I attended the meeting, and in my opinion, user fees are very fair sources of additional funding. Subsidizing athletes is a nice gesture, but it should be the first thing to be changed. One student stood up to say that her family could not afford the fee. I don't believe that we shoud have to subsidize her cost - especially since this is an extra-curricular activity. I guarantee the $100 fee is less than it would truly cost to play a sport (coach, transportation, jerseys, referees, equipment, etc.)

If the State is going to continually reduce their funding, then the mandate of four years of physical education should be challenged. When our district is actually considering reducing graduation requirements to 19 credits, at a time when college admission is getting more and more competitive, people are going to have to think hard about whether or not 20% of the time that they are spending in school should be in phy ed. (4 yrs math, 4 science, 4 english, 4 history, 4 phy ed = 20 credits max). You haven't taken any fine arts or foreign language yet. Many universities require at least 2 years of a foreign language, and again, we should not be talking about our district providing just the minimum.

A audience member tried to compare us to Hinsdale, and the superintendent and board members dismissed her, saying that they spend more on their students, as if we should not be comparing ourselves to them. I want to compare myself to the best in the State. Our kids deserve it.

I would like to add that I think phy ed is important, and that our students benefit in all of the ways that Ms. Holverson said in the meeting - and if the number of hours per day are not altered (students will still be allowed to take six credits per year instead of five), I am not opposed to the maintaining the requirement of four years of physical activity. I do think that an athlete who is participating in a sport should be able to have a waiver from gym class though. I anticipate some parents questioning whether or not playing a sport outside of the school would qualify them for a waiver too. (If my child plays club soccer/club volleyball, club softball, dances 5 nights a week, etc.) They meet the spirit of the State law encouraging physical fitness. Their kids should probably be granted a waiver too, as long as there is some way of verifying the legitimacy of the team.

Something that was not brought up at the meeting was which administrative cuts were being proposed. In any budget cutting scenario, I would hope that reducing district office staff and administrative staff would take place before any cuts were made to the teaching staff. The teachers have the greatest direct impact on our kids' learning, and that needs to be acknowledged in these talks.

One final comment: the superintendent and board made one consensus in that they were going to raise the cost of summer school and drop the cost of the zero hour option. The net effect of this decision is to dig an even deeper hole in the budget. A better decision would be to raise each of these slightly. Again, user fees are fair. You don't have to take extra credits, but if you choose to do so, you should pay for them. I would be interested in knowing what the cost of running a zero hour class is. I would guess a $60,000/year teacher divided by 5 (for one credit) = $12,000 minimum. Twenty kids in the class would make it $600/student at a minimum.

Regarding Wyllie's confidence reducing our graduation requirements would not have an effect on college admission. This was very worrisome statement of the day for me. I taught in Wisconsin for 14 years, and I can tell you that there are smart kids all over competing for these spots in top Universities. Even if your son or daughter is accepted with 19 credits to the same college, there will be kids sitting in that class with up to nine more credits than your student did. So I don't believe the superintendent about the negative consequences of reducing our graduation requirements, and I think that parents should recognize the fact that college is competitive, and that we should all want our kids to be ready to compete with the bets students from other districts, and other states.

As the parent of a marching band member who pays over $750 per year for band fees, and then over $100 more for madrigals, I think it's only fair that athletes pay something. Band families like ours have been paying hundreds and hundreds per year for a long time. I'm not sure why athletes are any different or why they should get their actitivies for free when the band or singers do not, particularly at a time when the schools are facing financial difficulties.

Regarding getting into college, colleges do not require career education classes, so I'm not seeing a possible reduction there as affecting college.

"Because of decreasing property taxes and state aid, the Lincoln-Way High School District is considering various cuts and fee increases."

Mr Wyllie, My property taxes haven't decreased. They have only increased year after year. When I moved to Mokena years ago my tax bill was only $806.62, now it is over $6,000

What is really going on here? My taxes have gone up every year there has been no decrease ever. My property has lose $80000 in value. Why does D210 get less?

