There is no need to go for a referendum. There is a need to elect common sense. Perhaps that should be on the ballot!

If the school district/Superintendent is maintaining that the elimination of resource centers is "state mandated", please do a little better than "it's complicated". PROVE IT. Decisions for special needs, IEP's, 504's, and such have been made behind closed doors and for District 109 financial reasons for way too long. It is time to bring these negotiations out in the open.

I hope learn in the face of all of this news that the former school board member's campaign (for county judge) manager is not still on the 109 payroll.

I was at the board meeting last night and the support and emotion of the parents for the teachers was palpable. I think many of us parents are finally waking up and realizing the damage being done to our schools. We will no longer sit quietly and watch this happen.

As a parent of 3 children that went through district 109 don't be fooled by their special education policies. They are known as of the stingiest districts when it comes to doing IEP's on students that are borderline.

We had two children that tested poorly and it took multiple meetings and over 9 months for them to test on of our children to find that she had not learned her phonics correctly. Only at that time did they pull her out for additional help.

Our other child they refused to test her so we tested her to find out what learning disability she had at our expense. After presenting it to the school, they made changes for her but did not reimburse us for the costs we incurred.

Don't be fooled. As far as asking for a referendum....you have no chance. 70% of the population doesn't have children in the schools. District 113 failed and the purse strings are controlled by those that don't have children in the schools.

The elimination of resource classrooms has proven to be a costly error. It was an experiment that proved to be ineffective in other school districts across the country but promptly re-established when it was realized how much they were needed. By taking away resource you lose the opportunity to reteach and review for the students most in need. Teachers should be dignified with a fair contract as well because they are dedicated to the children of Deerfield.

Ditto all the above comments!
District 109's record on meeting the needs of children with IEPs is below abysmal. The district does not care one iota about providing the services that these children need. And the district has cut back so far that it is now impacting EVERY student's education as the teachers do not have the support necessary to do their jobs. It is time for many changes to the board and administration.

The following is an excerpt of an email I sent to the 109 board last Tuesday:

Based on my discussions with parents and current and past Dist 109 teachers, the administration is not close to properly supporting teachers, children or families in delivering special needs services. I am told of misleading delivery of statistics by admin personnel to the board; of IEP meetings and plans not being set for weeks into the new school year, resulting in student’s not receiving the services they require. I am told of administrators making decisions or intimating that decisions will be made about particular students’ needs not based on evaluation of those student’s particular needs but based on standardized test scores. I am told of illogical methods of counting service hours required of, and caseloads handled by, special needs teachers. I am told of unreasonable expectations of classroom teachers trying to work with special needs students in their classrooms; of the teachers working without adequate support (from a planning and physical presence standpoint) from teachers trained in special ed – to the point that trying to do so disrupts the ability to deliver good instruction to classes as a whole.

I have just started to reach out to the community, but I really think board members must do the same. There is certainly a very huge disconnect between what the board says is occurring and what teachers and families are saying actually happens in the schools.

the email continued:

Two dist 109 strategic planning documents address the importance of improving special needs service methods, delivery and communication Based on the discussions Marcy and I have had with current and former dist. teachers and parents these goals have not been addressed. Professional educators and families are hurt and upset. As a taxpayer and father of children with special needs I am incredibly concerned.

Please help me understand why we are hearing what we are hearing; why teachers are afraid to address these issues directly with the administration or board. Please do not just accept what you may be hearing from administrators; talk with the real stakeholders; families and teachers.They really know if our children are getting what they deserve. There is a great deal at stake here for children and families counting on us to make a difference in their lives. Please go beyond hearing what the administration has to say; talk to the people whose lives are affected by what we do as a district and community.

It may seem appropriate to rely on the professionals you hire to “handle” this sort of stuff – that’s why you’ve hired them. This is big though; sometimes a board’s responsibilities run deeper than that. This is one of those times. Help us figure out what’s going on; why so many teachers and parents feel as they do; what needs to be done so that we are giving our special needs students every tool we can to help them succeed.

