Public relations or public safety?

I had not seen Chicken Little recently, but when I did, much to my surprise I found him looking at real estate ads.

          Moving? I asked.

                “Well, he said, I’m always looking at potential housing.”

                Find anything interesting?

                “Always, but my concern are those homes in School District 21.”

                And that’s because of what?

                “Are you crazy?  Kids are risk because of the Village of Buffalo Grove.”

                Why?

                “Because of the budget crazed folks in Bisonville.”

                Seriously?

                “Surely you’ve heard about the issue between the village and the folks in D-21.”

                Ah.  What the fine-feathered fowl is referring to is the recent “issue” involving Buffalo Grove’s funding of crossing guards for School District 21.

                Even though school started more than a month ago, the issue as to how much the district will pay the village to provide crossing guards has resulted in an interesting dialogue that has became a version of “he said/she said”.

                Even after a month.

                The district maintains that it knew nothing of the village’s decision to not pay for crossing guards and thus had to resort to a “robo call” informing parents of that fact on Aug. 19 – the day before the district’s school board August meeting.

                Imagine that – the big, mean, cruel village suddenly pulled the plug on crossing guards at three locations (Arlington Heights Road and Bernard Drive; Raupp Boulevard and Golfview Terrace; and Anthony Road and Cambridge Drive) putting children at risk.

                So the district thought it might be a good idea to circle the wagons and take on Ft. Raupp because after all, the district had no notice that the free ride was over.

                “The last communication we had was dated Aug. 3,” District 21 spokesperson Kara Beach said, adding that the district did not receive any the communication until Aug. 12 via email with a ‘snail mail’ copy arriving Aug. 17.

                While Buffalo Grove Village Manager Dane Bragg confirmed that correspondence received by D-21 on Aug. 12 was in fact dated Aug. 3, the village opted to update it before sending it, so if you want to smack the Village Manager’s office, you could do so for not changing the original date.

                However, what you can’t do is take District 21’s claim that it knew nothing about the village’s decision to cut off crossing guard funding until August seriously.

                Bragg emphatically notes that in a June 3 correspondence he indicated to the district that “…the Village of Buffalo Grove billed District 21 for the 2015-16 school year amount of $12,272 on March 16, and has not received payment. In addition, the Village billed District 21 on February 5, 2014 in the amount of $11,919 for the 2014-15 program and has not received payment. Thus, District 21 is in arrears to the Village in the amount of $24,191 for services rendered.”

                This email, along with others going back to January 2013, are available on the village’s web site via this link: Crossing Guard Documents.

                So it seems that despite what District 21 would like residents to know, the village’s plan was not a last-minute surprise.

                And while there is a temporary agreement in place, a permanent solution is still being discussed.

                The village is seeking an equitable arrangement as it has with other school districts in the village.

                School District 21 appears to maintain that it wants the village to pay the entire bill.

                But why?

                Is it an issue of public safety or public relations?

                Interestingly enough, on Aug. 25, the Chicago Tribune ran a story, “Little-noticed pension perk for teachers widespread in Illinois”.

                Its focus is the amount area school districts contribute to teachers’ retirement funds.  The article cites one school district which pays “the entire amount of the staff member’s contribution to the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS).”

                The article, which can be found at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-pension-contributions-districts-pay-met-20150823-story.html, reports that the perk will cost the district “several millions dollars.”

                The district?  School District 21.

                It seems as though the district may have attempted an end-around move to distract residents from the Tribune’s finding by pleading poverty to the village – and ultimately the community.

                While District 21 is not the only district to fund a teacher’s entire contribution to TRS, it’s obviously a major expense. And where does the money come from?  According to the Tribune, “…the district and its local taxpayers cover the cost of teachers' pension contributions — 9.4 percent of their earnings.”

                The key words that resonate here are “…and its local taxpayers…”  While it’s admirable that D-21 provides for its teachers’ future, the district should be transparent about all of its expenses.

                It seems to me that rather than point the finger for its financial woes at the village, District 21 officials and its Board should take a look at its books.  Not its history, math, science or English books.

                Its financial books.