This is a huge loss to the community of Morton Grove. We have always been known for having some of the best schools in the state and now we will still have very good schools but the children will now suffer. There will be so many cuts, it will definitely affect their education and school experience. I hope that the people who voted against this will not be too disappointed if their property values decrease because without what is needed, why are people coming to Morton Grove to live? If that in fact does happen, I hope a couple thousand dollar savings in taxes was worth it.

Sincerely,

A very disappointed Morton Grove resident/parent

Against a well funded union push, the people have spoken.

OK, this is now behind us. It's really a shame how this all played out from start to finish. However, we now have to move forward. I really hope the district is now going to be open to ideas to save programs and potentially jobs.

I was surprised that the facilities referendum did better than the operating referendum. It may be simply a result of the fact that it was "cheaper" and people picked it. The really sad thing is that if it would have been a better proposal, it probably would have passed. You could have knocked it down to 5.7 million or so and included the HVAC systems, new plumbing, and even the new gym. If this would have been done, it would have passed based on the election results, and the schools would be getting the new equipment. Things like office configuration were very large budget items that are not necessary. For example, you could accomplish the exact same end result at hynes for 5K instead of 414K. Just add two firedoors (one in each hallway) and then convert nurses office to a pass-through door. DONE. Saves 400K+.

Anyway, I'm sure people are going to want to go back and forth gloating and blaming each other, so when that is all done, let's get to the business of solving the current issues.

district 67 has been waisting tax dollars for year for as small as the district is they dont need a technological center lol what a joke that things is .....the should combine both schools and use the money from the property sale to do the renovations they want.... the school has some of the least educated and caring teacher in the Niles area .....with over 40% of there students on lunch aide with the schools why their parents have 600,000 dollar home in morton grove ....take your kids off food stamps you dont need it and you are wasting your districts money ......this vote should not have been close I couldnt be happier they lost maybe now they will actually try to do good by those kids for the first time since I can remember .....get your head out of the sand MG and go through district 67 and clean house those lazy teachers need to go

why put more good money through a bad district its about time the village steps in to make district 67 the best district it can be .....start with fixing the problems you have instead then ask us for money buit if nothing changes then you will never see a penny from the tax payers of MG the ones who have been here our whole lives .....and we are not going anywhere but we can send our kids some where else

Wow....I thought it would be close..but THIS close? Those of you that took part in the process, voting either "up or down"...kudos for taking part in the process. The tiny turnout, 662 "no" vs. 553 "yes" is not exactly an overwhelming mandate considering the many thousands that live in both villages. Apathy appears to be the big winner here. With the exception of a handful of personal attacks and inane analogies, the comment boards after my post, encouraging to vote for this referendum was spirited, civil and cogent. Now layoffs and cutbacks are inevitable. This is a setback, tantamount to throwing out the baby with the bathwater, in my view. But when "grandpa" says "the people have spoken"...you never, ever want to argue with "grandpa."

Individuals that voted against the referendums seem to at least acknowledge that SOME additional funds are needed by the district for repairs. They appear to disagree 1) that ALL of the funds requested by the referendums are really needed and 2) that taxpayers should foot the bill for whatever funds are needed. Can we have a constructive discussion about how to fund what both sides seem to agree are "necessary" items? Do people really think that "cleaning house" of all the teachers (as one commenter put it) would be logistically possible? Something tells me that isn't a real possibility... Would private fundraising be adequate? And if not, what do you propose?

Also, there isn't a lot of direct response to the possibility of declining property values that could result from deteriorating schools. To say things like "they should have thought of that before they did ___ in the past" does not address the underlying problems that we face NOW. We'd all go back in time and correct past mistakes if we could, but unfortunately we're stuck in the present.

What if the district doesn't successfully implement other measures and the quality of the two schools does in fact go down. That seems to at least be in the realm of possibility. And if that happens, and property values take a hit, will avoiding a tax increase have been worth it? I don't have the answers to these questions, just hope that people were at least thinking about them when they voted for or against the referendums.