There is nothing complicated about providing an excellent education for all students. The statement "state-mandated" is a slight of hand game. Should the District want to provide more support in the classroom then hire the proper staff to deliver these services. You don't cut staff and say, 'figure it out'. Should students' parents not want their children to receive foreign language instruction then do not force the issue. Developmentallly, not all children are ready to accept this instruction. If general education teachers need additional support for students who have learning issues then provide such assistance. Direct instruction and guided learning work quite well with all students. Perhaps an outside agency can assist this District with professional direction, as the administration seems to be having a difficult time understanding the importance of leading by example. The partnership of community and school is crumbling! The trust is waning, if not already trampled. Restore it! Provide a venue for discussion and leadership! Right now, the Board and Admininstration are far from where they need to be!

Perhaps if the District cannot afford to provide the services that the students need, then they shouldn’t have built a costly addition to the ADMINISTRATION building this last fall. I wouldn’t build an addition to my house if I couldn't afford my current bills.

Deerfield takes alot of pride in having the best of everything, from the 4th of July parade to the New City Hall to the Sachs Recreation Center. How about the school system? All that other stuff is secondary if our kids aren't educated properly.

Dr. Goier, you stood up at the Strategic Planning Meetings and said how proud you are of the success of District 109. Are you proud of going a whole year without a teacher's contract? Do you think that is in the best interest of our children? Get this thing done and give our teachers what they deserve. Treat these hardworking professionals with some dignity, as you would expect to be treated.

The important thing - the best we can all do now - is to keep posting, keep showing up at board meetings - and write to all of the members of the board of ed. Their email addresses are at the dist 109 website. I've posted them on another Patch article. Please don't let this cry for improvements in the delivery of services to children with special needs die out over the holidays. I do not think that the board is ill intentioned. It is a huge commitment of time and energy and takes passion to serve on a school board. I find that way too often though our school boards rely completely on their employees. I know that's what they are generally supposed to do - but when there's an outcry from the community the board needs to go farther. They say where there's smoke there's fire - I implore the board to get involved - find out what's going on in the delivery of services.

I'll add that unless you have children with special needs or serve those children and their families you may not understand how unproductive it may be to have such children taking foreign language classes - how nearly impossible it may be for some of these children to succeed academically without a resource room - full inclusion may sound nice, but in many cases it's an incredibly unrealistic delivery model. My children who are now 20 and 22 would have failed miserably under the current model. So community - keep fighting; school board - listen to what parents and trained educators are telling you.

Please know that administration states that even DHS is moving away from the resource program. In speaking with teachers and families at DHS this is not the case. The administration at the middle schools tell parents with children who have special needs that this is the case and it is state mandated. As an advocate it is not state mandated. There is nothing that states foreign language is a must! As an advocate and tutor I can tell you, if the child has trouble reading and writing in English having them in Spanish or French is not the right decision. You can't fight the administrators as I have tried. It is foreign language or foreign language.

If any of the board members want to know what is going on in the schools they need to go into the buildings and observe. They need to speak with teachers in all departments at every building. I have spoken to many teachers. They tell me the morale in the district has rarely if ever been this low. They feel disrespected by the administration. They are stretched to the breaking point trying to do everything they can to help every child achieve with less and less support, while more and more coaches and administrators are being hired. Listen to the people working in the schools not the admisstrators who can make everything sound rosy!

It is not just the Board that needs to wake up but this community. It disgusts me that people will only get involved when they have something to lose, if it personally impacts them or their children. Well people you do have something to lose, we could lose some of the best teachers around!!! I am angered that beyond a small handful of us who do not have IEP students there have not been more parents representing the teachers at the Board meetings. Well over half of the parents who spoke have a student who is impacted by the Special Ed services that our schools provide. Part of the negotiations contends with cuts for Special Ed but part means part and there is much more to this negotiation that seems to have been lost. The teachers want to be paid for the work they do and to be paid comparably to teachers in surrounding districts. The teachers want to have reasonable premiums for their health insurance, premiums that do not break the bank. The teachers want certain provisions, from the old contract, regarding evaluations to remain as they have been in the past. The Board wants to remove these provisions. These provisions are in the contract to protect the teachers, and to provide fairness to them during the evaluation process.

I was interviewed by Steve Sadin and what his main focus was regarding my willingness to have taxes raised to provide for teachers? Mr. Sadin, please, if you are going to cover a story then cover it in totality. Do not focus on the one aspect that dilutes what is really happening. Raise taxes??? Are you kidding? Maybe your angel is to show the degree to which we support the teachers. Yet why not focus on what the teachers are asking for? Focus on what their issues are. Taxes are irrelevant. EDUCATE people – do not instill false issues. You should be better than that. You have the forum to help make a difference through educating, be the teacher in this case. It is up to each individual to decide where their opinion falls or nowhere at all. Yet truth is needed. A truth that reflects both sides objectives. You are using your platform to stir up human emotions falsely. Again raising our taxes to have a contract is NOT the issue, so do not make it one. Mr. Sadin asking the Board why they want the provisions removed should be of import.

