Not only does Illinois have way too many governmental units but it has way too many of these organizations. They seem to be nnothing but propaganda machines.

EDITOR’S NOTE: And, unlike those governmental bodies, these private organizations basically don’t have to account to anybody for ehat they do.

I can honeslty say I agree with most of the thoughts on this blog but your thoughts on school boards are somewhat misinformed. The D64 school board has been responsive to the community and its wants and needs. The previous statement is said in comparison to neighboring school boards. It is rare in the state of illinois to have any primary school district board take and post videos of their meetings. Furthermore, it is also uncommon for the board to have as detailed notes of their meetings as SD 64 does. Do I think the teachers are paid too much in regards to performance? Yes. Do I think tenure is for all sense and purpose ridiclous? Yes. But for a suburban school board in a community like Park Ridge to almost let the teachers strike, have a modest pay scale for teachers, and take and respond to the community criticism is not seen in places like Des Plaines, Niles, Mount Prospect, and many others.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Say what?

1. D-64 started videotaping its meetings only after resident Marshall Warren started doing it himself when D-64 stonewalled Warren’s request.

2. “Detailed notes of their meetings” is the next best thing you can come up with? Really?

3. Writing that D-64 has “a modest pay scale for teachers” sounds a little daft when the Sun-Times has reported that its teachers are the 25th highest paid in the state of Illinois.

4. To say D-64 “take[s] and respond[s] to the community criticism” in ways “not seen in places like Des Plaines, Niles, Mount Prospect, and many others” is damning with faint praise.

And then there’s all those chronically modest test scores.

I’m fairly new to Park Ridge and stumbled across your blog a few months ago. I’ve really appreciated it for the interesting insights not available from the traditional media outlets, which are the only sources I have for info since I really don’t know many people yet.

I definitely appreciate the sentiment that the school board should be appreciating the constituents who’ve elected them (And I’m all for celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day!). Honestly I’m not all that bothered by this faux special day because as the parent of kids in district 64, I’ve got other things to worry about, like what they are learning on a daily basis.

So far I’ve been impressed with many teachers and the district overall (we came from Chicago so I guess virtually any place would be a step up). As I read through previous posts, I’m growing increasingly alarmed by your dissatisfaction with the district. You make some good points. I’m curious, though, what’s your benchmark? Is there a suburban school district that you think is doing things right?

EDITOR’S NOTE: You should be “increasingly alarmed” – not by our dissatisfaction but by things like D-64’s ISAT scores. According to the Chicago Tribune’s Novmeber 2, 2011 rankings of the Top 50 elementary and middle schools, districts with higher-rated schools than D-64’s include Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Clarendon Hills, Deerfield, Hinsdale, Kenilworth, Naperville, Northbrook, Western Springs and Wilmette. While standardized test results don’t necessarily tell the whole story, we think they are one of the better ways to compare districts.

Thanks for the feedback. I hear you on test scores but I definitely agree they don’t tell the whole story. For example, we can’t dispute that many North Shore schools have higher test scores…but that would mean living on the North Shore, an area I’d argue that can potentially result in a whole other set of problems for kids. Not that Park Ridge is diverse…yet is doesn’t seem to have anywhere near the same level of affluence, elitism and entitlement that some other suburbs do.

We used many criteria other than test scores when evaluating where to live, including touring different schools, meeting with special ed administrators (one of our kids has special needs) and checking out all the community resources available to school-age kids. School was our main (actually sole) reason for moving and so far we’ve felt like districts 64 and 207 stack up pretty well with the best of them. I’m interested in continuing to get a better handle on the real issues, not easy to do quickly as a newcomer anywhere.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We focus on standardized test scores because, no matter how imperfect they are, we are aware of no other objective measurement that translates across districts like the ISATs and PSAEs. By the ISAT measure, D-64 appears to do rather poorly, especially given its cost-per-pupil, 4th-highest administrator pay and 25th-highest teacher pay.

As for Park Ridge’s level of “elitism and entitlement,” that’s a totally subjective and relative observation. But in our opinion, Park Ridge is no slouch in that regard.