This district has a fantastic PTA, they've done great things raising funds, like the "Bids for Kids" dinner and auction. Thank you PTA! We as a community need to have an intelligent conversation on how to keep our district the best feeder district to the high school. The current superintendent was hired at significantly less than the previous 3, the principals are some of the lowest paid in the county. Was there waste in the past, yes, is there waste now - NO. When the district can no longer offer any after school activities for the kids, when the best all day kindergarten program is gone and when the kids need to bring water from home to drink and wear their coats in school because the heat doesn't work it's time for the community to join together. We need to keep our house values up, our children educated and our community strong. As for taxes - go look at your tax bill again, it's the high school thats taking so much. When Kraft goes and Avon closes, all the tax payments they made will be shifted to home owners. Keep in mind also that Kraft fought their taxes every year costing the district hundreds of thousands of dollars, Definitely not good corporate citizens, but their stock holders were happy.

well MG should have thought about that when they pushed abt out years ago and mayor krier with his downtown morton grove project that was a bust..... the problem is getting the community together instead of at a drunkling mess carnival that has also went way down in the past years ... .get the community together get the people involved with the town thats the way it used to be thats why morton grove was such a great place to grow up in ....even with the crappy hotels that used to flood waukegan road the town still cared and everyone knew everyone this town has changed and the people in it have changed ......it is time to get back to grass roots what worked before can work again get the community to ban together and things will be a lot different things will get done and people will actually care about there neighbors for once......when was the last time morton grove through a block party ....hmmmm 22 years ago .....I know its hard to close tyhose busy streets of marion and palma lane or over by palma lan park but come on people....lets be honest when you dont know your neighbors or there kids or what the people need then why would you not vote based on money ......because that is all you are going to care about ....just like a major corporations CFO or President that knows nothing about there employees it is all about bottom line and the leadership from education all the way through the village is missing the big picture ....It Should Be about people and what makes MG work .

Hey, the Golf Kids 67 group has a lot of great people in it and a lot of energy. Just look at all the vote yes signs that were sprinkled everywhere. Hopefully we can get some of that energy and enthusiasm transitioned into problem-solving now. I have hope!!! Maybe I'm naive, but I believe that there are answers and solutions.

i guess I would have to agree with everyone on here that has posted obviously you guys care or you wouldnt have been posting on here lol .......shawn and adam def keep up the good work i think we can all agree a good community starts with getting and being involved ... lol i could use a hug hahahah.... but i am just bothered by this town and the way peoples attitudes have changed.....but it is very refreshing to here at least some blocks and people get the picture ......also agreed the state taking over a school district is never good .....but i would like to see the pressure put on the district .....might cause them to really evalute how they have operated over the years

When I see people in private industry getting no raises for several years and loosing benefits it makes my blood boil when I look at the district's salary structure, wage increases and pension benefits. I wish I could make that kind of money and have summers off and have a guaranteed pension. If the Governor and house speaker have their way, the pension liability will be transferred to the district starting this fall. What do we do then? More tax increases? Again bold ideas are needed including a possible merger with another district. I cannot support "business as usual" throwing more money into the SD 67 furnace. If someone needs to measure the financial health of the village's residents, go to this site and search for Morton Grove under Cook County. You will be amazed at all the properties in the village in or soon to be in foreclosure - http://ilfls.com/index.php

My apologies for some of the rants. District 67 is an award winning district and one of the reasons we moved with our 4 children to Morton Grove. The all day kindergarten program is a fantastic educational foundation. I agree some teachers should retire or rethink why they are teaching but the larger majority of them do care and do work hard. District 67 was the first feeder district in Niles township to offer Project Lead the Way and put all the children of this district ahead of the game. I attended some of the information sessions and was amazed at the number of people who did not take the opportunity to find out the what and why of the referenda request. I surely didn't want to pay more taxes but I also don't want the kids to get the short end of the stick either. As Adam said, now is the time for discussion as to what the community wants done and this time if you show up at meetings instead of the blogs your voices and concerns will be heard and addressed.