This didn't just happen overnight, people. This situation has been years in the making, both statewide and locally. Pension abuse, unbelievable administrative compensation packages, overstaffing, overbuilding, etc., have led to this, and I have yet to hear one administrator, school board member, or state politician admit that they were derelict in their duties to be honest and frugal stewards of taxpayer monies. Now they're all playing the blame game, and won't accept any accountability for their actions (or inactions) to correct a festering problem.

Where's Renee Kosel on the school funding issue? Taxpayers cannot and should not bear the brunt of these districts' and the state's fiscal mismanagement anymore.

LLW will close but of course not this year and of course he won't admit it. Everyone knows it's days are numbered. The empty fields remain where all the new subdivisions were to be built to sustain growth. Enrollment in grade schools will continue to decline as families get older and new families do not move in. We need to save money and consolidate. What I fear most is tax increases to pay for bad judgement. In this environment that most likely won't happen and LWW will need to close. I supported the new schools at the time but hindsight is 20/20. We cant afford to keep drowning in debt.

Listen, heres how it works. Even if the assessor reflected the market value of your home and reduced everyones assessment to reflect the declining housing market....Wyllie still gets his $$$. He just raises his percentage of the tax rate against everyones house. Thats how your tax bill goes up when your house loses value. There is no such thing as a "budget" for government. They get however much they ask for. That is the truth. CLOSE WEST, PLEASE. Admit you made a mistake and put your finger in the dyke Wyllie.

I keep hearing "Let's close West". Please remember that North opened just one year prior. If they school's openings been reversed, would everyone be saying "Let's close North"? My thinking is that District 210 should close North, have the North students move to East; split the East students between East and Central and move the Manhattan students to West. I hate to see the Manhattan kids travel past West just to get to Central.

Debbie,
Why do you feel North should be closed when West has the lowest enrollment of all of the 4 schools? East and North have larger enrollments. I don't think they will close any of the schools because too many jobs would be lost. Maybe they can charge tuition for Lockport residents to go to West. Doesn't Lockport have overcrowding issues? I love how our taxes are still going up and the state is not paying their bills. It's time to throw these crooked politicians out of office.

Because they HAD TO BUILD the (unneeded) 3rd & 4th high schools,without the expected rising enrollment, district 210 may end up on the states watch list and probably will not receive any state help.As usual the burden will be placed on the district taxpayers.My taxes have only gone UP in the last 20 years,and no doubt will continue.Its time to make some SERIOUS budget cuts!

Wyllie is smart to charge parents for sports. People pay money for their kids to play sports. They pay to watch sports and eat at the sporting events....even in a bad economy. They also pay to go to theatre productions. At least when you pay Lincoln Way directly you know Lincoln Way is getting the money. Lord only knows where our tax dollars go. I believe you can deduct any tuition you pay for a zero hour or summer school class on your state income taxes. One of very few deductions the state allows.

The state of Illinois is a mess, Yes we all know that Dr Wyllie. You have beaten us over the head with that for the last 3-4 years. So, where is your great planning over that time period to deal with it knowing the state is a deadbeat. So, the end result of listening to Dr Wyllie and all the other administrators from LW talk is that LW is about student achievement. So what is the first thing they plan to look at doing, makeing changes that will effect student achievement. I don't care what the state requirement is. We need to strive for better!!! They better be looking at cutting the high price district admins that we don't need. Do we need a Director and Assitant Director of Community Relations. Come on!! Time for all the high priced admins to roll up their sleeves and do a little more work like everyone else has had to.

I believe that the teachers contract is also up this year. Are we now seeing negotiations take place in the media and public forums? I can't wait to see what both sides do to try and scare parents into action one way or another. It already has begun with teachers talking about cuts in class.

After thinking about it I can understand why Dr. Wyllie doesn't want to open any school to out of district residents. If you allow this at one school you would have to allow this at another school. It could result in a slippery slope and pretty soon you have out of district students attending Lincoln Way schools at no cost because they qualify for a tuition waiver. Just a thought.

Did Wyllie account for the $30million savings we have? Use it. It's raining.

