District 150 gets an ‘F’
Did you watch? Did you hear people speak at the District 150 school board meeting that ended with an historic 4-3 vote to close Woodruff High School? Thank you Public Access Channel 17 for showing the meeting so taxpayers could see and hear the hotly debated and discussed issue: Shall Woodruff or Peoria High be closed? Peoria High won and Woodruff lost. So did the community.
The public speakers, students, teachers, parents, grandparents and taxpayers, were articulate and well-informed. Too bad I can’t say the same for board members. They failed to justify substantive reasons for closing Woodruff beyond facing a deficit.
Woodruff students, past and present, have to pay the price for administrative and board bungling. Woodruff and Peoria deserve better.
THE GRADES
A+ – Martha Ross
Martha challenged the board with valid reasons to keep all high schools open. She didn’t believe closing Woodruff or any high school would really benefit the district or the community. She was clear, articulate and intellectual in her argument. Martha was persuasive. Too bad four others weren’t listening. Too bad she has never been elected President. I wonder why.
A – Rachael Parker
The reasons to keep Woodruff open were well-presented by Ms. Parker. She also expressed opposition to closing any high school. Parker felt like many in the audience, that all cost-cutting measures should’ve been on the table, not just closing a high school.
B – Jim Stowell
I may have given Stowell a D were it not for his vote against closing Woodruff. Many people believe Stowell’s last minute effort to add Peoria High to the debate was a not so veiled attempt to close the North Street school. The same Stowell critics believe had Peoria High been first on the vote for closure he would’ve voted yes. Had it happened, Stowell would’ve earned an “F.”
F – Board President Debbie Wolfmeyer
She flunked. Her lecturing of the audience was immature. Lacking any academic credentials of note, she warned that cameras “were watching” and people were not to be disrespectful, blah, blah. And when it came her turn to vote, she spent more time “anguishing” than giving validity to closing Woodruff. Poor leadership.
F – David Gorenz
He blamed the economy for the district’s deficit. In part true, but he didn’t explain why the district failed to adjust with cuts in administrative expenses and other programs such as the costly and controversial Edison program. Gorenz said closing Woodruff was necessary for the district’s future. If the economy is to blame, does he not think the economy will ever recover? When it does and finances improve will Woodruff be able to reopen? Dr. Gorenz failed to explain why other options were not explored. Why not close the smallest high school in the district instead?
F – Laura Petelle
This board newcomer demonstrated she was unprepared to vote with her remarks, especially when she crudely used the terms, “That sucks,” and “It sucks…” All of the high school students used better language and had more class. Don’t look for great things from Ms. Petelle.
F – Linda Butler
Her remarks were more about Linda Butler than Woodruff or Peoria High. I lost count of the number of times she used the pronoun, “I.” She said, “I charge…” “I appreciate…” “I believe…” and then, “I strongly believe…” and “I suggest….” and on and on. Ms. Butler, the closing of a high school is about the students, not you.
I decided to give “extra discredit” for a member of the audience who also spoke in favor of closing Woodruff.
F – Debbie Ritschel
Representing the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Ritschel spoke in support of the closure of a high school. The executive director of the Peoria Civic Center has appeared twice to express opposition to Peoria having four high schools. I don’t understand why the Chamber has become so political, but it has under Roberta Parks.
I fail to understand how closing Woodruff will help Peoria’s businesses or even the Civic Center. Ritschel and the Chamber get an “F” for meddling.
THEIR LEGACY
If Woodruff is closed forever, how sad for Superintendent Ken Hinton and board members Laura Petelle, Debbie Wolfmeyer, Linda Butler and David Gorenz. They will be remembered for destroying a historic educational landmark. They will be remembered for shattering the memories, the achievements, and the contributions of teachers and students for the last 70 years. Imagine the feelings of Woodruff students, especially Juniors, who will graduate from Peoria High instead of Woodruff. I assume Dr. Gorenz, when he became a physician, took the Hippocratic Oath that said, in part, “and never do harm to anyone.” Too bad we don’t have a similar oath for the administration and board of District 150.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Expect at least one lawsuit from supporters of Woodruff. The school’s alumni association will be discussing the possibility of filing legal action. Let’s face it, the vote by District 150 to close the school will not be final. Rockford has been involved in similar legal action for over ten years after closing schools. If WHS folks retain attorneys to fight, any alleged cost savings will be lost in the court fight that could last years.
Since the narrow 4 – 3 vote to close Woodruff, there has been conversation throughout the community. Not surprisingly, one question keeps popping up; why didn’t the board vote to close Manual? The enrollment, test scores, and academic achievements are the lowest in the district, lower than Woodruff or Peoria High.
A knowledgeable educator told me there are three valid reasons for closing a high school. Those reasons are low enrollment, the school is in disrepair, and/or the environment is unsafe for students. Woodruff fails to meet any of the criteria. The closure of Woodruff? Don’t bet on it. In the end, the courts will decide and just maybe, the state and/or federal government.
IT SOUNDS SOOO GOOD!