Did you see this thread?

http://niles.patch.com/articles/readers-express-passionate-response-to-district-67-referenda

There is some talk about that. There was a challenge to provide specific proposals also, so I gave 9 off the top of my head, but I agree, there are lots of options out there. I really hope the ax doesn't fly without serious consideration and thought.

Agree with Grandpa. Get rid of Unions as a start. People are tired to pay for mismanagement.

Actually, if both referenda pass and you factor that total into the cost, it is almost 19K/child. However, there are lots of reasons for that (which I have learned during this process), but it doesn't necessarily mean it is 100% necessary. For example, we are a two building district, so that costs more money. Our teachers average about 10K/year more than park view teachers, but that is due to increased education (number with master's degree) and years of service. Bottomline is our teachers on average have a higher level of advanced training and years on the job which results in a higher average pay. This is good and bad. Seems like we need a salary cap like professional sports teams :).

The teachers knew what they were doing last year when they came out in 100% support of merging the two buildings. That deal (as much as we didn't want another car dealership and a park lost) would have helped immensely.

And maybe that is an answer. I know there were issues with the park and the foundation grant it received, but maybe we should really try and figure out if there is any possibility of selling that land and following the merger plan. That would help with the yearly budget, gyms, equipment replacement, etc. I know, this not going to be popular and maybe not legal, but it may be worth a hard look.

As a lifelong morton grove resident, I'd like to state why I voted no to the proposed referendum. I kept hearing from supporters that good schools attract quality residents which, in turn, keep property values high. i believe during the past 15 years or so, District 67 schools have been very highly rated. The neighborhood where I reside, however, has gotten nothing but progressively worse. Multiple family's living in 1 home (why should I pay for their education ?), another couple renting out rooms to college students, taxi drivers, etc. ( cab parked on lawn one evening!). During the winter, they park all over the street so plow can't get thru & I don't have room to even place garbage cans. No matter the result of Tuesday's vote, I don't see ignorant behavior changing, which, in turn, leads to other undesirables coming to Morton Grove.

Adam - I just read what happened today. What a terrible thing to happen!
Don't let this incident taint your desire to help and continue to give good input.

Still should not have happened.

I have been a resident of MG for 36 years and I have served the community in multiple ways, including being a part of the Kids67 effort. Our kids went through Hynes and Golf and are now on their own and we fully support the efforts of D67 to maintain a high quality school system. I believe the referenda did not pass because people allowed their emotions to dictate how they voted rather than their common sense. By the way, Mr. India should remember that the settlement between D34 and D67 that gave us the Kraft property was brokered by the corrupt and useless Cook County Superintendent of Public Instruction, an office that thankfully no longer exists. The Kraft property is part of D67 and that is where it will stay barring legal action by D34 that would most certainly be vigorously opposed by D67.

Okay EVERYBODY listen. I'm a student at Golf. I am deeply affected from the result of the referendums not passing. Honestly, bringing the teachers and how they teach and how they treat there students has absolutely NOTHING to do with this. Golf Middle School is GREAT educational wise. We have many problems. Leaking, the lunches, our plumbing and so much more. Every single teacher and staff member CARES for everyone in the whole entire district. Students may not like some teachers and teachers may not like some students, but all the teachers care. And Gina, the teacher your daughter mentioned doesn't try to hurt ANYONE'S feelings. The teacher is a happy, funny, and a out-going person. When the teacher does that, it's so the class can have a good time and still learn everything they need to know. Spanish is necessary at 7th and 8th grade. They need to get used to the Spanish culture and language and also they need to be ready for high school foreign language classes. So my point is Golf and Hynes are both AMAZING schools. But bringing in the teachers in this honestly makes no sense.

