Committee for Legislative Action, Intervention and Monitoring (C.L.A.I.M.)

1. Committee for Legislative Action, Intervention and Monitoring (C.L.A.I.M.) 2012-2013 Work Plan

2. Full Committee • Accomplishments • Established committee protocol and policies • Developed three subcommittees based on the Board’s legislative issue priorities (Finance, KIDS, and Data Sharing) • Drafted and approved formal description of committee’s mission (see attached) • Held nine open meetings since January 2012 • Invited guest speakers to meetings to build knowledge base and relationships, including: • Erika Lindley, Executive Director of ED-RED • Mary Anderson, Illinois’ Executive Director for Stand for Children • Steve Richart (attorney), Felicia Starks Turner (D97) and Meg Ross (D97) re: data sharing law • Goals • Maintain this work plan through the coming year and revise goals as necessary • Continue to build the committee’s relationships with key state legislators and encourage their perception that C.L.A.I.M. is an active advocate for District 97 and important ally • Keep the Board informed of important developments to its priority legislative issues, as well as new legislative issues that the Board might consider as additional priorities

3. Finance Subcommittee • Accomplishments • Submitted two IASB resolutions, including one that was accepted and will be voted on by delegates at the November state conference • Met with Therese O’Neill, Assistant Superintendent for Finances, to discuss and learn about the District’s finances • Developed finance impact statement to give to state legislators • Made preliminary contact with Rep. Lilly and Sen. Lightford and obtained legislator availability for a meeting with C.L.A.I.M. representatives • Goals • Obtain Board approval for finance impact statement (see attached) and guidance on legislative positions • Meet with legislators in small groups and introduce C.L.A.I.M. and its objectives, particularly related to pressing financial issues • Hold large-format, public legislator forum to engage the community and build relationships

4. THE IMPACT OF FUNDING DECISIONS ON DISTRICT 97 Introduction • The Committee for Legislative Action, Intervention and Monitoring (C.L.A.I.M.) is charged by the Oak Park District 97 Board of Education to advocate for government policies and legislation that support our local efforts to provide every student with a high quality education. One area of our focus is legislation which places an unfair financial burden on school districts. • For the 2011 to 2012 school year, District 97 employed 457 full-time teachers, 47 administrative and support staff, 200.5 non-certified staff, and an additional 11 part-time teachers – over 715 individuals. These employees served a total of 5,579 students in 10 different schools. District 97 is known for its relative diversity, and the numbers support the reputation: approximately 23% of D97 students are African American, 4.65% are Asian, 5.22% are Hispanic, 0.12% are Native American, 57.28% are Caucasian, and nearly 10% are multiracial. Local Burden • District 97 not only provides exceptional – and exceptionally important – services to our children, it is also a major economic engine and source of employment for our region. When costs are shifted to the District, however, its level of service and the local economy are threatened. Class sizes necessarily increase as the District has less money to spend on teachers, and the local taxpayers are forced to choose between a worse education for the community’s children or an even higher tax burden. In 2012, 74.88% of District 97’s revenue will come from local taxes – that is $63,005,250 paid primarily by homeowners in a town without manufacturing or any significant corporate tax base, and which recently incurred a 3.8% property tax increase pursuant to the District’s 2011 referendum. Pension Reform • If the pension funding burden is transferred to the District, it will cost the community dearly. For every 1% of teacher salaries that the district has to pay to fund the pension, the district loses over $425,000 that could be spent on instruction – the equivalent of 7.75 full-time teachers.* If the full pension burden is transferred to the District, it would cost the equivalent of over 72 teachers. That is approximately half of all of the District’s 1st through 5th grade teachers – meaning that the cost shift could double class size in all 1st through 5th grade classes within the District. • *The average teacher salary in Oak Park District 97 is $55,000.

5. General State Aid • General State Aid set below the mandated level takes its toll on the District as well. General State Aid is currently only paid by the State to the District at 89% of the full funding level. By failing to fully fund General State Aid for the 2012-2013 school year, the legislature is costing District 97 over $1,000,000. That is equivalent to 18 teachers – the number currently teaching the entire 8th grade. Mandated Programs • When programs are mandated but not funded, District 97 has to reallocate funds from other programs to pay for the mandated programs. English as a second language and bilingual instruction currently costs the District nearly $900,000. The State provides $19,000 for these mandated programs. That funding shortfall costs the District the equivalent of 16 teachers. These programs are important, but if the State is going to dictate how these programs are run, it should also ensure that they are fully funded.

6. KIDS Subcommittee • Accomplishments • Wrote to Illinois State Superintendent Koch to reiterate interest in KIDS pilot project • Communicated with appropriate staff at ISBE regularly to reiterate interest and gain information about status • Kept District 97 abreast of timeline for implementation of KIDS pilot project • Communicated with early childhood advocacy organizations to gain information about status of KIDS • Contacted our four state legislators to solicit their support for District 97’s participation in KIDS (Sens. Harmon and Lightford’s offices agreed to investigate on our behalf and we assisted the offices of Reps. Lilly and Ford in drafting letters of support) • CLAIM was notified by Superintendent Koch that District 97 was chosen to be one of the twenty school districts statewide to be a KIDS pilot district • Goals • Continue to offer support as KIDS is implemented • Revise subcommittee’s purpose as needed

7. Data Subcommittee • Accomplishments • Investigated data sharing options and practices at student level and aggregate level among a variety of school districts within and outside of Illinois • Inquired into the plans for the Illinois State Longitudinal Data System (IL LDS) to see whether that platform would soon enough meet the data sharing objectives of D97; Determined that current plans do not provide districts access to data about their former students, so the IL LDS would not be adequate for District 97 objectives without modification • Investigated the impact of the Illinois School Student Records Act (SRA) on District 97’s ability to use student data to improve instructional outcomes, particularly with regard to sharing with other districts and schools; Determined that the Act has increased costs of records transfer for the district • Currently gathering background, implementation, and impact information to understand the implications of the Act on costs and learning • Goals • Identify District 97’s plans to use in-house data to improve student performance from grade level to grade level • Recommend District 97 superintendent to District 200 superintendent discussion of reciprocal consent form to facilitate data sharing and/or drafting of intergovernmental agreement to share data as permitted by the SRA when used as a research project or for curricular planning • Meet with local legislators to discuss modifying the SRA to allow districts access to data pertaining to their former students (thereby significantly equalizing access of non-unit to unit districts, and improving understanding outcomes of transfer students)