HH_083117

6 | August 31, 2017 | The Homer Horizon news
homerhorizon.com
Lockport Township High School D205 Board of Education
Wernet calls reform bill ‘problematic’
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Megann Horstead
Freelance Reporter
As lawmakers prepared to
enter the Illinois House session
Aug. 23 to consider Illinois
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s
veto of a school funding reform
bill known as Senate
Bill 1, Lockport Township
High School District 205
Superintendent Todd Wernet
joined a list of school officials
across the state Aug. 21
voicing opposition.
The measure was passed
earlier this year in session and
subsequently vetoed by the
governor with an amendment.
Since that time, the Senate has
overridden Rauner’s veto of
the bill keeping it alive for the
House to consider.
“If you took at look at the
bill and the amendatory veto
components, there were several
other pieces to the amendatory
veto that are problematic
particular to school districts
like Lockport Township High
School,” Wernet said.
One of the issues Wernet
has with the measure is in the
area of tax increment financing
districts.
The amendatory veto, for
example, outlines its intent to
take away the equalized assessed
valuation of property
taxes owed to the district,
but were captured within a
TIF. At that point, the school
funding formula is computed,
leaving the district with less
money in general state aid.
To date, D205 receives 80
percent of its funding through
its share of local property
taxes, while another 3 percent
of its revenue stream is
general state aid.
Prior to introducing Senate
Bill 1, a hold harmless
was instituted by lawmakers
to ensure that schools, like
Lockport Township High
School, maintain current revenue
streams at districts that
do not have property tax bases
to fund to a foundation level.
Another problem factoring
in includes the freezing of
the previous year’s extension
base, which puts districts in a
position to referendum to acquire
additional funds.
Wernet referenced a recent
news article he read that
showed the state providing
many Will County schools
with a substantial amount of
additional new dollars under
Senate Bill 1 and said the district’s
share would have been
$120,000.
District 205 has a budget
of approximately $58 million
that makes for $30 per
student.
Wernet dismissed the idea
of taking in more money
through Senate Bill 1 and
said it is not enticing for the
district to be handicapped by
the amendatory components.
Like other suburban districts,
District 205 has always
paid into the pension systems,
Wernet said. The issue is that
Chicago Public Schools has
not met its obligation.
Wernet said the situation at
hand is “unprecedented.”
District promotes college,
career readiness
Also at the meeting, officials
examined progress made
over the last year to the Advanced
Placement program.
Wernet commended the
district for all the work done
to advance curriculum and
instruction.
“I’m very proud of it,” he
said.
College Board recently
confirmed that Lockport
Township High School attained
a score of 85.3 percent
in reviewing the AP exam
taken by the student body.
Brett Gould, assistant superintendent
for curriculum
and instruction, said this is
the highest achievement in
Lockport Township High
School history and gave kudos
to the students.
Over the last year, District
205 has made efforts to
increase participation in its
more rigorous courses.
As of May, Lockport
Township High School administered
1,169 AP exams
to 563 students. That means
200 additional exams were
completed by 68 more students,
compared to the data
reported previously in 2016.
Gould said not only are
students testing more within
the AP program, but they are
also increasing their scores.
Earlier this year, District
205 received recognition
by both U.S. News & World
Report and The Washington
Post for promoting college
and career readiness.
Building improvements
reviewed
The board also took a moment
to review the district’s
efforts to maintain its facilities,
with a focus on areas
such as the East Campus construction
project and soccer
field improvements.
“Overall, it’s progressing
very, very well,” Wernet said.
“Of course, there are issues
as you go toward completion.
One issue is the fire doors and
then three of the classrooms’
orders were not completed.
We had to push that back a
little bit, so those classrooms
are not ready and will not be
ready probably until the first
of October.”
As for the soccer field,
the work performed on the
stadium turf was completed
recently.
Wernet said it looks like a
“brand new field.”
Other improvements highlighted
include the auto shop,
courtyard, science labs and the
media center, which are progressing
well or have reached
completion, Wernet said.