T
he
2009 Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) results indicate
that 94.3 percent of Benjamin District 25 students, compared to
75.5 percent of students statewide, met or exceeded the Illinois
Learning Standards in reading, mathematics and science. A more
rigorous comparison shows that our students’ ISAT scores placed
us in the top five school districts in DuPage County in three
out of four categories. Another article in this newsletter
provides more detailed information about these rankings.
All of our schools
met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as stipulated by federal law
and the No Child Left Behind Act. In 2009, 1,433 schools and 429
districts failed to make AYP in Illinois. This means that nearly
50 percent of districts and more than one-third of schools did
not meet AYP.
We are also
focusing on the academic growth that our students make
throughout the year in reading and math. Learning progress
targets have been established for each student according to the
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment system which is
used by many school districts throughout the United States.
Students are assessed three times each year to measure their
growth and we make adjustments in teaching strategies to improve
their learning.
At the same time,
local revenue, primarily from property taxes, has increased by
only $31,000 which is based on last year’s Consumer Price Index
(CPI) that was only .1 percent. The CPI is significant because a
shift of one percent is a difference of $85,000. State revenue
also has declined with the largest factor being the elimination
of the general state aid hold harmless funding amounting to
nearly $325,000. Illinois is faced with a huge financial deficit
that is growing even more next year based on the debt and
one-time nonrecurring revenue from federal stimulus funds being
used by the state this year. The Center for Tax and Budget
Accountability projects that the state will have a minimum
starting deficit for next year of 12 billion dollars!
The two most
significant factors for the expense side of the Benjamin
District 25 budget are personnel costs and class size. About 72
percent of the budget is consumed by salaries and benefits.
Class size dictates the number of staff assigned working in
classrooms. We are making well informed decisions on controlling
our budget without significantly increasing class sizes. This
means intensifying our efforts to identify cost savings measures
and to increase revenue such as outside grants.
Any expenditures
that do not directly affect the classroom are being reviewed to
determine if costs can be decreased. For example, you will
notice that the paper size of this newsletter has been reduced,
which results in savings of more than $1,200 per year. You can
view the entire list of cost-savings measures that have been
implemented district wide by visiting our district’s website,
www.bendist25.org. I invite you to suggest other cost-saving
strategies for us to consider.
Our dilemma is
similar to that facing families and businesses in our community.
Strategic choices will need to be made as we enhance our
educational programs while being fiscally responsible. Our goal
is to strive to maximize the monies which are channeled into the
classroom so that our vision of “achieving high levels of
excellence in academics and supporting students in developing
21st century skills, such as collaboration and problem solving”
is realized by all of our students.
Administration
Center - Superintendent's Message 
