UPDATE: Amid Difficult Budget Realities, District 205 Parents Launch Petition to Fight New School Start Times

"There is no low-hanging fruit," board member Hirsch said. "There are no clear, simple options. We have cut across the board. Cut after cut after cut."

UPDATE: FEB. 12, 3:45 p.m. The online petition now has 723 signatures. UPDATE: JAN. 28, 9:25 p.m. As of Monday night, the online petition, "Stop District 205 Time Changes," had 466 signatures. Friday, Jan. 25: An online petition titled, "Stop District 205 Time Changes," has been posted online by parents opposed to the district moving to a three-tier bus schedule. The petition reads: "We, the undersigned, call to District 205 of Elmhurst, Illinois, to reconsider the proposal of shifting the school hours of our Elementary Schools. We are in direct conflict with this proposal and do not want the elementary hours changed from our current 8:15 AM to 3 PM." The petition had 61 signatures as of Friday morning. Some parents in Elmhurst District …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter: Dear Mr. Pruneau, 'Every Time I Turn Around, I'm Asked to Donate More'

The discussion about new school start times was underway last summer. Elmhurst mom and District 205 alum explains the impact of schedule changes by looking at how things used to be.

Elmhurst parent Debbie Stephan shares a letter she wrote to Elmhurst Unit District 205 Superintendent David Pruneau Aug. 8, 2012. This was her second correspondence with Pruneau on the topic of rescheduling school start times. While he responded to her first inquiry, she says she is still waiting for a response to this one. Hi Mr. Pruneau, Nobody understands the difficult economic times more than a family with one income and three kids. (But because we live in Elmhurst, I guess everyone assumes we have a disposable income.) I was raised in this town and went through all of the schools here. I remember a consistent schedule. There were no registration fees in grade schools, school sponsored activities, parking spots at York and school …

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Susan Smentek

4:31 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013

I do hope you receive a response to your thoughtful letter. Here's my thought concerning your comment, "The transportation issue may affect many but it also DOES NOT affect many others. So why should the rest of us have to pay for the changes?" Do you really want to divide parents into us vs. them? The bus service areas are unfunded state and/or federal mandates. The buses will run, even if our …   more ›

District 205 Looks to the Elmhurst Community to Help Chart the Future

Budget cuts, curriculum, building needs and more will be examined over a period of several months.

Elmhurst Unit District 205 Superintendent David Pruneau on Tuesday presented the School Board a draft plan for how a Citizens Advisory Committee will operate. The purpose of the committee is two-fold: to review current district operations and limitations, then to examine six topics and flesh out ideas for improvement. The committee will be charged with examining: "It's really a vetting of our whole district, asking for input so the board can be apprised about how the community feels about the direction we're going," Pruneau said. Part of the drive to create the committee is based on district finances. The current financial model is "not sustainable as it stands now," Pruneau said last month. The district also is facing a decision on …

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Kindergarten, PE, Music, English: District 205 Breaks Down Which Positions Were Cut

Budget cuts will hit the classroom in 2012-13.

Elmhurst Unit District 205 on Thursday released the specific certified teaching positions that are being cut as a result of 2012-13 budget reductions. Following is the breakdown of the 16 positions provided by Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Brad Hillman.   At the elementary level, full time equivalent (FTE) positions eliminated include three teachers of core curriculum and three "specials" positions: At the middle school level, FTE positions eliminated include two core teachers and one world language teacher: At the high school, three core and four elective FTE teaching positions have been eliminated: All affected teachers have been notified. According to a statement from the district, "it is difficult to figure the exact …

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anonymous

10:53 am on Thursday, April 19, 2012

But these cuts would still leave us with high school PE teachers making $140,000 a year: http://www.familytaxpayers.org/salary.php   more ›

Teachers Contract, Reductions in Force on Monday's District 205 School Board Agenda

Board is also expected to approve debt refinancing.

Among other business, the Elmhurst Unit District 205 Board is expected to ratify a contract with the Elmhurst Teachers Union when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, at the district administration building, 162 S. York St. The meeting will be preceded by a closed session to discuss collective negotiations and employment of an employee. The public meeting will begin with a proclamation honoring this year's Illinois High School Association state speech champion, Sarah King. Ten members of the York Speech Team qualified for the state finals, which were held Feb. 18 in Peoria. King is the first state speech champion in the history of York High School. Next, the public will be invited to speak for up to three minutes on any topic. …

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District 205 School Board Gives a Reluctant Nod to $1.2 Million in Cuts

After April 10, teachers getting laid off will know who they are.