Sincerly,
A golf student

First let me say to the school employees & board to stop using the kids for their own gain. Telling the kids that they are going to lose after-school programs, athletic programs, clubs, music, to list a few, is just plain sick! Kids should not have to worry about these things. They should be able to focus on studies, and just being kids. Leave them alone!
Second, 67 has always been a great school! I am from the class of "73" , put my 2 kids through Hynes & Golf, and a lifelong resident of Morton Grove. The teachers are great ( there's always an exception to the rule, anywhere you go), it's the administration & board that are the problems!
Before worrying about making the already safe entries into safer entries, how about getting rid of the known cockroaches on the Hynes stage! Yes, they are running around up there, administration knows, it's been reported numerous times & they can't even take care of that! Why not take care of major problems such as that, before looking for big money to squander irresponsibly, when these people really don't care about the most important part of the picture...the kids.

I remember. But I also remember that the Illinois Supreme Court determined that D34's raid of SD67, first Golf and then Glenview north of Kraft, was to include HOUSES and left all the commercial property in SD67. But apparently I was wrong in the details and Avon went to SD34 but Kraft and Jennings stayed in SD67.
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But it was difficult to argue against the "Whole Child" concept presented by SD34 who was on a mission to consolidate all GV property for SD34. The Whole Child concept argued that the children in these 2 areas were supported by the GV library and the GC Park District AND their homes were protected by GV fire and other services. Why wouldn't the children go to GV schools.
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Bottomline: The courts agreed.
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This same concept was presented to the Village of MG since there are 5 school districts in MG (67,68,69 and 70 in Niles and 63 in Maine). But NO ONE was interested in consolidation. So our children became friends through baseball, softball and other library and park district activities. BUT NOT thru school activities.
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Foster1234, you are right that Kraft is part of SD67 but if it is knocked down and homes are constructed be prepared (as I wrote earlier today) for SD34 to present the same 1982 argument to have the children attend SD34 school and the PROPERTY move to GV34.

The referendums were to address issues that have been neglected for many years. To bad the administrators were not making the correct decisions in years past. I think that outcomes would have been different previous to 2006. I believe that SD 67 should have gone ahead with the operations referendum first. When I questioned the Business Manager and the Superintendent as to the logic of hitting taxpayers with two referendums I received shrugs. When I asked the same two persons about the jump in enrollment over the previous years projections, again shrugs. I just could not vote for giving this leadership the money from the bond referendum, it seems that they have no grasp on the opportunity cost of the present will affect D67's future.
The operations budget was presented in a horrific way. Fear is a good way to sell something if you have an interest in losing something that is important. If your a senior, a parent who sends their child to private school, etc..., it does not work well. The Superintendent did not have a good grasp of the makeup of the community. This was mentioned in an article of the Glenview SD that had their referendum passed.
Several posters have mentioned creative ways to save money. These were mentioned at meetings and were not even considered by the presenters of the referendums.

This administration clearly has no plan on how to improve D67 nor how to keep things going at the current level.
I hope the current energy of concerned citizens will show in future meetings. I think everybody will then get a bit more of what they want.

My family and I have had a great experience in the district so far, and appreciate what the teachers and administration have done. I am unhappy with the result, but can understand the various views of the referendum. The KIDS67 group really did an outstanding job helping communicate the issues with the administration. There was a lot of information made available to the general community in various formats. This result will impact some people at the district who will be out of a job at the end of this school year, and I'm sad for that, but school will continue next year, just a bit different.

I do hope the administration does hold more community feedback sessions to gather more ideas which would result in a successful referendum. Having met them during this, I'm confident they will. This whole process started 3 years ago with the district coordinating a community group to work through how to manage the pending budget issues, and the group recommended a referendum. There were many ideas evaluated at those sessions, and many more ideas evaluated since them. Many are similar to those discussed in these forums, and it's impossible to communicate all the iterations. The district came up with the plan for the referendum. No plan is foolproof, so there will always be critics. For those that have an opinion and want to work through solutions, please volunteer to help and be constructive when the time comes, soon.

