We Say...

How generous of School District 107 board members Lisa Houk and Beth Tegtmeier to come up with the idea of waiving registration fees for the 2011 school year. This is nothing more than grandstanding prior to the April election where they are both running for re-election.
While Pleasantdale plays "investment banker" hoarding over 11 million dollars of taxpayer money, how about giving something back to ALL taxpayers that paid into this fund, rather than just the 500 families that attend the school? District 107 encompasses businesses, senior citizens, empty nesters and private school families too. Where is their waiver?

Pleasantdale outfitted every classroom with much needed interactive white boards on the backs of special education students. This board approved the use of IDEA money earmarked specifically for special education programs rather than dipping into their 11 million dollar fund balance. Special education was also shortchanged when the board of education eliminated the full time special ed. coordinator in the name of saving money. It’s no wonder Pleasantdale’s special education subgroup didn’t make AYP in reading on the ISAT in 2010, when all they get is the short end of the stick.

There is a lot more going on in District 107 than they are willing to share. Hopefully, the Doings editorial will open some eyes.

Happy Anniversary!

The second anniversary of our blog is fast approaching!

We are surprised and thankful for the number of subscribers, followers and RSS feeds we have. This is what our stats looked like earlier today.

VISITS
	Total	18,500
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PAGE VIEWS
	Total	42,225
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We have made a lot of changes over the last two years. The most important one being that our address has changed and is much easier to remember!

You can now find us at pleasantdaleblog.com. We know people are always searching for our blog. We saw a trend in the various search terms associated with our blog and jumped on this. This name change helps to identify us with not only Pleasantdale School but also with Pleasant Dale Park and anything else that falls under the Pleasantdale community umbrella.

We have also added a link to Paypal for those readers that would like to support us by making a donation. Our blog has several subscription fees attached to it to keep us up and running. These fees include annual url renewals, web hosting, stat counters, account upgrades, etc. For the past two years we have absorbed these costs but it is starting to add up.

Lately we have been asked if we could set up a link for donations to support this blog and offset our costs. If you would like to support us, please click on the "donate" button on the top right corner of the page. Paypal accepts most credit cards, electronic bank transfers as well as funds from Paypal account balances. Any donation would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your support and happy reading!

Six Flags Read to Succeed Program Kicks Off!

Pleasantdale is participating in an exciting program that encourages children in grades K through 6 to read for fun! Read to Succeed® is a free program from Six Flags and Discovery Education.

Every student who completes six hours or recreational reading before February 17, 2011 is eligible for a free admission ticket valid at participating Six Flags theme parks. Late entries will not be accepted. 

Please review the reading log that your child brought home. If you need an extra one, it can be found here. 

Your child should use this sheet to recore what and how long he/she reads. 

Your child must complete six hours (360 minutes) of recreational reading. Please initial each entry and then sigh the reading log to verify that the six hours of reading has been completed. 

Remind your child to return the reading log to his/her teacher in an envelope marked "PTA Six Flags Reading Program." 

Tickets will be distributed in May and are valid for admission on select dates during the 2011 summer season. Dates will be printed on tickets. