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| Illinois Looks to Save Money By Eliminating Regional Offices of Education |
(IRN)--The state of Illinois looks to save roughly $13 million next fiscal year by eliminating all its regional offices of education. That doesn't sit well with the state's regional superintendents.
Several converged on Springfield today (Thursday) to outline why they should keep their jobs. For starters, they say their offices are responsible for a litany of state-mandated services.
Ralph Grimm, superintendent of the West Central school district in Henderson County, is not a regional superintendent, but he has advocated on his regional office behalf many times because he knows how valuable their services are.
"ROEs and Regional Superintendents are mentioned in the school code over 700 times," says Grimm. "Almost every one of those mentions has with it some duty they're expected to perform in the school code. I haven’t heard yet who's going to step up and take care of those responsibilities."
The regional superintendents also argue cutting regional office funding could produce unintended consequences, such as the elimination of alternative education. Many regional offices help local school districts fund and administer their alternative education programs.
"Where will these students go?" asks Grimm. "They don’t belong, or aren't as successful as they want to be, in our public schools. Where will they go? How will they learn to become productive citizens?"
The Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools says it has tried to meet with the governor to talk about the proposed cuts, but it has received no response.
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 03 24 11 by Newsroom |
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