Thanks for everyone's support!

Upon reviewing all of the comments, it is clear that most people believe that there are serious problems with D67 that must be addressed. That is a good first step. The question then becomes what is the best way to address the problems. However, it is necessary to consider only those solutions that are logical and practical. KIDS67 was formed not just to pass the referenda, although that has been its primary focus initially. The focus of the group is to help maintain the educational excellence of D67. I hereby call upon EVERYONE who believes that our kids deserve a quality education to join this effort, whether they voted for or against the referenda. I firmly believe that if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. Let's all be part of the solution and engage in an honest and serious dialogue to find and then execute a clear and focused approach to keeping D67 a highly rated and effective school district.

I'm hoping someone can help me with some historical information.

Back in 1982 there was a court battle between D34 and D67 over the Golf Acres children (about 55). D34 thought that they should be moved from D67 to D34. This was the courts decision and was upheld by the IL supreme court.

Part of that ruling states that D67 would maintain property tax rights over what they referred to as the "detachment area" and in exchange would pay D34 non-resident tuition. That was how things ended in 1982. I cannot find any rulings since then that might change this.

Here's where I need help from people that were involved with this:

1. Does D67 still make payments to D34?
2. What were the tax boundaries of the detachment area? Did it only include Kraft site or did it also include Avon and Jennings? I have to tell you, the village of glenview to this day still states that tax revenue from that avon location goes to D67.
3. If D67 no longer makes these payments, was there a subsequent settlement between the two districts that traded dissolution of these payments in exchange for transfer of the detachment area tax revenue rights?
4. Or was that arrangement temporary. I don't see any info on duration of this arrangement in the ruling.

I have requested a copy of Avon's property tax bill under the FOIA to determine who really does receive their property taxes as of last year.

Anyone with info, please let me know either via posting or at adamk@spltrak.com.

Names of people (that I don't know) that were involved in the case are:

Frank Vogel
William Hazzard

So, if anyone knows them, can you pass this request on?

Check this out Adam:
http://www.hyasearch.com/about
Dr. William Hazard, then Professor of Educational Leadership at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL;...; Dr. William Attea, then Superintendent of Schools in Glenview, IL.
Attea was SI of SD34 who spearheaded the SD34 efforts to annex Golf and all Glenview properties NOT in SD34 from Niles SD67, Maine SD63, Northbrook SD30 and Northfield SD31.
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This is the search firm that SD67 paid to find Dr. Girard the superintendent of SD67 that left within the first year.
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Frank Vogel is principal of the Institute For Continuing Education - listed at 2250 E Devon, DesPlaines.

Adam, only the board of education can hire or terminate an employee. AND this has to be done in OPEN SESSION by vote of a legal quorum of the board IN PUBLIC.
Maybe these 15 staff members were given advanced notice of potential board action but the board still has 2 weeks to have the discussions you encourage with the union before OFFICIAL action is taken by the board as a whole. As I wrote earlie:r
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adjustments must happen "60 days before the end of the school term" per (105 ILCS 5/24-12) (from Ch. 122, par. 24-12). So if the last day of school is June 9, the board must take action before April 10 or every teacher is AUTOMATICALLY rehired. The same practice is usually followed for all non-certified staff members.
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UNLESS the board anticipated a failed referendum and passed motions earlier in the month. But there was NO indication of this on the March 15 Board Meeting Agenda. Looks like the board will have to post a special purpose meeting the first week of April since the next scheduled meeting is April 26 per the golf67.net website

Gina,tech won't get you a job because we were building parks.I think when you think of tech you're thinking about typing and computer skills but that is not what we do in tech.By the time that we are out of college Spanish is going to be like the most spoken language in the u.s. beside English.Most colleges want students to take spanish and if they are exposed to spanish now they will do better in high school.ALL are teachers are great teachers that is why they are paid a great amount of money.They actually make us want to learn and we enjoying learning because they make it fun.

