Letters to the Editor

On April 1 the Doings of Western Springs published this letter to the editor:

Pleasantdale schools must be responsible

Everywhere you look, schools are in financial crisis. Many are cutting back on programs, eliminating positions or increasing class sizes to save money.

La Grange School District 102's superintendent explained the rationale behind their budget cutting decisions stating, the district is attempting to make reasonable cuts in hopes of showing the community, especially those without children in the schools, that they are being responsible with taxpayer dollars.

At Pleasantdale Elementary District 107 the opposite is being done.

Taxpayers are forced to subsidize an optional preschool program for about 100 kids to the tune of almost $250,000 a year. With expenses far exceeding revenue, Pleasantdale is not being responsible with taxpayer dollars. Now that Pleasantdale's teacher contract is up for renewal, this deficit will likely climb even higher.

Preschool is not state mandated; yet the entire community is burdened with paying for this program. Parents who choose to enroll their children in programs elsewhere must bear the entire cost of tuition on their own and do not get the benefit of having the community subsidize it.
The Pleasantdale school district should show its taxpayers, that they too, are being fiscally responsible with the public's money by requiring the participants of this program to bear the entire cost and not saddling the taxpayers with this ever increasing debt.
Gina Scaletta-Nelson,
Willow Springs

On April 22, the Doings printed a rebuttal from Mark Fredisdorf found below. It was rather comical to say the least. In red, please find our rebuttal to Fredisdorf's "facts."

Letters to the editor: Facts don't back Pleasantdale criticism

A letter submitted by Gina Scaletta-Nelson in the April 1, edition of The Doings criticizes Pleasantdale District 107 for providing an optional preschool program that is taxpayer subsidized by $250,000. Her criticism is not supported by facts.

The district provides an inclusive preschool allowing special education students to receive required services in their home school. (This "inclusive preschool" is for some children, not all. Children deemed to have more severe needs are routinely shipped out of the district.)


Pleasantdale is one of the few districts to also enroll regular education students for $3,250 per year which is commensurate with private preschools for a five day per week program. (Pleasantdale is the only local district that offers a fee-based preschool program in a public school.)


Revenue generated by parent paid tuition totals $122,657 this year. Total direct costs for the program this year including salaries, benefits, equipment and materials are $187,837. (Hmmm, Fredisdorf conveniently excluded the extended day kindergarten students in his revenues and direct costs. They ARE part of the Bright Beginnings program and this is the first time he has ever separated the two programs. It is his attempt to make the deficit look smaller.)


The net cost (tuition revenue minus direct costs) is $65,180 not $250,000. (Click on the documents below to enlarge them and see what Fredisdorf published in his February school board packet. They tell a different story. Total direct expenses are $325,374. When you add the indirect costs that Fredisdorf always includes when he calculates costs for this program, the cost of this program climbs even higher to $439,936. Look at Fredisdorf's projection sheet on the left and you will see that the cost of this program in 2014 will be $556,148. The deficit will increase to $294,641 if enrollment stays the same. If enrollment decreases, the deficit will increase.)

In addition to cost considerations, the educational benefits of a quality preschool are highly valued by parents. (This is actually funny. The argument Fredisdorf uses to support his preschool program is the same argument he uses against a free full day kindergarten program. A full day kindergarten program would also be educationally beneficial and highly valued by parents. If Fredisdorf feels so strongly about the educational benefits, why doesn't he have a full day kindergarten program?)


Enrollments for next school year are already nearing capacity. Scaletta-Nelson referenced actions of other districts that are cutting services due to fiscal problems. She asserts that Pleasantdale should exercise similar fiscal responsibility. (Yes, I do believe that Pleasantdale should exercise fiscal responsibility. We finally agree on something!)

Again, the facts don't support her criticism. Pleasantdale is not experiencing fiscal problems. (I never said you were.)


The Board of Education has perennially earned the highest rating for fiscal management. As a result, there is no immediate need to reduce services. (My argument is not to reduce services. It is to have the families that utilize the preschool programs be the ones to pay for them. This optional program should not be subsidized by the taxpayers.)


Equally important, taxpayers enjoy one of the lowest tax rates in the metropolitan area. Both taxpayers and school children are the beneficiaries of a long and well documented tradition of sound fiscal management. (And we have previous boards and former superintendents to thank for that!)

Mark Fredisdorf, superintendent, Pleasantdale School District 107

Fredisdorf's rebuttal may be about preschool, but we weren't born yesterday.