When compared to neighboring communities, the LW district has done a very good job at providing solid academics while keeping cost per student low. However, education in general is like most every other investment of tax dollars, riddled in waste. As this economy has so clearly pointed out, we cannot continue to spend tax dollars for all of these posh schools, libraries, city halls, lucrative public employee pension programs, etc. The list goes on and on. The problem is that not only has too much money been spent on these programs, but we must now deal with the legacy and maintenance costs. The cold hard fact is that we need to make the painful decision to reverse trend and either raise taxes or cut expenses. I vote for cutting expenses. It's not a popular decision but it is the most responsible way to correct the mess we are in. But as the protests over LW's proposal to raise fess and cut programs show, people aren't interested in having anything taken away from them or enduring any additional pain by paying more. Communities have become programmed to feel they must compete with neighboring communities and build the nicest libraries, city halls, community centers, city pools, police departments, schools, and on and on and on... all the while, handing out lucrative salaries, perks, and pension programs that are not adequately funded. All this has been done by the very same people we have voted into office. It's sad.

It's just a sad state to see the district in. People move here BECAUSE LW is such a great district. Cut the requirements, have testing scores slide, and there won't be any more growth to worry about. We will NEVER close because although it is not running up to capacity, Central would be way overcrowded were those kids to attend there. Same thing with East and North. I don't know what the answers are..but I know what they aren't. Teachers need to be treated fairly, community and school need to work together to find solutions, and most importantly, our kids need to be prepared for the real world...those who plan to attend college and those who don't.

PE is a waste, 40 minutes a day isn't going to cut especially if it's not enforced. My high schooler says they should change the cafeteria food. Half of the food is fried, get rid of the fries, ice cream, etc.. The food they serve to our kids with fat high fructose corn syrup and so many calories. Change that and you will see improvement in obesity. The PE credit should be cut.

All schools are top heavy with administrators. According to Department of Education statistics cited by the Heritage Foundation. Teachers were once 70% of school staff, but in 2006 they have dropped to 51%.

There are a couple things that 210 has not addressed (from what I've read thus far). First, the district owns a lot of land,multiple locations, aquired for the purpose of building new schools. Why not sell it? Second, there are MANY subdivisions just south of our district borders that have been begging to be annexed in. These homes are substantial and would generate tax revenue and fill up LWW. Has someone addressed these issues and I missed it?
I live in the historic district of Frankfort. Our home is over 110 years old and even my taxes have gone up a lot. Where does the money go??
Finally, activities and sports at East do cost money. Poms was over $400, just for basketball season. Football generates money for the school and they still have mandatory fundraisers. It's not cheep to enroll your teen, pay hundreds for a parking permit or drive them all over, buy supplies, pay for activities and fundraisers and then PAY to attend the activities and sports the kids are in. Enough is enough!!! Cut the extra real estate and "fundraise" by adding wealthy subdivisions and their tax dollars; win-win for all.

Here we go-----Our school board members especially those that have served for a while now have been outstanding on their decision making. Just a few examples on these visionaries and fiscal conservative labor negotiating wizards 15 sick days/personal days a year plus lets give them one on us(taxpayer) every once in a while to insure they get to 385 of them banked by the time they retire to raise their pension. No no no thats not enough lets give them a special one time $16,000 check on retirement declaration. No no no lets also give them a guarenteed 6% raise every year on top of their contractual raises for their last 5 years working when they declare retirement. Let,s see ok now the State will give them a 3% raise every year after retirement . Wow that is a great plan they can make in a few years more than they were making when they were was working. No no that is not pension pading is it. Never thought of it that way but do not worry about that many of the school diistricts around us are doing it so it is ok and we always ask for their advice. Maybe we should stop now. No No No we should give em a lot more. This can go on forever. Wow you are right let us see what else we can do for them but we can not forget the administrators No no we won,t, you are right they have a tremendous amount of responsibility and besides that they are smarter. You are right but we can not forget the association(union) because everyone works for them. To be continued...

Maria, the subdivisions I'm referring to currently pay taxes to Peotone. I've been in this area my entire life and I understand the process in which taxes are paid. These are unincorporated areas closer to LW schools than Peotone, and they've been trying to become annexed by LW schools for many reasons.