To reason and Logic, one more thing. 21 countries speak Spanish, yes. But they all speak different Spanish. So which one do you learn? the Mexican spanish? or they Spanish they speak in Spain?

I really didn't want to have to comment on this, but I think its a good lesson to be learned by the Golf students:

The lesson is: you can't argue with crazy. Since Reason and Logic hasn't
responded to Gina, I guess he or she has already learned that lesson in life.

Hey, remember back (last february) when there was all the talk of the merger, etc. I seem to remember something about the Park District leasing the land behind Golf Middle School and then something else about a potential option of the Park District purchasing the land from the school.

Can someone enlighten me who actually "owns" the land. I'm guessing it is indeed D67. If so, is it still an option for the Park District to purchase this land? Do they have the money? I'm sure they couldn't pay as much as the car dealership was thinking about, but I think the sell to the PD would be permitted under the terms of the grant agreements. I think their yearly budget is only about 5 million, so I don't see them having enough to pay the same as that private business, but is it reasonable to think they may be willing to at least purchase the fields?

At this point I think all input and ideas are welcomed. But this one might have been beat to death last year.

A park was promised when the old Golf School building on Oak Park was demolished/buried. After several failed efforts to build a park, several lengthy lawsuits AND too many YEARS, the SD67 board signed an agreement with the MG Park District who was promised a Department of Natural Resources Grant to preserve open land. The Frank Hren Discovery Park with proper Metropolitan Water Reclamation drainage underground was finally going to be built. The Grant required the land be used for the original purpose for 20 years. If the land is used for other purposes, the DNR does not want its money back but wants comparable acreage in Morton Grove. There is NO 10 acre parcel in MG. So the community dedicated the park in 2010 (2010-1982), 28 years after the original promise.

Now someone might call the MGPD sneaky for entering into the agreement. But then they had a lease/agreement with SD67 in hand with no indication that within 2 months of completing the work and dedication that SD67 would want to sell the property.

Selling assets, raising taxes. Don't dare talk about a pay cut, a small increase in class size, or think that it would possibly be cheaper to have a person put full time at the entrance to Golf School than to have a structure built. I asked at a meeting if the entrance work and parking lot work would lower insurance costs, again shrugs. Let's have everything at once by borrowing the money. Don't think about offering a tax increase in which some of the money would go for future unforseeable contingencies, e.g. larger populations of students, low interest rates which are now killing the amount of funding to teacher's pension funds. Many others if you use your imagination.
One thing I have not seen from the scare mongers is the most logical. Since salaries are in relations to taxes, why did the Superintendent shrug her shoulders to the question of whether the union has been asked to take a cut. Further, a 10% cut in the salary of a superintendent, two principals, the firing of a business manager (who I believe was hired during the past year) could possibly save a teacher's position. Remember, this is all for the children! Tongue and cheek on the last statement, but if we turn that statement around to the ones who have been using it most I think that more options will arise.
I know several persons who voted "No" to both referendums. I know these persons to be frugal and successful in their fields of work. They volunteer their time and work for the social good.

.... It's to bad that people that voted no are viewed as uncaring and not doing what's best for the children. My belief is that there are many other solutions than what is presented by the "Referendum Folks". The "Referendum Folks" believe that they have the best solutions and anyone that voted against these poor options offered are not for, "The good of the children".
I plan to become more involved and I hope many others do too. As I said before, I really hope this energy intensity keeps up, I think everyone will get a little of what they want; what is best for the children, and a lesson in fiscal responsibility.

Okay building a new park at Hynes in my opinion was totally a waste of money. We could have used the money to help our school with the leaking, plumbing and so much more. It's more logical to use the money to help the school, not to build 2 new parks.

