Lockport Township High School District saw their referendum go down in defeat for a second year in a row. Some supporters have chastised the voters for being cheapskates. I think this is wrong though, the voters were not merely acting out of financial self interest. They were reacting to a school district that has hidden facts, tried to borrow beyond their legal debt limit, paid huge sums of money to teachers and administrators, and wants to build $100+ million school palaces.
The April 2006 referendum was defeated because of concerns over how the boundary between the two high school was drawn, resistance to building a school for Homer Glen, raw emotions over Lockport West, and concern over why Lockport Central was to be abandoned. The district did not address these effectively prior to the 2007 referendum. The boundary issue was put off the table in favor of 2 two-year campuses until some future date. Of course, we all can guess what that division in the future may look like and we know that in the absence of a referendum the concerns of citizens will be ignored. Some explanation of why the loss of Lockport West was not really harmful was given, but a more thorough analysis should be given. Don't assume we are too stupid to understand it. The community movement in Homer Glen to form their own unit district makes the fears of losing another new high school shortly after construction very relevant. The issue of Lockport Central's fate has also been glossed over. Now it supposedly will not be used for classes, but will have some other function. Well, what is that function? And why is this building now no longer good enough for students?
I have previously discussed the issue of "creative" financing being used to borrow beyond the statutory debt limit. The district has continued to defend this practice and refuse to show any fiscal responsibility. They have also not explained why less expensive school designs have not been examined and presented to the public.
To top it all off schools continue to increase the exorbitant pay of administrators and teachers. I recognize that some starting teachers are not well paid, but it only takes a few years before teachers are very well compensated and a few more years and they can be in administration where they can really rake in the money. LTHS paid their driver's education teacher over $170,000 in 2006. Do you think this is a good use of taxpayer dollars? And can you justify giving more money to such a school district?
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