PeoriaStory

The $1 Million "Oops" -- Behind the Cutbacks for District 150?

UPDATE, June 2, 2008:  On May 31, District 150 School Board President Dr. David Gorenz was sent an e-mail asking for his comments on the article below, and the impact of the audit on the school district.  So far, he has not responded to the e-mail.

At the June 2 School Board meeting school officials were asked about the audit.  Superintendent Ken Hinton said the "information" going around is "incorrect," but he never gave any details about what is incorrect or said how much the district must pay back and otherwise account for from its own funds. He said the district does not get $10 million from Title I funds but did not say what it does receive.

Here's the link to the District 150 budget.  Note page 9 of the budget, line item 184. This year the Title I receipts are $10.1 million.  (To reach the budget, go to 'Board of Education' then click on the budget link.)

There's another interesting statement on this budget. It states since the budget is balanced, no "deficit reduction plan is required." So the Title I situation last year helped balance this year's budget! Until the auditors came in.

Administrator Mary Ann Randle said auditors have been "tightening" the allowable expenses under Title I. "Some of these things put us in a precarious position," she said.

PEORIA -- The fast tracked push to cut 45-minutes from most Peoria primary schools in Peoria School District 150 has little educational rationale but possibly a serious financial reason: almost $1 million in “questionable” expenses wrongly charged last year to the $10.1 million federal Title I program.

An audit of federal Title I grants sent to the district in 2006-07 found $995,378 in questionable expenditures for items such as cell phones, parties and even excessive pay to administrators and teachers not linked to the poverty programs covered by Title I.

The district has agreed to refund some of the money directly. Insiders say it must change its budgeting to take the other questionable funds out of its other tax funds, leaving a shortfall in these funds, apparently between $645,000 to $810,000, figures mentioned by district administrators as the savings from the cutbacks.

That's the apparent link to the cutbacks.

The 45-minute-per-day cutbacks would remedy the shortfall, but on the backs of  the most vulnerable students in the primary grades.

In an official response to the audit, district officials stated:  “The District acknowledges that significant errors were made in posting expenditures to the correct account types and numbers,” and will correct the problems.

The huge document questions numerous expenses paid out by District 150 from federal grant funds, including:

• Over $40,600 in excessive administrative pay and benefits.
  

• Over $107,345 in excessive pay for “community services.”
  

• Over $37,700 in “breakfasts,”  “luncheons,” and even a course on “How to Supervise People” for Title One Director J.B. Culbertson.

The Title I funds apparently flowed freely.  The audit questions thousands paid out for cell phone usage, “snacks” and “celebrations,” as well as $106,713 paid out for items such as “family liaison” that were submitted with insufficient documentation.

Other items disallowed under the federal grants include “basketball hoops,” a “smart phone” for Tim Ryon, principal at Tyng school, $1,180 to the “Peoria Ballet Co.” a snowblower, camera and candy from Target and $5,000 in fans, listed as “janitorial supplies.”

Over $20,936 spent on “air conditioners” was questioned by the auditors.

But the biggest item disallowed was $703,633 for teacher pay and benefits, presumably because they were not teaching in Title I programs."There were numerous inconsistencies in the grant staff payroll records" auditors stated, resulting in "overstatement of salaries and benefits."  

The district also did not have “highly qualified teachers” in some schools as required by federal rules.

According to the Federal auditors, the district had 13 teachers providing instruction that were not highly qualified - a violation of the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. 

Further requirements the district must meet under the Act include submitting a plan to the Regional Office of Education demonstrating the numbers of non-highly qualified teachers, and notifying parents if a non-highly qualified teacher was providing instruction to their children.  According to the audit, the district was not in compliance with either of these provisions.

The auditors were blunt about District 150’s situation. “The District did not maintain a comprehensive accounting system” they wrote, a conclusion that District officials denied, saying “it does have the capability of generating necessary reports.”

District officials blamed communication problems for the bad audit.