I'll second that Golf Student. My kids will not even consider that an area to play when given the choice. Ever thought about running for the school board?

John, the reason I try to stay away from these chat boards is " people like you ". John, I have an idea to help you Wake up !! Let's put you thru the school system all over again. Hynes now offers pre- school , FYI, let's start there. Kindergarten is full time so you should be good, I will pay all your lunches, I also will pay for whatever meds you should be on due to your condition. Go to Hynes from Pre- school thru 4th. I will speak with Mrs. Westly personally to get you in. Then get back on these chat boards & THEN give us your comments. From the time you got on the chat you bad mouthed the school district, the towns involved , your neighbors & everyone in the entire school system. You are way off !!!! You are talking about ancient history, only God knows how many years ago. You admitted you had " issues " back then & still seem to have them. Don't you think it was you & your parents at fault, maybe you should re think that. I can't speak for Golf yet, I will be able to next year, but you have no clue as what goes on in Hynes. The entire faculty not only cares but they love our children !! Yes LOVE !! My first grader & my fourth grader get the best of everything while at school. Think before you type / speak & maybe you won't sound so " out there". You have no kids , you don't know what goes on the schools now. You don't know your neighbors, maybe they don't want to know you ?!?! You say there are no block parties, maybe you are not invited ?!?!

We are at every parent teachers conference for both boys, I go to field trips every year for both boys, I attend every musical event my son is involved in. I PAY FOR HIS TRUMPET . The entire faculty is loving & caring. Look into how well the district ranks, we have top notch schools. If you don't like where you live , guess what you can always leave . We pay to live in this area for a reason , a better education for our children, I know we get it.

As far as the teacher calling kids names , the parents who know the teachers name should be reporting it over & over , not hiding from it. If things went farther than that as stated above the authorities should have been called, but I don' t know if that is ancient history also. Let's focus on today & not decades ago. If there is a problem teacher that is abusive make it point to get the issue addressed , not say I won't mention the name.

Tech was important 2 years ago but i dont know how building parks n making 3D figures on a program is important.

But referring back to Gina's comment about how Spanish is not mandatory and tech is, I thought about it for awhile and I came up with the idea that both tech AND Spanish are very important for the future. And I'm talking about the tech involving the use of Google Docs, research on the computers, etc. Not Inventor 2012 and building 3D figures with materials. Spanish can help with any career because there are a LOT of people in America whose first language is Spanish. I know many people whose first language is Spanish. Everyone is my family who graduated from college took Spanish from middle school and through out high school and college and they have gotten many great job opportunities.

Hello fellow residents..I have been reading your messages on the board and I am honestly happy that the referendum did not pass. I am a teacher myself in another district so I understand the challenges that school districts are facing with finances. The number one cost for ANY and ALL school district are salaries. That is a fact. It is also a fact that D67's teachers have the highest paid salaries in Illinois!! here is a good link to look at what the district pays its teachers and how it compares to other Illinois school districts: http://www.illinoisloop.org/salary.html#ats
You will see on this website, "The 100 highest-paid school administrators in Illinois in 2006 had salaries ranging from $205,590 to $380,227. Here are the 17 who made more than a quarter million dollars for the year: Marks Linda R $316,874 GOLF ESD 67 !" WHY????

Here are the teacher salaries for Golf 67: http://www.familytaxpayers.org/salary.php
This is all public information..get informed!!
District 67 may have been a great school district, and I LOVE our community, but it pales in comparison to other northshore districts (Glenview, Wilmette, Deerfield etc) and those teacher salaries start at about $20,000 LESS than D67s!! Why? The quality of teachers that are at D67 are no where near as good as the other districts. The teacher union is destroying our community! The teachers will never leave because they will NEVER make as much money as they do here..