Isn’t it wonderful? WOAM-AM has returned to the air 24/7 with the sounds of Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Steve Lawrence, the Carpenters and so many others. Instead of rock, heavy rock, metal, heavy metal, and all of the other crap filling both the AM and FM dial, today we can listen to real music. It amazes me that out-of-state owners of all of the Peoria radio stations believe everyone wants to hear that stuff especially when most of those stations have such low ratings. Anyway, the good news is WOAM is back on the air. The bad news is it will not last. Owner Bob Kelly is working to retain his broadcast license with the FCC. If the FCC grants him an extension allowing him and his bank more time to sell everything, he will probably go off the air again. Right now, WOAM and its sister FM station, WPMJ, are operating only from the transmitter.
VETERANS TORTURE VETERAN
Meet Tom Maher. Tom is a decorated and disabled U.S. Marine with a distinguished military record. He was in the Marines from 1967 to 1970 and spent 16 months in Vietnam as rifleman and team leader for Company D. During those 16 months, Tom participated in 17 operations against the enemy. He was awarded 26 medals and ribbons including the Purple Heart for taking shrapnel to his body. Space doesn’t permit me to list all of his honors and medals, but here are a few besides the Purple Heart: Combat Action Medal, Meritorious Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Unit Citation with ribbon bar, National Defense Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Color) and Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars. You get the idea he was more than a good soldier. He’s a hero. For his service in Vietnam he received something else.He got a dose or two of Agent Orange.The chemical causes skin tumors. Over the years he’s had six removed; three from his head, a very large one from his neck and two from his back. They continue to develop without warning. If that isn’t enough for Tom to handle, he suffers, like many war veterans, from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, the result of “witnessing extreme brutality and death,” according to doctors.
His experience in the Marines, and particularly in Vietnam, provided training for his work with the Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs. As a Veterans Service
An officer in Peoria for almost 22 years, Tom assisted veterans. “By my account,” said Maher, “I probably worked with around 1,200 veterans each year. I know and understand the challenges they face from medical to financial problems.”Maher obviously did great work. All of his performance records show he met and/or exceeded expectations.
Early this year Tom attended a workshop in Schaumburg, Illinois. During the workshop, a young 23 year old state employee came to Maher’s table and slammed his books down, allegedly looked at Maher and said, “Keep your mouth shut and pay attention.” Maher replied, “Kiss my ass.” The young man allegedly challenged Maher, reportedly saying, “Stand up and be a man and say that.” Maher’s response was, “Bite me.” Some others took the guy back to his table. When the session ended, Maher waited for the aggressor to come out of the meeting room to learn why the young man was so confrontational. Maher asked, “What is your problem?” With that Maher was grabbed by a Peoria Marine Reservist and the incident ended, but it was the beginning of torture for Maher. The next day Maher was told he was on Administrative Leave and he was to go home. Later, the combat veteran was placed on Indefinite Leave. After a hearing held by telephone, Maher was fired and his aggressor was given a two day suspension.
“I was totally shocked,” said Maher. “I was minding my own business when this guy approached my table and initiated a confrontation for no reason at all,” he lamented. “I’m 60 years old and have no interest in fighting, but I’m not afraid to defend myself when threatened.” He added, “When I was sent home, I was confused. I had done nothing to be treated like a child misbehaving at school.”
The firing was devastating for a guy carrying enemy shrapnel from Vietnam. “I loved my work. I loved helping fellow veterans and suddenly I was unemployed.” For a guy who still suffers combat flashbacks and nightmares, more headaches and heartaches are the last things he expected from, of all places, the Department of Veteran Affairs. His appeals fell on deaf ears. Elected officials listened with compassion, but did nothing beyond appeal to Governor Pat Quinn who refused to answer letters and phone calls.
To add to the torture administered by the Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs and its newly appointed 28 year old director, the agency fought Maher’s application for unemployment. Tom has retained legal counsel. “It was hell serving and fighting an enemy in Vietnam. I never thought I would wind up fighting the agency that’s supposed to be fighting for guys like me. Roger, please ask your readers to pray for me and my wife who’s living this hell with me.”
If you agree Tom Maher is being treated unfairly, call, write, Democrats, Republicans, Governor Quinn, Dick Durbin, Aaron Shock, Raymond Burris, even President Obama, demanding justice for this hero who’s being tortured by the Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs.
THANK YOU
Special thanks for the kind letter I received from former Bradley basketball great Mike Chianakas. Mike graciously responded with appreciation for last month’s column devoted to Gene Melchiorre.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“There’s no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life.”
Sister Mary Rose McGready
Outstanding commentary and dead-on on mostly all points. You were too harsh on Laura Petelle. She does not deserve the “F” her fellow Board members recieved for the following reasons. 1. She in no way contributed to the actions that got us there and 2. Laura researched the vote thoroughly, substantiated her reasons and engaged the community in the decision-making process on her blog here: http://petelle150.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/closing-a-high-school-2/
I agree she came to an incorrect conclusion but this is partially attributable to the mis-information she was provided by the District. I would grade her a C-.
In addition, Laura over the past few years actively fought against the district policies that created the circumstances that exist today. With that in mind I would amend her grade to a “C”.
Good column Roger! You are right on all counts, including Patelle.