The LW district right now can house 12,500. That can easily be constructed to house 15000, figures I got from the asst supt. Right now the district has only about 7500 kids. If LW were to close LW West and shift the boundaries, all the schools would still be at about 75% enrollment. The district is not going to grow within the forseeable future --- I mean at least 5-10 years. If they close LW West, they would probably be able to lay off the entire staff and save millions of $$. This would be hard for about a year. Wyllie and his silliness of 4 schools got us in this mess. The least he could do before he retires is to make the hard decision and close West. Then he can take his money for unused vacation days, sick days, etc and pass the torch to someone not wanting to have a legacy of silliness. When LW asks for a tax increase remember who set you up for that.

Yes Bob, the residents knew what district they were in. For some, the annexation is mid process and for others it is beginning. Peotone can't get referendums past and can't house them all. It's been an ongoing issue and in the papers (south of Frankfort) for at least a couple years.

Judd, why not sell west to JJC? Or at least rent it to them, and just use the the other 3. I'm sure the math has been done on exactly how much each school actually costs the district. I would like to know those figures. Lets not lose sight of administration cuts!! If I'm going to pay for something I would rather pay for my childs education, not another duplicate administrative role. As fas as I'm concerned, the administration is delusional, they should be looking to cut their own fat first, don't remember them offering that up.

Get down to basics. What is the purpose of a school? To educate the next generation. Then let the teachers do that. No extra anything until there is money to do so. Reduce the number of administrators, teachers and other personnel. Cut salaries and require larger payments toward insurance and pensions. These are tough times and the situation did not get this way overnight. The leaders lacked the foresight and spine to reign in spending for years and those on the trough were happy to feed! Now its time to go on a diet!

I think West should be sold. Maybe a Jr college or some entity would buy it. Just because it is nice looking and new doesn't mean we should keep it open when it is only 1/2 full and will get worse. It is a drain on our system and everyone knows it. The number of empty nesters in our district is going up every year. As the last child in the family graduates HS and goes off to college, where are the babies??? Young families are not moving in because they are not moving in anywhere. The economy and housing market is in the tank and will remain there for years and probably decades. This was not a recession. This was not a bubble bursting. It was a fundamental shift in the mindset and status of home ownership. Moving up to a nicer, larger, house every 5-7 years is history. A large luxury home is one of the WORST investments you can make. The subdivisions are not being built and the new young families are NOT coming. CLOSE WEST.

Rent to Lockport, JJC or whatever. I voted against this disaster. Those who started this, the Board and the admin, should solve it. One more example of wasting the people's money.

Remember a few years back when L.W. Dist. 210 held a referendum to see if people would want to have Astro-turf at East and Central's football fields? In order to save $40K grass maintenance cost per field, Wyllie said it was cost effective too spend $500k per field for the Astro-turf. The taxpayers voted NO and the referendum failed. Then Wyllie and his rubber stamp school board violated the taxpayers wishes and had the Astro-turf installed anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have a problem with the LW school board. I think for the most part they make good decisions when you compare them to other districts. What scares me is Quinn's plan to consolidate school districts. That's all we need is a big bureacracy like Chicago. Nothing would be worse for our district and kids.
http://mokena.patch.com/articles/report-school-district-mergers-could-cost-illinois-nearly-4-billion-877078fc

Before we begin imposing so many fees and tuition hikes, high-paid salaries for administration need to be addressed, Pay freezes and reductions in overpaid salaries must be a high-priority option while the rest of the workforce is facing pay cuts or job losses. Only then look at normalizing the fees for extra-cirricular activities (of which $100 is reasonable IF you're not already paying other fees/expenses for that activity), tack on an extra buck or two with admissions to these sport events, and why not sell some more advertising?
I would be in favor of a temporary suspension of some of these non-career quality "blow-off" electives to free up educators to KEEP our graduation requirements at a top level, giving our next generation the best advantage in competing for college academics and future jobs.

Teachers benefits and salaries have gotten out of control and it has become acceptable to tolerate a burned out slack who has given up on the kids after 30 years on the job. My children at Hickory Creek in particular have had between them 3 of the worst "teachers" who have been there for ages and should be fired. What gives? Can they not be fired? I would be if I wasn't performing.

Busy Body Think about it people .Teachers get paid for 180 days of work. They're the only union workers that don't lose on back pay.Cause they still work 180 days weather the school year goes longer.