“A language barrier or communication problem between staff and audit personnel” caused problems with the audit, the District stated in its official response. It was able to negotiate down some of the expenses that it must account for from other funds or repay.

A former district insider who has studied the report concluded that federal funds were being used to prop up the educational fund making it appear to not have a deficit, and the District got caught.

Though auditors usually find problems, “this is a high number,” another insider, now retired, said.

The audit, released in Nov. 2007 for the previous school year, along with the district’s response, is a public record on file with the district, the Regional Superintendent’s Office and the Illinois State Board of Education.

A copy of the audit, released under the Freedom of Information Act on Friday, May 30, came too late in the day for interviews with district officials.

Opponents of the cutbacks may question board members at the June 2 meeting about the audit and its apparent relationship to the cutbacks.

They seek a reversal of the cutback plan, but it's not on the meeting agenda.

They plan picketing before the meeting and are gathering signatures on petitions opposing the cutbacks.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Update:  Title I funds are federal grant funds to schools with low income students, to improve student achievement. They are the funding behind the No Child Left Behind Act, which schools must meet if they take the money.  Their use is restricted by federal law.  They are allocated to schools based on their percentage of poverty-level students.

Below are some web links on Title 1.

http://www.spokaneschools.org/TitleI/

 

http://www.isbe.net/grants/html/grants_nclb.htm

 

http://www.nhie.net/store/titlefunds.aspx

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_I

 

http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html

 

http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/disadv/edpicks.jhtml

 

http://www.doe.mass.edu/titlei/students/?section=ndr

 

 

 

 

Preservationists win small battle

PEORIA -- Score one for historic preservation in a city that has lost too much of its historic architecture. But not this time. Not yet.

The Peoria Park Board on May 28 deferred a decision that might have culminated in the destruction of a historic landmark in Glen Oak Park.

The board is worried about a parapet overlooking the lagoon at Glen Oak Park where a historic cannon, from the Spanish American War, is displayed.

The parapet, a rounded stone structure, is said to be a replica of Elmora Castle in Santiago, Cuba.  "Peoria is one of the few cities to receive a prize of war from that conflict," preservationist Sara Partridge told the park board.

She was one of six people speaking at a 45-minute public hearing on what should be done with the parapet and its cannon.

Park officials say the wall of the parapet is cracked, and held together only by steel cables. They have suggested storing the cannon and dismantling the stone wall, storing the stones, then excavating to see whether the soil beneath the parapet has settled. Then they would decide what to do next. With this scenario, the future of the structure seemed uncertain.

Preservation advocates would have none of it.  All urged repair and restoration of the structure, with some noting that too many features of Glen Oak Park have already been dismantled over the years.

Melissa King worried that the cannon would be sent to another park. "I don't feel secure. We lose things," she said. "This is a historic park. Don't even consider moving that cannon."

Board member Roger Allen responded, "no way any of us would consider moving the cannon out of the park."

Architect Les Kenyon suggested that a structural engineer be consulted for an opinion on repairing the parapet, an idea the board agreed with.

On a voice vote, the board agreed to defer a decision on what to do about the parapet until a structural engineer can be found to offer an opinion.

Central Illinois Landmarks Foundation will pay part of the fee for a structural engineer, Kenyon said.

  -- Elaine Hopkins

District 150 protest on fast forward

PEORIA -- It's full speed ahead for the group of parents and others furious with Peoria School District 150 for cutting 45 minutes out of the school day next year in the non-Edison grade schools.  They seek to persuade the School Board to reverse its decision, at its June 2 meeting.

They are gathering signatures on petitions calling for the reversal, and have set up an on-line petition as well, which can be accessed here.

They plan to picket before the board meeting, beginning at 5 p.m., at the administration building, 3202 N. Wisconsin Avenue.  They also will speak to the board during the public comment period.

As predicted last week, school officials may rue the day that they made this cutback decision, since it has awakened a new group of middle class parents with computer skills and many contacts in the community.

