02.23.08
Posted in District 60 at 11:30 am by cosla
http://files.waukeganschools.org/schoolboard/BOEAgenda022608.pdf
WAUKEGAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 60
BOARD OF EDUCATION
February 26, 2008
AGENDA
6:00 p.m. Closed session
PLEASE NOTE 7:00 p.m. Open session
THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT MIGUEL JUAREZ MIDDLE SCHOOL
201 NORTH BUTRICK
FOR THIS MEETING ONLY
I. ROLL CALL
II. CLOSED SESSION
III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
IV. SPECIAL RECOGNITION AND PRESENTATIONS
A. Recognition of Schools
2007 Illinois Spotlight School Awards
2007 Academic Improvement Awards
V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (ACTION)
A. Minutes of the regular meeting of February 12, 2008
VI. OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
VII. CONSENT ITEMS (ACTION)
A. Purchases and Contracts - (Yellow)
1. Approval of contract with Ombudsman
2. Approval of Wide Area Network E-Rate Contract
3. Approval of Internal Connections E-Rate Contract - network switches
4. Approval of contract to purchase servers/storage through the E-Rate
Program
B. Personnel Items (Blue)
1. Appointments, Schedule F-668
2. Leaves of Absence Schedule N-518
3. Approval of new position - STARS Purchasing Clerk
C. Grants and Donations - None (Goldenrod)
1. Acceptance of the FY08 School District Library Program Grant
D. Other (Pink)
1. Naming the Circle Drive at Waukegan High School UGC
2. Adoption of textbooks to be purchased through the Illinois Textbook
Loan Program
3. Recommendation for custodial management
4. Recommendation for transportation operations
VIII. FINANCIAL REPORTS (ACTION) (Green)
A. Approval of Resolution for a school facility sales tax
B. Ratification of payment of Manual and Imprest checks for January 2008 and
approval of bills payable for February 2008
C. Approval of Budget adoption Plan for FY 2008-2009
IX.REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS
A. President
B. Committee
C. Superintendent
X. INFORMATION ITEMS (Salmon)
A. Proposed Policy #5001, Organizational Plan - first reading
B. Proposed Policy #5144.8, Student Technology Usage - first reading
C. Proposed Interim Policy #5A, Supplementary Materials - first reading
D. Status of the current year (FY2007-2008) Budget
XI. OLD BUSINESS
A. Report on status of the elevator at the High School (NGC)
XII. NEW BUSINESS
XIII. LEGAL ADVISER’S REPORT
XIV. BOARD MEMBER TIME
XV. ADJOURNMENT
Permalink
02.20.08
Posted in District 60 at 6:52 am by cosla
Waukegan schools need forensic audit
We wish to express our concern regarding the alleged ghost payrolling and felony theft charges filed against two members of the Waukegan High School security staff.
We will wait patiently while the Waukegan Police Department and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office conduct their investigations and anxiously await the announcement of their findings. We wish to acknowledge Deputy Superintendent and Chief Operations Officer Jules Gaudin, and thank him for his help to the authorities in conducting their investigations.
In the meantime, we have concluded the following: It’s obvious that if ever there was a need for a 10-year forensic audit by an outside, independent consultant, the time is now. Sloppy record keeping, a complete lack of oversight, a lack of transparency and playing fast and loose with the taxpayers’ money is not acceptable.
It is clear the current board needs to know the correct state of the district’s finances they have inherited from previous boards and administrations. And if they expect to maintain credibility with the voters and taxpayers of this district, they will approve this as expediently as possible. We have not forgotten that three out of four of the newest members of the board also promised an independent audit of the district’s finances when they campaigned.
What better time if not now? We are not just asking for this to be done — we are insisting on it. We also insist that the findings of the forensic audit be presented at a public hearing.
Secondly, we are calling for an independent evaluation of the Safety and Security Department. Too many complaints over too many years point to a mismanagement of taxpayers’ dollars, an abuse of the public trust and compromises to the safety of the children because of personnel issues.
There is clearly not enough return on this investment to justify funding the status quo. Again, we believe the findings of this evaluation should be presented to the public in an open hearing.
The cost of both of these will be cheaper than the cost of hiring another part-time administrator, and we believe the money can be found in the budget if the board insists on it. Certainly, the public will be better served than it has been so far.