A 90 minute discussion by Elmhurst District 205 School Board members Tuesday night did not lead to any magic bullet or previously unrevealed secret that would fix the district's budget without painful cuts. On the contrary, it set those cuts in motion. It's the third consecutive year the district has had to trim the budget. Last year, the district used the Elmhurst Educational Program Review Technique, or EEPRT, to cut $3 million out of its budget. EEPRT data collected in 2011 was one of the criteria board members used this year when evaluating areas to cut. While the amount to be cut for 2012-13 is less than last year, about $1.2 million, the cuts are hitting some vital areas. "If there was anything frivolous, it was cut a long time ago…

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District 205 School Board Will Hammer Out Budget Cuts Tuesday

Any staff layoffs must be determined by April 10.

Elmhurst Unit District 205 School Board will take on the difficult task of cutting the fiscal year 2013 budget at a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, at the district administration building, 162 S. York St. The public meeting will be preceded by a closed session at  6 p.m. to discuss probable or imminent litigation, employment of an employee and collective negotiations. The Elmhurst Teachers Union is scheduled to vote on a third tentative agreement with the district on Tuesday, hoping to end an impasse that was declared last month. The regular meeting will begin with public comment. Members of the community are welcome to speak for up to three minutes on any topic. The only business item on the agenda will be a budget …

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Budget Reductions Now Cut into the "Muscle" of District 205; Class Sizes, Programs Will Be Affected

Cuts are "tragic," board member says.

The Elmhurst District 205 School Board was met by a sea of blue shirts worn by teachers representing the Elmhurst Teachers Union Tuesday. With contract negotiations at an impasse, several teachers spoke about ways to cut spending, and they made pleas to the board to save certain positions as it contemplates staff layoffs. Librarian positions are on the list of potential cuts. York librarian Vicky Lessard urged the board to think of librarians as teachers and libraries as classrooms, and reminded board members that libraries "suffered deep cuts" during last year's budget cuts. "We lost 40 to 50 percent of book budgets, 50 percent of the supply budget and electronic research services were canceled," she said. Another York librarian, Robin …

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Michael

11:10 am on Monday, August 13, 2012

Dan, nearly all of your property tax increases go to service all the various pension plans: 1) DuPage County pension fund went up 2) County Health Dept pension fund went up 3) Forest Preserve District pension fund went down (the only one to do so) 4) York Township pension fund went up (why do we need a separate township?) 5) City of Elmhurst pension fund went up 6) Elmhurst Park District pension …   more ›

Letter to the Editor

Letter: Don't Let York Baseball Coach Dave Kalal Be a Casualty of Budget Cuts

Letter writer makes a plea for community members to write to the School Board and attend Tuesday's meeting in support of the coach.

As most people already know, District 205 is forced to make budget cuts.  Unfortunately, head baseball coach and PE teacher Dave Kalal has been RIFed, which means that he is not guaranteed a teaching position at York after this school year. This is an indescribable disappointment to all who have had the privilege to know Coach Kalal.   Coach Kalal has begun to take the York baseball program to the next level.  He is wholeheartedly invested in the program, in his athletes and in his PE students.  He is the kind of teacher everyone looks forward to seeing during the day, and his athletes love playing for him. He is more than just a teacher or a coach; he is a mentor and a role model for all of his students.  It would be a huge mistake to let…

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York Parent

8:05 am on Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Thanks for the information, Cassandra.   more ›

District 205 Board Approves a Net $3 Million in Budget Cuts

New fees for athletics, music and art will add to revenue.

The budget evaluation process for Elmhurst Unit District 205 has ended. The board on Tuesday approved approximately $3.85 million in budget cuts and $857,146 in additional program funding, for a net budget reduction of about $3 million. The cuts approved by the board include the elimination of 14.80 full-time equivalent faculty members, as well as several other staff positions. But positions will be added in the areas of reading support (4.0 FTE); related services, including social work (.2 FTE) and psychology (1.0 FTE); REACH (3.5 FTE); and special education (.2 FTE).  A “place hold” for the position of director of research and assessment also was approved. Among the substantive changes to the Feb. 28 budget recommendations was the …

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Jan Dorner

8:28 pm on Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Yes, the removed positions are different than staff that is RIF'd. A school district might let some non-tenured staff go in the Spring (RIF - reduction in force) according to what the contract says. Then, as they are planning for the next school year they may hire all or most back to fill spots once they figure out how classes are divided. With the process this year, the decision was made to …   more ›