They're now questioning many District 150 decisions and issues beyond the 45-minute cut.

Among their discoveries:  District 150 may be unique in Illinois because it was chartered early in the 19th century by the state legislature and operates under different laws. It's the only district, apparently, whose board members have 5-year terms.  The complex language in that law appears to indicate that a referendum could restructure the district, its board and its boundaries. 

Whoa!

That's one way to get rid of a rubber-stamp board, some have said.

They're also contacting individual board members asking for their votes to reverse. They are quite upset with Debbie Wolfmeyer, who made the mistake of sending an email to group leader Diane Vespa saying she doesn't see her role as meeting with concerned citizens, and prefers to get all information from Superintendent Ken Hinton. Oops.  That letter and Vespa's response quickly made it onto the Peoria Chronicle blogsite, generating lots of adverse comments.

The protest group has presented district officials with several ways to save money without cutting back on the school day, while at the same time allowing for common preparation periods for teachers.

Here's another way the district can generate more money:  a system-wide vending machine contract.

Four years ago, I did a study of the district's vending machine contracts, which traditionally have been negotiated school by school, proving funds for the individual schools supposedly used for a variety of good purposes. That approach brings in way less money than a system wide contract would provide.

The records were not being audited (!), but showed the individual contracts apparently were bringing in about $120,000 annually in 2004.

If the district gained only $25 per student with a universal contract sent out for bids, that would mean $350,000 annually.

The Rockford district in 2004 was netting $26 per student. District 150's average take then was $8 per student.

This is one example of district fiscal confusion. Here's another:  the district spent $1,200 in March on a tile floor in Loucks/Edison school, which is closing for good now.  A story in Sunday's Journal Star noted the expenditure.

District 150 has always maintained its buildings.  So here's another perfectly sound building being closed, a building with its own history and traditions, while new ones are being built. Hummm.

Further, one member of the group has pointed out that if only 100 children leave District 150 because of the 45-minute cutbacks and other changes such as the Loucks closure, the District will lose more than $6,000 per pupil in state aid -- the same amount the cutbacks are supposed to save.

If you think none of this makes much sense, join the group, sign the petition, walk the picket line next week.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Rescind that 45-minute cutback, parents say

PEORIA -- The parents group attempting to persuade Peoria School District officials not to shorten the school day by 45 minutes in the elementary schools has decided to play nice.

For now.

Four group leaders met on May 22 with Superintendent Ken Hinton and others, to present a document they created showing how the district could save money and provide common planning time for teachers without cutting the school day.

The meeting reportedly was civil.

School officials may rue the day they ever dreamed up the idea of cutting student class time. Suddenly many of the bright, middle class parents remaining in District 150 have awakened from apathy.

They have been emboldened to carefully analyze school documents and finances to come up with their proposal.  Boiled down to its essentials, the proposal, carefully documented and released to the public, states:

1.  There is plenty of time in the current schedule for common planning, the ostensible reason for cutting back the student day by 45 minutes.

2.  If more time is really needed (doubtful, based on statistics the group presents), the cost would be fairly low, and easily affordable by cutting out superfluous administrators or implementing previous cost-cutting measures in district reports.

The latter would save $684,000, about the amount the 45-minute cutback supposedly would save.

3.  If that’s not enough, cutting back on expensive consultants and retirees brought in as administrators would save $312,465 plus benefits, the proposal shows.

4. Finally, the three associate/assistant superintendents made salaries in 2007 of $114,885; $128,233; and $137,085 (not including benefits).

The proposal has no recommendation about them. But the implication is clear: they could be let go, and likely would land on their feet with good jobs elsewhere.

Any who were involved in the boneheaded decision to cut the school day back 45 minutes, effectively eliminating art, music, special reading and other activities in struggling inner city schools should perhaps find other lines of work.

Or perhaps the School Board should awaken from its rubber-stamp torpor and fire them.