The press release issued from Superintendent Dr. Batiste on District 60’s Web site, dated Feb. 1, states that, “The Board and Administration are committed to the concept of accountability in all matters, and particularly actions related to the expenditure of taxpayer funds.”
Well, ladies and gentlemen of the board and cabinet, it is not enough to be committed to the concept of accountability. You must be committed to the practice of accountability.
We at COSLA will see to it that the public holds you accountable for your actions, and we’ll be watching with great interest as to how you proceed in these matters.
Permalink
02.03.08
Posted in District 60 at 9:31 am by cosla
By Andrew L. Wang |Tribune reporter
- January 29, 2008
Two Waukegan public school security guards were charged last week with felony theft, accused of a scheme in which they were paid for hours they did not work.
Waukegan police and the Lake County state’s attorney’s office began investigating the guards last summer, after school officials learned of the alleged scheme and noticed some payroll “accounting irregularities,” said Cmdr. Wayne Walles, a police spokesman.
Anthony Artley of the 500 block of Lakehurst Road in Waukegan and Dewayne Williams of the 39700 block of Ackworth Lane in Beach Park have each been charged with one count of theft greater than $300, according to court records. Artley, 41, was arrested Wednesday, while Williams, 46, was arrested Thursday.
The men are being held in Lake County Jail in lieu of $35,000 bail. District officials placed them on administrative leave while the investigation continues.
Police declined to detail the scheme, how long it had been going on or how much money was involved. The charges are felony counts for theft between $300 and $10,000.
Investigators are looking through district time sheets and comparing them to payroll records for other part- and full-time jobs the men are believed to have had, said Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Mark McCormick.
“That would conflict with the times they were supposed to be working” for the district, McCormick said.
Attorney William Franks of Waukegan, who is representing the men, did not return calls for comment.
Police said they continue to investigate whether anyone else was involved.
District financial records showed that Artley and Williams were paid between $40,000 and $60,000 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2006.
The men had been working as full-time security guards at the district’s 9th-grade campus for seven or eight years, said Jules Gaudin, deputy superintendent and chief operating officer of the Waukegan Public Schools.
District officials intend to implement new measures to prevent thefts, he said, including improving accountability for overtime and absenteeism.
Permalink
Posted in District 60 at 8:26 pm by cosla
Video from COSLA’s forum on the proposed restructuring of Waukegan High School, held October 18, 2007 at Waukegan City Hall, can be found here:
http://www.coslawaukegan.org/Video/COSLA20071018LoResPart01.wmv
http://www.coslawaukegan.org/Video/COSLA20071018LoResPart02.wmv
Each clip is approximately 1 hour in length. The audio and video quality has been reduced in order to shrink the file size for quicker downloads.
Permalink
08.24.07
Posted in District 60 at 2:11 pm by cosla
August 24, 2007
Board of Education
Waukegan Public Schools Unit District 60
1201 N. Sheridan Road
Waukegan, IL 60085
Dear Board President Maguire and Members of the Waukegan District 60 School Board,
We are contacting you to express our concern on a matter you voted on at the August 14, 2007 meeting and to respectfully request that you rectify this situation by discussing in open session and making a motion to rescind the vote that approved the creation of 14 new positions.
These positions were “supposedly” approved by the former board, but no discussion about the justification for these positions, job descriptions, or necessary qualifications or information about the proposed salaries and appropriation of public monies before any vote took place in open session. This is a violation of the Open Meetings Act. If you consult the agendas and minutes for the meetings for the last 2 years you would find that this was not an item for open discussion on any of them.
As a board, you are not obligated to fulfill any decions a previous board has agreed to - only contractual arrangements apply. There were none in force where these new positions are concerned.
At this time, our district’s teachers are working without a contract, our state has not approved a budget, our district has no guarantee about the kind of funds that will become available, and you have an obligation to the tax payers, not the administration to do a thorough and judicious review of the facts before approving funds for new positions.
There are few times in a person’s life where we get a “do-over.” This is one of them. We urge you to honor your obligation to the tax payers of Waukegan to spend our money wisely by voting to rescind the approval for the creation of these new positions.
Respectfully Submitted on behalf of the Steering Committee of C.O.S.L.A.
Permalink
« Previous entries