She obviously caved in to the Chamber of Commerce types. Guess she wants to keep eating lunch with that group. She’s a young lawyer and cannot afford to alienate them. And we thought she would represent the public. Wrong again.
So much for democracy. She could have and should have moved to table the vote after the overwhelming numbers of speakers against closing a high school.
Good column?? Just because you agree with his point of view, Elaine? Feh! You’re about as fair & balanced as Fox News, just in the opposite political orientation. I guess I shouldn’t expect much from a “blogger” that’s afraid to open her blog to public comment.
Roger, you gave an F to everyone who voted against your point of view, and good grades to everyone who voted your way. Your partisanship is telling, and your lack of bias leaves little reason to respect your opinion. I give YOU an F.
District 150 has needed to close a high school for at least 10 years, if not more. This was an unpopular decision that had to be made. Laura Petelle gave extremely careful consideration in this decision. She sought out opinions from all stakeholders involved, and she was extremely transparent in her decision making.
Who cares if she used colloquialisms in her address??? Anyone who knows Laura knows that she is extremely intelligent & well educated. Perhaps she was attempting to connect with the high school students in attendance by using language on their terms.
Did you even take a look at Petelle’s District 150 blog, Roger? Perhaps you should actually put a smidgen of thought & consideration into your work before you publish such complete dreck.
For any who are interested in District 150, I highly recommend Laura Petelle’s blog …
http://petelle150.wordpress.com/
It is a model of government transparency.
[...] Roger Monroe’s column about the Peoria District 150 School board is generating some controversy in the [...]
Matthew, The reason I believe she arrived at an incorrect conclusion was because 1. She gave too much validity to the stats provided to her by the Admin – an Admin that notoriously provides inaccurate and incomplete data (This point is perfectly evidenced by Hintons last minute switcho-chango of projected cost savings the night of the vote) and 2. She failed to allow for complete exploration of other options posed by the community. On those points, I think Roger was dead-on.
Further, in my opinion any cost savings resulting from the closing of Woodruff (which will me minimal as a percentage of budget) will pale in comparison to the negative fall-out for Peoria families, taxpayers and students.
Hey Matthew! An attack on the person instead of the idea or issue. Typical of certain commeners, mostly right wing.
As for comments, blog host Typepad now enables comments that are moderated first via email, so I’m going to do that. I do not and never will allow unmoderated comments on my site for obvious reasons, namely liability and bad taste. And in true journalism style, I prefer real names. I use my real name, and others should too unless their comment would jeopardise their livelihood.
Ummm. — make that ‘commenters’ to correct the typo.
Elaine, Nonproductive and juvenile personal attacks come from both sides of the aisle. Reasonable people corectly judge the individual who makes such comments and not their political affiliation.
Make that “correctly” to correct my typo
Ahhh yes … I’m a real right-winger. ROFLMAO. I’m also not anonymous, as a simple click on the link to my blog will tell you.
We all have biases, but some let those biases cloud their work more than others. IMO, both Roger & Elaine are guilty of this. You’ll notice that every person Roger graded above got an “A” or an “F” except for Jim Stowell, and he was a rather half-hearted exception. There’s no gray. It’s black or white. It’s their way or the highway. I just don’t appreciate that mode of thinking. It has no place in a democratic society, and it’s ugly whether it comes from the right or the left. Go ahead and view that criticism as an ad hominem distraction from the issues if it makes you feel better, Elaine.
Diane, I appreciate your viewpoint. I know we’re often on different ends of the political spectrum, but you do take the time to see other points of view. I know that you have deep personal involvement in this issue, and I also know that you have deep (and well-earned) suspicion of the D150 administration. I just don’t think they lie & deceive all the time. There may be a lack of competence and a healthy dose of cronyism in the current D150 administration, but that doesn’t mean they’re ALWAYS wrong.
The decision to close a high school HAD to be made before the selection of a new superintendent. Hinton is going to retire in a year or two. Making this decision now gives his replacement a chance to pick up the pieces and forge a new and hopefully positive direction for D150. Anyone who is interested in the well-being of D150 needs to focus their attention on the selection process for the next superintendent and not dwell on the issue of closing Woodruff. We need a smart, highly qualified, and extremely energetic candidate to take the reigns of D150. IMO, that will have to be someone from the outside coming in. Someone promoted from within D150 administration will not be trusted by the people of the district.
We’ll just have to see what the fall-out will be after this decision, Diane. I really don’t think public opinion of D150 can go much lower than it was before the vote to close Woodruff. I hope people can come together and try to make the best out of a bad situation instead of looking to punish D150 for their perceived sins. All that will do is further harm the students of the district.
This is a topic that reasonable minds can disagree. I know, for example, that Laura was told by numerous people, many very well respected, that closing a High School was the only responsible choice. Laura has explained some of the benefits of closing a high school, one of which is the ability to consolidate classes that formerly may have had only a few students in. If it is a question of whittling away at choice (because of low class size) vs. continuing to offer and expand specialized instruction, she felt the latter was more appealing.
My prior comment does not in any way deny or impugn the significant management failures that have brought us to this point – but it is what it is and we have to deal with it.