District 300 School Board Hears Reorganization Options

District 300 Superintendent-elect Michael Bregy told school board members Monday night the district needs to make a decision regarding reorganization changes to the middle and high school within the next two weeks.

Bregy made a third presentation to the Community Unit School District 300 Board regarding schedule and curriculum changes for the district’s secondary schools. The district is striving to re-align its curriculum with common core classes and prepare for new assessments the state of Illinois will be piloting.

With the school year coming to a close, and support personnel only working 15 days in the summer, Bregy stressed the need for a decision in order to prepare student class schedules for next year.

“Last week, the schedulers at the middle schools and high schools began preparing two schedules for every student for next year,” Bregy said. “We need to have a decision within the next couple of weeks. We can’t have the counseling staff making two schedules for each student. It just won’t get done.”

Scheduling Changes, Middle School Reorganization

Middle school scheduling options change the academic day from nine periods to eight.

Two options would not offer the Exploratory Program, which provides nine weeks of instruction in art, technology and other courses. The third option would require the Exploratory program.

The scheduling plans also differ on class length, and whether Spanish and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination, a tutorial program that helps average students progress to advanced courses) would be offered or required.

Bregy and assistant superintendents Benjamin Churchill and Kara Vicente presented five possible schedules for the high school level. One option would require 47 to 87 fewer teachers, as students would be taking fewer classes. Another schedule choice could create the need for an additional 46 teachers.

The district’s average expenditure per teacher is about $51,800, Bregy said.

The potential financial impact for the middle school reorganization spanned from a savings of up to $2.2 million for the first two options, which did not offer the Exploratory program, and an increased expenditure of $900,000 for option C, which requires Exploratory and Spanish.

High School Reorganization

High school reorganization could save the district as much as $4.5 million under what’s called the 3-by-4 block, with 47 to 87 fewer teachers needed.

Switching to a seven-period high school day could run anywhere from a savings of $2.1 million or less or possible costs of $51,856. An eight-period day could cost the district $1.6 million or less, with potential for $466,000 in savings.

The “A/B Block” schedule option would likely cost an additional $2.3 million, Bregy said.

Future Decisions for District 300

As District 300 is faced with grave financial challenges, the re-organizational options offering the most financial savings for the district would be the optimum choices.

District officials had hoped negotiations with the teacher’s union, LEAD-300, would yield $5 million in savings if teachers agree to a pay freeze. The contract expires in June, and an agreement has yet to be reached.

And the district’s budget crisis goes beyond the teachers’ contract, as the state of Illinois fails to make payments owed to the district and future state aid is uncertain.

"I am very less optimistic about reaching any kind of savings for next year,” Bregy told the board.

Because the reorganization schedule does not change graduation requirements, the School Board is not required to take an official vote on the change.

However, Bregy said he and his staff will have a formal recommendation on which plans to use for the board’s review at the next school board meeting on May 23.