Sorry, I wanted to note something that’s been bugging me for years…when evaluating the Top 50 schools, it’s important to remember that when it comes to all those top preforming Chicago schools, it’s not a fair comparison. Most of the Chicago schools on the lists are able to cherry pick their students from among the very best and brightest across the city, while the suburban schools serve all the kids in their communities. Puts the scores in a very different light, I think.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Which is why we didn’t list any Chicago schools in response to your first comment. Nevertheless, a lot of Chicago’s “best and brightest” also go to private schools like Latin, Parker and U of C Lab; and to St. Ignatius and even Loyola Academy.

You’re right, there are no other objective measurements for evaluating schools. And attitudes like elitism and entitlement can be found anywhere, the folks in our Chicago neighborhood far surpassed what we’ve encountered so far in Park Ridge.

Like so much of parenting, intuition plays a big part. And our gut said Park Ridge was the right choice. We hope that continues to be the case. If not I hope we can find a way to be part of the solution before we throw in the towel. In any case, I’m glad I found this place to get my reality checks. Keep up the good work.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Thank you – we do what we do because we won’t throw in the towel on a community with this much potential. But people have to pay attention because, despite its “Pleasantville” aura, all the problems and failures of government in Chicago, Crook County, and this state generally can be found to greater or lesser degrees here.

As abolitionist Wendell Phillips said in 1853: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

Glad to hear you haven’t given up on PR. “Unrealized potential” is how we’ve come to view our new hometown, too. Between the school districts and City Hall, I’ve found a few ways to get involved but it hasn’t been easy finding people who feel the same — or, more accurately, who feel like it can make a difference. Such a contrast to our old neighborhood where organizing, mobilizing and staying constantly vigilant and engaged was a way of life.

So far I’ve mostly heard casual, negative commentary that ranges from apathetic (“We go to neighboring suburbs to swim because the pools and park district sucks here.”) to lunatic (“We’re not religious but we send our kids to Catholic school because there are too many Eastern Europeans in the public schools.” and “I can’t believe the city continues to invest in the library when the internet has everything we could need.”)

So again, despite my experiences to the contrary, thanks for providing reassurance that a concerned and engaged citizenry does in fact exist here!

EDITOR’S NOTE: The problem here, like in many relatively affluent suburbs, is that the public officials and the “establishment” created the perception that Park Ridge was “Pleasantville” where nobody had to pay attention because everything was wonderful. And so long as nothing catastrophic happened in real time to disabuse the public of that perception, most people remained blissfully ignorant.

But over the last decade, as the chickens have started coming home to roost, a few more people have awakened and started taking an interest. Alhtough not yet enough to make a substantial difference on a consistent, long-term basis, it’s a start.

thank you for not siding with the resident who thinks the library is superfluous now that we have the internet. I know it was tough! LOL

EDITOR’S NOTE: Al Gore still needs to do a bit of fine tuning on the Internet before it makes libraries obsolete.

I suppose that IASB is one of the non-gov lobbying organizations that is supplied with benefit programs by the state if IL. I haven’t read this column for a couple of weeks. What an omission that was!! What a great blog.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We don’t know what kind of benefit programs the IASB is a part of, although given all the bizarre pension arrangements that have been popping up in the news of late we would be reluctant to discount any possibility.

Thanks, we try.

You should be looking into D64 just as the taxpayers did in D74 in Lincolnwood. More sooner then later! FOIA, FOIA, FOIA

http://lincolnwood.suntimes.com/news/10195826-418/district-74-board-veep-quits-after-top-staff-contracts-approved.html

EDITOR’S NOTE: We try, but D-64’s administration, and its information person Bernadette Tramm, are really good at keeping things concealed.

Make your district 64 rejected FOIA requests public. Now that district 74 is in the news, you have precedent set in Illinois and should re-FOIA district 64. Present your FOIA requests at the public board meetings. FOIA for all the FOIA request the district has received and the results of those requests.

EDITOR’S NOTE: With rare exceptions, we don’t do FOIAs because: (a) we don’t have the time to spend on them; (b) we don’t have the money to spend on them; (c) we try to do as much as we can with what the governmental bodies and the newspapers publish; and (d) we prefer inside information from public officials off the record.