School consolidation plans in Illinois are stirring up "bad blood" and bringing back "old grudges". Who knew educational planning could be so interesting?
Some say history repeats itself. The people of Livingston know that all too well. The 825 residents of this town in the northeast corner of Madison County have fought with each other over the future of its school district for more than a decade -- initially in the early 1990s and again this year.
Both instances resulted in bad blood and the rekindling of old grudges.
Illinois has almost 900 school districts, and while some say they like the small, more personal schools because they provide residents with more control, others say larger schools offer more educational opportunities.
That’s where the embers of consolidation originate. But Livingston also has a severe financial problem....In December 2002, the Illinois State Board of Education mandated that a Financial Oversight Panel assume control of the reeling district’s finances. That panel decided earlier this year that Livingston’s school district doesn’t have enough money to operate past this school year...
Once the School Board made it known that it was formally pushing for dissolution of the district, the big question in Livingston revolved around geography: Will the students attend school in Staunton or Highland?
Apparently, this is a BIG deal to Illinois parents. The Madison County Regional Board of School Trustees was supposed to decide which school the students would now attend. But parents teamed up and successfully petitioned the board; the matter will now be voted upon by the general public. And there's debate about a state-funded report showing that Highland was the best school district; the competing school, Staunton, claims the report is full of errors.
This is the first of a three-part series. Sounds like a major battle to me, but I want to hear more about the old grudges.
Posted by kswygert at December 16, 2003 10:12 AM