District 428 voters will choose three new school board members from a field of five candidates. Vickie Hernan-Faivre, Mary Hess, George “Joe” Mitchell, Victoria Newport and Marilyn Parker introduced themselves at the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Candidate Night at the Egyptian Theatre that was well attended and broadcast on air by WLBK AM 1360 radio.
The challenges facing the new board and the district are immense. The state is unable to meeting its current financial obligations to public schools and its significantly reducing further funding. The district currently has a $2.3 million operating deficit and projects deficit scenarios through 2018. For 2012 the district did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act.
In 2010 the district was awarded a $21 million construction grant and it’s still sitting in the bank. There is a wide difference in the condition of the eight elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. Improvements are needed in technology especially in the elementary grades.
District 428 has a $1,050,000 liability it owes to Shodeen Development for the purchase of land for the new high school. Interest payments are scheduled to begin this year. If Shodeen ever gets annexation approval and begins construction on the land surrounding the high school, the proposed Irongate subdivision, the school district will receive a payment of $654,000 for the developer’s portion of the completion of Pride Drive.
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