I We need to stop overpaying some and look to what will better serve our students. Throwing more money into a education system that doesn't prepare students for the real world is stupid! The last time there was a tax hike, the superintendent and many of his staff, got nice BIG RAISES! You said they same things last. Shame on you, all you want to do is cry poor, so you can line your own pocket with our money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a shame after double dipping ...that 229 blew All the referendum cash from 4-5 years ago AND all the bond money they pulled AFTER the referendum passed...obviously they have NOT been spending wisely.... They will never pass a referendum and I can only HOPE they bonding authority is pretty much used up so they can't pull another back door referendum. You made the bed....now lay in it !!!

Maybe this will explain some of the problems

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/14298715-522/top-paid-teachers-blue-collar-suburbs-offer-blue-chip-pay.html

Who eliminated the position of Principal at OLCHS yet assumed the role himself on top of his existing position as Superintendent and simply paid himself the extra salary associated to the role. Does a single school in one district community even need a Superintendent? This at the same time his teaching staff was asked (and agreed) to take an overall 6% cut from their already approved contract when in March of 2011 teachers voted 146-29 to take raises of 4% and 6% over the next two years. Your entire staff agreed to a pay-cut rather than lay-offs, increase classroom size and over-tax the remaining staff at OLCHS (which would have adversely affected the education of the 1,800 students attending OLCHS) Where’s your pay-cut Mr. Principal/District Superintendent? So don’t simply and blindly assume that the salaries of the teaching staff are to blame. When you cut from the bottom up in education all you succeed in accomplishing is penalizing the students (which ARE your ENTIRE reason for existing). We won’t fix this by cutting teacher salaries and hiring new, cheaper educators straight from college, shortened school days or lowering credit hours for graduation. Fix this from the top down. Who holds two positions in one school and within a one district community? Who assigned himself the two combined salaries? Who requested and was awarded $7,270 in unused vacation? Whos salary in a single year could reduce the now required bond by almost half? Blame the man driving the bus