There is a proper and democratic solution. The Board members will succumb to community pressure if it is galvanized in a method that clearly delineates the expectations of parents, the taxpayers. These are elected individuals. When they stand for re-election, be sure to vote for individuals who understand the needs of the entire student population. If these board members are acting improperly or breaching their fiduciary responsibilities, it is time to demand a recall. It is time to demand accountability and proper use of district resources. The administration in general, and the superintendent in particular, need to edify themselves re the state regulations for requiring proper provisioning of special services. Continued community pressure works. Stay vocal, keep demanding proper answers and refuse to settle for mediocrity!

I'm not so sure that Administration is uninformed...they know what is going on, but they have their own agenda and don't really care about the kids. They often claim 'it's what is best for the kids', but clearly their actions don't back up their words. They talk a good game, but unfortunately that is all it is...empty words. I wonder what the Board members think and what they know. Some of them clearly seem bored and uninterested in what we (the community) have to say. I am shocked and disheartened by what I have seen and heard.

We should all go to the District 109 handbook and reread the section on ZERO tolerance for bullying. Isn't that what the board of Ed and the administrators doing to the teachers, parents and students?!!!

I ran into two District 109 teachers on our way out of town last week, both of whom I have known for years and both of whom are very well respected by the Deerfield and larger educational community. They both thanked me for my comments on the Patch and elsewhere and said they appreciate the community's support. They also both said that the community's concerns regarding the education of children with special needs are well founded. The plan is not the right plan and the support given to the educators and students is not appropriate. The School Board needs to get involved at a deeper level than they seem to be in understanding how services are really being delivered and what the real affect is on students, professionals and families. I guess that's one of my wishes for the new year. Let's all hope - and keep pushing - for that to happen.

Teacher and administrative pay is listed on www.familytaxpayers.com. Download Deerfield School District 109 data from 1999 - 2011 to a spreadsheet.

Active and retired teacher and administrative pay is also listed on www.openthebooks.com. Select Deerfield SD 109.

The Deerfield Education Association (DEA) is the teacher union in Deerfield SD 109 and is the local affiliate for the Illinois Education Association (IEA) which is the state affiliate for the National Education Association (IEA). DEA is part of IEA Region 66 which is located along with a few other regions in the Libertyville office at 1860 West Winchester Road, Suite 202. The IEA UniServ Director for Region 66 is Mark Stein who is involved in the contract negotiations with Deerfield SD 109. UniServ Directors are full time union employees (not teachers), are trained in negotiation, and have access to all IEA negotiated contracts with school districts throughout the state. Mr. Stein is also represents the union in negotiations with North Shore School District 112, Bannockburn District 106, Lake Forest Elementary District 67, Lake Bluff District 65, Lake Forest High School District 115, and the Northern Suburban Special Education District (NSSED). Mr. Steins total compensation on the FY 2010 LM-2 Labor Organization Annual Report for IEA was $135,290.
Deerfield SD 109 is a member of the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB). The IEA has far more negotiating experience and resources than IASB. Is Deerfield SD 109 retaining an experienced negotiator to assist the Board in negotiating with the union? That can be quite expensive but these are complex negotiations. Unlike some other states, Illinois does not require voter approval of teacher contracts.

Any comment that the dissolution of the resource program is mandated by the State of Illinois is at least ill-informed if not false. State and federal governments require that students be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). In most cases it means providing special education supports and services in the general education setting. It does not preclude students from receiving preteaching and reteaching in a setting outside of the general education setting (resource classroom). In fact, law mandates that school districts maintain a full continuum of services for students with disabilities. A resource program is just one step in that continuum.
As a parent, I was very disappointed with the services that my child with an IEP received while attending 109 schools. I had to be very aggressive when advocating for my child to ensure that he received appropriate and necessary support. The short comings included a lack of identified interventions that were scientifically based to remediate identified deficit areas and the now public issue of removal of the resource program. For a district with such a strong reputation, the overall special education program fell short of my expectations.