We must not let a referendum pass. If anything, the contract should be thrown out and salaries should be comparative to those in neighboring districts and teacher salaries should be cut! Don't forget, we will not only pay their salaries but also their pension which will be based on salaries that are in the 100K range...

How many Golf 67 residents make 100K a year AND get a state pension??

Here is another really good link. Open the files and you will see Niles Township Elementary comparisons.. they have documents that show comparison of student performance, teacher salary, facilities expenses, pupil expenditure etc. and I think you have no problems in voting AGAINST a referendum:

http://www.skokie69.k12.il.us/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=914:niles-township-elementary-comparisons

Be informed! THEN decide. Everything you need to know about contracts are public information. Search the websites or ASK administrators for the info. THEY HAVE TO give it to you. It is YOUR money. Don't let these teacher's unions brainwash you into thinking you don't care about the students if you don't support the referendum...YOU DO CARE!...it is the UNIONS that only care about their OWN bottom line...trust me on this..i'm a member of one (not by choice!)
I hope the best is provided to our students...they are all good kids :)

Teacher, thank you for the links. Wow. That is really eye-opening.

You are welcome! Please pass the information around. Its really important that parents and community members are informed to make the best decision for our community.

GOB,
I agree with you that Linda Marks was 4 superintendents ago but this district has a history that we should not forget. As for the salaries, that is all pubic information. You can go to any school district and under their employment or human resource section you will find the teacher contracts and you can see the salaries teachers are paid as well as the stipends they get for coaching or running clubs.

17 teachers with a salary over $100,000.00! Can anyone explain why a librarian is making $130,058.00??? I'm not saying that the former superintendant's salary was not out of line, but she did run two schools, wrote many, many grants for the district, handled 9/11 perfectly & had a very important job, but a librarian @ $130,000.00 +? Does anyone else have a problem with this one?

It is completely outrageous that my daughter will be going to half-day kindergarten instead of full day. 2 and a half hours a day which is less then what she goes to now in preschool. Cutting math and music etc. children wearing jackets in school are you kidding me! We live in the suburbs paying property taxes. Property values will go down and neighborhoods will become unsafe.

Right from the district website ... Financial Information for Golf SD 67 - IL is currently under construction. Please come back later.
That is sad

As a new homeowner in Morton Grove, I would absolutely support adding nearly $1200 to my annual property taxes, if there were some real checks and balances on the money. (Based upon this article and the numbers provided that is what my increase would be)

Speaking very generically and ignorantly, how a facility can deteriorate to a point that students are allegedly wearing jackets and there are major leaks, and allow for increased pay for teachers/staff that are not based on student performance, is disappointing and backwards.

I am a product of Hynes, Golf and Niles North. The mere fact that my wife and I are seriously considering private schooling is sad to me, considering I had great experiences at these schools. However, I am not going to place my child and future children in schools that make themselves appear to be in dire straits and apparently make piss poor decisions.

Perhaps I need to be more involved.

Dear Z, if you are considering private schooling, please consider St John Brebeuf School in Niles. They are having an Open House on Sunday, May 6th from 10 am - 2pm. I think you'll be surprised at all they have to offer. It is well worth the money.

As a parent who al 3 kids went to 67 I have seen many good teachers and many bad teachers who left their impact on my children both postive but sadly more negative.
As a past board member, I saw this coming, warn the board about over spending on salaries and always stressed to save the money for the school , kids, and not the teachers' wallets and administrations' wallets.
As an educator I teach 15 min away from Morton Grove and MY district does not have these ridiculous salaries, but the lowest, yet we meet AYP every year!! WE have over crowded classes and our test scores are HIGH too
So better paid teachers do not EQUAL better education, it EQUALS wasteful spending and buildings now falling apart.
Maybe these CARING LOVING teachers should have salaries cuts to give back to the school, building repairs and the children if they truly went into education for the love of teaching kids and not making SIX FIGURE SALARIES....I KNOW I DID!!!!