Elections

D-15 Candidates Debate At Public Forum

District 15 school board candidates participated in a forum held by the Northwest Suburban Council of PTA/PTSA.

The six candidates vying for three seats on the District 15 school board squared off at a public forum Thursday. The forum took place in the gymnasium of Walter Sundling Jr. High School. Early voting for the April 5 election already is underway. Registered voters can cast their ballot at the Palatine Village Hall, 200 E. Wood St. The District 15 race includes three incumbents Gerald Chapman, James Ekeberg and Dave Seiffert. Chapman and Ekeberg were elected four years ago, Seiffert was appointed to the board to fill a vacant seat. The challengers—Scott Herr, Manjula Sriram and Gerard Iannuzzelli—are running as a slate. The six candidates answered questions from the audience for more than an hour. Among the topics was what could be done to …

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You Ask, Patch Answers

Questions About Grammy D's, D-15's Taxi Service

In today's column we address questions about Community Consolidated School District 15's taxi service and about Grammy D's.

Readers posed a couple of questions I wanted to address. One had to do with a new weekly feature at Patch. Each week we are running Patch Picks, a column meant to highlight some of the best places to go or things to do in Palatine. One of the first Patch Picks focused on breakfast places. Shortly after it appeared I received the following e-mail: You forgot t[o] add Grammy D's as part of your article. Can't imagine that you didn't include this restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch at VERY reasonable prices. Have you ever eaten there? I have eaten at Grammy D's and it has been a breakfast fixture in Palatine for many years. Patch Picks is not meant to be a comprehensive list. That being said, Grammy D's should have been on the list. It…

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D-15 Legal Bill Raises Questions

Former District 15 board member Mark Bloom resigned on Jan. 14. The resignation led to the appointment of Dave Seiffert to the school board.

A billing invoice from District 15's attorney has raised questions about the timing of former board member Mark Bloom's resignation. Bills from District 15's law firm show that a series of consultations occured between Dec. 14 and Dec. 21 regarding the legal issues surrounding a potential resignation by a board member. Bloom resigned from the board a month later on Jan. 14. The timing of Bloom's resignation is significant because it determined how his seat would be filled. If Bloom had resigned by Jan. 7 there would have been a special election to fill the seat. Instead the school board was able to appoint someone to finish the two years left on his term. "I think there was obviously an attempt to talk to the attorney a month before Mr. …

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Louise

6:29 pm on Monday, March 7, 2011

Celtic – You are so off base. To anyone watching what has gone on with the school board over the last 4 years it is clear Sue Quinn has the best interests of the students and community at heart. She advocates for improving student achievement on so many fronts, insists upon decisions made openly and thoughtfully, fosters discussions among the board members (it is too bad most will not participate…   more ›

How Long Will It Take D-15 To Change 52,902 Light Bulbs?

Community Consolidated School District 15 needs to change thousands of light fixtures and bulbs in the next two years.

How long will it take District 15 to change 52,902 florescent light bulbs and 16,424 fixtures? Hopefully less than two years. If not the district might have to resort to candlelight. "The t12 bulbs will no longer be manufactured," said Craig Phillips, who handles Environmental Services for District 15. "The federal government has mandated that t12 tubes be discontinued." Phillips said that the t12 lamps are to be eliminated by June 2012 and replaced with more efficient lighting. The ban extends internationally as well. The district plans to replace the t12 bulbs and the ballasts with more efficient versions. Phillips said the school district has been changing some light ballasts and bulbs as part of routine maintenance. However, the …

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Education Matters

D-15 evaluates its progress toward a 21st century education

Plans underway to develop a Community Curriculum Advisory Committee as well as new student performance targets.

Perhaps it was the timing – it was the end of a four day weekend. Or maybe it was the weather. Regardless of the reason, the turnout for Community Consolidated School District 15’s second Navigate15 community engagement session on Jan. 18 was significantly less than the first one in November.   The evening’s topic was curriculum. What do our children need to know to be successful in the future? Arguably the most important of the six discussion topics planned to get district residents involved and provide their input to set long term goals for the district.  Much of the hour long presentation focused on the development of new Illinois Learning Standards designed to incorporate new math and English/language arts academic standards for K-12 …

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D-15 Seeks Residents to Fill School Board Vacancy

Candidate Information Packets available online Thursday, Jan. 20.

Community Consolidated School District 15 determined at a meeting Jan. 19 how it will fill the school board seat left vacant by the resignation of board vice president Mark Bloom. Bloom resigned last Friday citing scheduling conflicts between his work and school board responsibilities. The school board will appoint someone to fill the remainder of Bloom's four-year term which runs to April 2013. Residents interested in applying for the position must be at least 18 years old, have lived in the district for at least one year, and be registered to vote.   Candidate applications will be forwarded to the remaining six board members for review as they are received by the district. Applications can be mailed, e-mailed, faxed or hand delivered. …

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Literacygirl

1:29 pm on Sunday, January 30, 2011

Why does "The Patch" allow Jennifer Mondy to continue her tirade against District 15? It only makes "The Patch" look like an unreputable source for news.   more ›

Report: D-15 School Board President Didn't 'Tamper' With Minutes

A report found that facts did not support allegations that school board president Gerald Chapman tampered with meeting minutes.

District 15 school board president Gerald Chapman did not act improperly in editing meeting minutes, according to a report by the school district's attorney Michael Loizzi Jr. "While it is clear that Dr. Chapman, in his role as Board President, did propose to make, and did make,  edits to the draft minutes, we find that to characterize his involvement in the process of preparing the draft minutes as 'tampering' is  not supported by facts," the report states. The school board discussed the report at its Wednesday, Jan. 12 meeting. The issue of minutes in Community Consolidated District 15 has been a controversial topic for several months. Board member Sue Quinn has raised concerns that a motion she made in March was spun in meeting minutes…

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Planning D-15's Future: Navigate15 Continues

Community Consolidated School District 15's outreach initiative will continue Jan. 18 at the Winston Campus, 900 E. Palatine Rd.

The next Navigate15 meeting is Jan. 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Winston Campus, 900 E. Palatine Rd. Navigate15 is meant to be a community driven, community-led effort to set a future course for District 15. The first Naviage15 meeting was held on Nov. 16 and, according to a press release from the district, attracted a crowd of more than 150 to the Winston Campus cafeteria. At that meeting, residents broke into small groups and each group came up with priorites for the district. The feedback from that first meeting will now dictate the subject matter of the next several Navigate15 events. On Jan. 18, the subject will be "World-Class Curriculum: What does it look like and how much is present in District 15" the press release stated.  The…

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