City, School District Close to Agreement on TIF

All that's left is a little lawyering, a public viewing and a vote.

It appears the city of Elmhurst and School District 205 are very close to signing off on an agreement that spells out how the city is going to share property tax revenue from its tax increment financing districts. TIF districts freeze property values for up to 23 years to encourage redevelopment in areas considered blighted. TIFs generate revenue through new construction in the district. The difference between the frozen property value and any new growth goes into a fund to pay for improvements or redevelopment in the district. Two of the three elements of the revenue sharing plan have not been disputed by either side. First, the city will pay a $1.5 million surplus from the Lake Street TIF to the School District and Elmhurst Park Board. …

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Elmhurst District 205 Cancels After-school and Evening Activities

Rec Station and the School Board meeting are still on for today, however, and buses are running on their regular schedule.

All Elmhurst District 205 after-school and evening activities have been canceled for today, Tuesday, Feb. 26, due to weather conditions. This includes the IHSA Regional basketball tournament, the middle school concert and all elementary school activities.  The after-school child care program known as Rec Station will continue to operate under its usual schedule at all of our schools.  The Board of Education meeting is still on for tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the District 205 Administration Center, 162 S. York, although the student and staff recognitions will be rescheduled. Please check the individual school websites for information on make-up dates for canceled events. District 205 schools will be dismissed at the regular time today, but it …

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Equitable Education for All: Rewards, Challenges of ELL Program Explored at District 205 Forum Monday

Community is invited; results of this meeting will help set the vision for District 205's English Language Learners program.

A community forum that explores the goals, legal requirements, rewards and challenges of Elmhurst District 205's English Language Learners program will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, at the District Administration Center, 162 S. York. Members of the community are invited to learn how other school districts provide ELL services and hear about the experiences others have had with the program in District 205. Board members, administrators, teachers, former ELL students, parents, a professor with an ELL specialty, members of the Superintendent's Advisory Committee and administrators from St. Charles and Woodstock school districts are expected to attend. The committee will share their findings at a future board meeting and set the …

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State Testing Begins Soon in District 205; Expect Fewer Students to Meet, Exceed Standards

State Board of Education increased cut scores for ISAT, but ISAT soon will be replaced by a new, rigorous evaluation system to determine college readiness.

Some parents of District 205 elementary and middle school students may be surprised to see a drop in their children's results on the Illinois Standard Achievement Tests they will take two weeks from now. As a result of changes made by the Illinois State Board of Education last month, some students' scores will shift downward from the "exceeds state standards" bracket to "meets state standards," some may drop from "meets" to "below standards" and still others could drop from "below standards" to "academic warning." The scores are released to parents in the fall. ISBE on Jan. 24 approved increased "cut scores" used in determining whether students meet state standards, Charles Sprandel, District 205's director of research, assessment and …

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John Iwaszkiewicz

12:03 am on Monday, February 25, 2013

When you have gym teachers making 144,000 plus dollars a year you are going to have financial problems. Do we have the greatest gym program in the United States? NO. We dont. Then why are we paying out dollars as if we do? THREE people could work for 205 with those dollars.   more ›

Obituary

Dist. 205 Staff Mourn Loss of Former Band Director, Principal's Mom, Teacher's Dad, Office Worker

Four with connections to District 205 passed away within a few days of one another.

It has been a sad week for staff members and their families at Elmhurst Unit District 205, who have lost a former band director, an office employee, the mother of a retired principal and the father of a third-grade teacher. E. Clifford Marquardt, 87, father of Barb Clancy, third-grade teacher at Lincoln School, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 30. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at Knollcrest Funeral Home, 1500 S. Meyers Road, Lombard. A funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. Interment is private. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the ALS Association, in honor of Mr. Marquardt's son, Tom.   Read Mr. Marquardt's full obituary on the Chicago Tribune website. On Monday, Jan. 28, Joan (Jovanka) Jovanovich (nee …

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District 205 Refinances Another $6.5 Million in Debt

Action will directly reduce residents' tax bills by nearly $1 million.

For the second time in a year, Elmhurst District 205 has refinanced some of its bonds to save taxpayers money. The district announced last spring that it refinanced about $8 million in debt, which resulted in about $600,000 in savings to taxpayers.  On Jan. 17, another $6.4 million in debt was refinanced, reducing interest rates from 5.25 percent to 2.67 percent and yielding an additional net savings to the taxpayer of about $900,000, School Board President Jim Collins told the board Tuesday. "That comes directly off of property tax bills," Collins said. "It does not go back into the School District budget to be spent on other things." The debt is from the $54 million in bonds issued after the district's 2006 referendum passed, allowing …

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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 ›

Have Questions or Suggestions for District 205 Superintendent David Pruneau?

Monthly Coffee with the Superintendent is this Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Do you have questions, comments or suggestions you'd like to share with Elmhurst District 205 School Superintendent David Pruneau? As part of his ongoing pledge to make himself accessible to parents and community members, his January Coffee with the Superintendent will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Conrad Fischer School, 888 N. Wilson St. These informal gatherings, held monthly at different locations around the district, are organized by the PTA Council and have no specific agenda. Pruneau will be available for about an hour, and all parents and community members are invited. The next coffee will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at Jefferson School, 360 E. Crescent. The final two meetings of the school year will be at 10 a.…

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Objections Filed Against Two Candidates Seeking Seats on Elmhurst District 205 School Board

Darlene Heslop has filed challenges to the nominating papers of School Board President Jim Collins and newcomer Emily Bastedo.

Elmhurst resident Darlene Heslop has filed objections against the nominating petitions of two Elmhurst District 205 School Board candidates. Those petition challenges will be heard by the district's Electoral Board during a special meeting at 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, at the District 205 Administrative Building, 162 S. York Road. Heslop is objecting to the nominating papers filed by candidates Emily Bastedo and current School Board President Jim Collins. The agenda for the meeting on Friday is as follows: According to Illinois Election Code, the School District's Electoral Board would be composed of the board president (Collins), board Secretary Shannon Ebner and the longest-serving member of the board, Susan DeRonne. Since Collins is being …

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Karen Chadra

8:59 am on Friday, January 11, 2013

Objections withdrawn: http://elmhurst.patch.com/articles/heslop-withdraws-her-challenge-to-elmhurst-district-205-school-board-candidates-nominating-papers   more ›