The parents group is calling for the School Board to rescind the decision at its next meeting on June 2.

If that doesn’t happen, civility likely will turn into something else.

C.J. Summers has posted the entire proposal on his Peoria Chronicle website, along with video of the May 19 School Board meeting where people vigorously protested the cutbacks.

 -- Elaine Hopkins  

 

 

 

 

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Group fights delisting of hazardous waste

PEORIA -- Members of the environmental group Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste have requested a public hearing on a move by Peoria Disposal Co. to delist residues from the treatment of electric arc furnace dust created by steel mills.

The dust is a hazardous waste from Keystone Steel & Wire Co. at Bartonville and other companies that PDC landfills at its hazardous waste facility, 4349 Southport Rd on southwest edge of Peoria.

If the Illinois Pollution Control Board approves the delisting, the waste would no longer be considered hazardous, and could be disposed of in a municipal landfill. PDC also owns municipal landfills, including one in nearby Tazewell Count at Hopedale.

The move would allow PDC to free up space in its hazardous waste landfill for other substances, and therefore extend the life of that landfill, now almost full.

The Families group has fought against PDC’s efforts to expand the landfill, with rulings now pending in court.

In a letter to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency seeking that agency’s support against the delisting, activist Cara Rosson states “This is a highly unusual measure that they propose.”

Rosson believes it would set a legal precedent, as delistings elsewhere have involved single companies with specific treatments and landfilling on company property.

But PDC accepts the dust from several sources. Landfilling the dust in municipal landfills would expose the dust to various compounds that end up in those landfills, she writes, “from Kool Aid and battery acid to orange juice and bleach, the list is endless.”

Testing for these variables is impossible, she says. “The chemical reaction possibilities appear to be endless, or at least would seem to increase exponentially, once dumped in with the millions of items found in municipal landfills.”

The state of Illinois has not delisted any such chemical for over 15 years, she writes. “I ask that you at the very least undertake an in-depth review of what PDC is proposing before recommending any course of action. My hope is that you will see the myriad dangers of what they suggest and disapprove of such a universally untried and untested process.”

The letter continues, “We are also concerned that the IEPA itself has worked with PDC to craft this delisting proposal. There is language in the proposal itself that suggests as such. We do not know to what extent PDC consulted with IEPA staff in preparing the document, and certainly do not suggest that there has been any impropriety on the part of the IEPA – we simply ask that any consideration PDC has given the IEPA in asking the advice of staff members towards the preparation of their current proposal not be given any special consideration by the IEPA. I trust that any consultation by PDC of any IEPA staffers will not replace a thorough examination and review of PDC's delisting proposal Case # AS 08-10.”

The dust contains heavy metals such as hexovalent chromium, lead and zinc. These remain unchanged by treatment processes which stabilize them with cement.

She writes, “Fewer and fewer states and countries continue to landfill heavy metals. All 26 member nations in the European Union have banned entirely the landfilling of heavy metals like lead, mercury, zinc and hexovalent chromium. Companies that sell their products in the EU have since discontinued using heavy metals in their products. The effect was virtually immediate and caused little economic burden.

“The State of California is moving towards such a standard as well. It is feasible that PDC and the State of Illinois could become the dumping ground for heavy metals as more and more states and municipalities move towards this same, increasingly popular standard. I doubt anyone in Illinois, and I know for sure hundreds of us in Peoria, do not want this to come to pass.”

This dust can be recycled at a Calumet facility and other places, she said. “Landfilling EAF dust is increasingly unnecessary and simply wasteful. In this age where recycling is not only encouraged, but necessary in the fight for a sustainable lifestyle and the battle for the health of our planet – recycling – not landfilling – is our present and future.

“Landfilling is rapidly becoming our past, the dinosaur of the waste industry,” and it should not be encouraged by government policy, she states.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Thinking about Hillary in the heartland

PEORIA -- Duh! Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wins overwhelmingly in West Virginia, even as the pundits are trying to shove her out of the race while they ridicule her on television and in their columns.

