Next Minooka 201 School Board Meeting

The next meeting of the Minooka CCSD 201 school board is Wednesday, December 18, 2013. The Committee of the Whole Meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. in the board room (the old library) at the Minooka Primary Center located at 305 Church Street in Minooka. The Committee of the Whole Meeting will be followed by a Truth in Taxation (tax levy) hearing at 6:45 in the gymnasium. The Truth in Taxation hearing will then be followed by the regular Board Meeting at 7 p.m. All of the meetings are open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. You can find the agenda for each of the meetings here.

The information for the Truth in Taxation (tax levy) hearing can be viewed here.  Notice that among the amounts proposed to be levied is an amount ($650,000.00) for the tort immunity fund.  (For a discussion of this fund and the risk management plans that are used to "justify" these levies, see here.)  The school board adopted a new risk management plan last year for this purpose.  Notice, however, that the district levied $1,874,457.00 in the tort immunity fund the year prior to adopting the new risk management plan.  It is very possible that such levy was excessive based on the risk management plan that was then in place.

Detroit Bankruptcy a Wake-up Call for Pensioners

This article from the New York Post is a must read for anyone who has a municipal pension.  State pensions may not be far behind.  All it would take is an amendment to the federal bankruptcy law to allow states to declare bankruptcy.

Catholic Scholars Come Out In Opposition to Common Core

Whether or not you are Catholic, if you are concerned about your child's education and the changes mandated by Illinois' adoption of the Common Core, you should read this letter.  These scholars are, of course, writing in order to persuade Catholic bishops not to adopt Common Core for Catholic schools in their dioceses, but many of the points they make about Common Core are equally valid arguments for why parents, educators and politicians in Illinois (and elsewhere) should reject the Common Core.

The debate over Common Core is not over.  In fact, it is just beginning.