Why do they hate her? Is it old fashioned sexism? Probably.

No one has told Sen. Barack Obama to “park my car” or “shine my shoes,“ while Hillary is told to “iron my shirt” and worse.

But the facts are the facts. Hillary wins where it counts. That's amazing, given the media hostility against her.

If the Democratic nomination system were the same as the Republican system, Hillary would already be the nominee today, since she has won most of the big states.

The proportional system gives Obama lots of delegates in the smaller states which likely will go Republican anyway. So he’s ahead.

Superdelegates, who are supposed to correct problems in the nomination process. have been jumping on the Obama bandwagon, no doubt hoping for favors from Obama‘s administration if he wins.

That‘s a big IF.

As dogs and bodies are walked for exercise, I have been asking my neighbors, in the white, middle class suburb where I live in Peoria, Illinois (IObama’s home state), their thoughts on the election.

Earlier this spring I found some supporting Hillary.

True, Hillary came in way behind Obama in the Illinois primary. And in Peoria. Nevertheless on my quiet, spacious, tree-lined street, people are mostly conservative, and some have been Republican voters in the past. No longer.

They hate the war and the corruption, and are ready to vote Democratic. But not for Obama.

McCain is looking good, two neighbors told me separately last week. One asked if it’s true that Obama won’t salute the flag. The other just said no way will he vote for Obama. He may write in Hillary.

These are not intellectuals or young people They‘re middle aged men, the kind of voters Hillary has won over elsewhere. The kind that make up the majority of the US electorate.

They‘re not thinking of the Supreme Court appointments under McCain, and they don‘t read the New York Times on line. They‘re more likely to watch Fox News.

And they’re very suspicious of their own US Senator, Obama. They probably didn’t support him for the Senate, the seat he essentially won in the Illinois Democratic primary out of a large field of candidates.

My intellectual friends at universities, including many women, swoon for Obama. He’s different, they say.

(Wait until I tell them that he’s started wearing a flag pin in his lapel, as the New York Times reported today. What? Will he do anything to win? Just like Hillary?)

As a former newspaper reporter, I’ve met Obama a couple of times. He’s a bright, charming guy. I’ve also seen Hillary in person, where she was brilliant and charming, definitely the better of the two candidates, as she typically proved in the debates.

I went to work on my neighbors with the usual arguments: Obama is bright and capable, and he’ll do fine as president if he wins. He’s a quick learner. They listened politely.

That doesn’t mean I don’t prefer Hillary. She’s a decade ahead of Obama in experience. Her health care plan is the only one that will work financially. End of story.

Sure my 19-year-old grandson and his girlfriend say they voted for Obama, after their mothers dragged them to the polls. Would they vote on their own? Who knows.

My son reports he was just too busy working to vote in the primary.

My daughter voted in the Republican primary because her friend was running for a local office. She’s Obama’s age but would have voted for Hillary.

So what ARE the national Democrats thinking?

Will they really throw the nomination to Obama, the black intellectual, to run against a white war hero?

I tremble for my country, as Thomas Jefferson once said.

Nice or ugly, that's the choice

UPDATE 5/13/08: See comment below.

PEORIA – The kinder, gentler or the get-ugly approach: that’s the choice facing a group who met on May 12 to find a way to get Peoria School District 150 officials to drop their plan to cut the school day for grade schools and eliminate teachers for special subjects such as art and music.

The group, made up of more than two dozen concerned property owners, parents, teachers and retired teachers and school officials, brought with them plenty of expertise about District 150.

They listened to former Dunlap superintendent Bill Collier, now a volunteer liaison between Peoria mayor Jim Ardis and District 150. Collier said he has spoken with District 150 superintendent Ken Hinton who may delay implementation of the plan while other options are considered. “I believe you can get it tabled for next year,” Collier said.

“The bottom line: they (children) ought to go to school more, and $600,000 (the amount the plan is supposed to save) is not a reason for a shortened school day,” Collier said. “I guarantee you, they heard you.”

Blogger Diane Vespa, a parent, convened the group, and will use e-mail addresses and her website to maintain the organization.

She has sent letters to Peoria officials asking them to explore a city takeover of the school district, but that subject was not even mentioned.

Instead Collier stressed negotiation. The group should develop other money-saving options for school officials to consider, he said.

“I personally believe there will be something that will work. I’ve been told if you come up with legitimate solutions they would take a look at it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t find an option by next week. They’ve gotten smacked pretty good,” he said.

Collier said Hinton is willing to meet with four members of the group on May 22 and May 27 to consider options. The board next meets on May 19.

He urged the group not to attack school officials personally, and to focus only on the shortened school day issue and not other grievances.

Collier, who in retirement is also an usher for Chicago Cubs games, said he gave up a game to attend the May 12 meeting. But if his goal was to tamp down or delay vocal opposition, he only partly succeeded.

Several at the meeting, including former teachers union head Terry Knapp took a militant stance. "You're not going to be able to sell a house" in upscale neighborhoods, Knapp said, if the plan is implemented. "This is going to gut the fine arts program."

At one point Knapp verbally clashed with Collier, who started to leave the meeting.

Knapp then backed off while Collier continued and answered questions.

Vespa had earlier described the choice open to the group: “the kinder, gentler or get ugly approach.”

Group members were not dissuaded from continuing to lobby school officials. Knapp plans to speak to the Peoria City Council at its May 13 meeting, and others in the group said they will be speaking at the May 19 school board meeting.

“If you turn down the heat you’re in trouble. The options already exist. There are other ways to cut the budget. If you want to get something done you have to turn up the heat,” a teacher said.

Vespa said tactics such as petitions, picketing and letters to the editor are “on the back burner” for now, to see whether negotiations can succeed.

She said she has spoken with community leaders, and “none agree with the (District 150) decision. I feel like the community is on our side.”

Collier said, “I don’t agree with the District 150 decision. Nobody I’ve talked to understands it. I believe the day should be longer.”

Two former school board members at the meeting, Alicia Butler and Jan Deissler, agreed that the proposed shorter day plan likely will require approval of the Regional Superintendent and the Illinois State Board of Education.

District 150 is already under heavy scrutiny from state officials, said Beth Akeson, an unsuccessful school board candidate. "I think they have plenty of money to spend. I'm pouring through the budget."

The plan would cut special reading teachers, crucial for a district with low test scores. It also would bring logistical problems for some special education students who travel from other, rural school districts on a bus with all ages, a retired teacher said.

Vespa concluded the meeting by saying, “the issues are “non-negotiable. “No shorter day, no cutting the teachers.”

-- Elaine Hopkins

5/13/08: Veteran school activist Mimi McDonald comments in an e-mail:

Naturally I agree with everyone who is against this latest move. District #150 is SOOOOO out of control! (What else is new?)

What I think they need is to overflow the board room with parents, TAXPAYERS BIG TIME, etc. Petitions aren't going to work; they never have. Addressing them makes no impact and never has. They all are arrogant beyond belief!

In the past, AT TIMES, masses of people united showing up has intimidated them. They don't like it when large numbers of people show up and then want to address them and take up hours of their time.

This will REALLY be effective now that they have moved the comment session to the early part of the meeting. And if they don't extend it beyond the 20 minute limit, spectators should not accept their decision quietly. The spectators should just talk loudly among themselves and disrupt their whole meeting. If security has to clear the room, so be it. Let the cameras roll and show that the people in Peoria are, "Mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore!"

The other thing I would suggest is NOT emails to them, but for everyone to call them on their phones and take up their time that way. Hell, call each more than once. Call all upper level management (Ken, Cindy, Hershel and Cheryl. Leave your number and name and state it is important that they call back. When they don't, log it so whoever faces them can give a number out to the public on how many of those calls weren't returned. EVEN Stowell; he should have convinced the others to vote his way. He didn't because of his business interests, knew it would pass and he would make himself look good.

I would just make it very uncomfortable for the board and do whatever it is necessary to agitate! the hell out of them.

Somewhere today I read that this group opposing this is meeting to come up with cost cutting measures. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!!!!!! Everyone knows there are too many chiefs and Edison has been a drain.

And as for the consultants.................don't get me started.

THIS BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION NEEDS TO BE TOLD TO PUT THE HOURS BACK WHERE THEY WERE. Period! As for the cuts, do the ones that the public has been telling them to do for years. There is no need for any discussion; just do it!

This is all such a circus and BS and ridiculous. The public should start yelling out loud for Hinton's resignation! -30-

Group exploring city takeover of District 150

PEORIA -- Some Peoria School District 150 parents and supporters are exploring a city takeover of the school district.

One of their members, blogger Diane Vespa, has sent an e-mail to the Peoria City Council and mayor asking for their opinions and advice on a takeover.

In it she talks of the "groundswell of opposition to the School Board's vote of last Monday night that essentially cut 45 minutes out of every school day for most primary school children in District 150."

The move, done to save money, "eliminates over a half of a year of education for any child that attends Peoria schools from Kindergarten through 4th grade." she writes. It also cuts in half "our specialty teachers that teach music, science, physical education and computers."

On its face, this seems like a terrible idea. It stresses working parents, takes the fun, even joy, out of school for the students, and likely will lead to lower test scores.

School officials have defended the plan saying no child will have any less instructional time.

It will cause Peoria residents to "continue to flee the city because of poor schools," Vespa says.

Her group has organized a Monday night meeting to develop a protest strategy. The letter asks the city officials if they "would support the premise of a City takeover of the School District."

The idea of a city takeover of the school district seems far fetched, but might be a useful way to pressure the school board into backtracking on the cutbacks.

Something is needed to shake up the district.

The school board has wasted money buying properties it cannot now use productively and is tearing down old but well maintained schools to build new ones, in a vain hope that new schools will somehow raise test scores.

It has spent money on Edison schools, when the curriculum could have been duplicated by its own staff.

The district reportedly has a nepotism problem, with too many relatives of administrators now on the payroll.

Whether it's too late to reform District 150 is problematic.

Whether the city wants another huge problem is also a question mark. But all Peoria residents should be concerned about District 150's health, which affects everyone's property values as well as the education of future citizens.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Hate garlic mustand? Eat it

PEORIA -- Tired of elections, school board issues, high food and gas prices, aggressive and expensive hospital expansion and other downers in today's news? Here's something really different, a bad news, good news story:

Garlic mustard, known locally as a noxious week, is popping up and blooming everywhere, much to the chagrin of those who worry that it will kill or crowd out native plants.

But wait: it's free food!

The Environment Report tells the inside story on garlic mustard.

One article talks about its history and how it needs an image makeover, as a desirable plant.

A link to an article from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden provides a recipe.

So -- all you morel mushroom hunters, on the prowl now for a completely non-nutritious wild thing, just look around for the garlic mustard, and enjoy.

-- Elaine Hopkins

The Rezko trial and Peoria

PEORIA -- OSF Saint Francis Medical Center whistleblower Dr. John Carroll, a caring and courageous physician who formerly worked in the hospital's emergency department, has connected the dots between the Rezko trial, now taking place in Chicago, the aggressive expansion of St. Francis, and the emergency ambulance services monopoly in Peoria, controlled by the three hospitals.

Read his post on his blog.

The web of corruption in Illinois is breathtaking. The dots also connect with Sen. and presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Here's another interesting post on Obama for all his fans who think his presidency would usher in a new era.

Carroll also told me he has researched campaign contributions involving St. Francis officials. Let's hope he adds those to his blog soon.

-- Elaine Hopkins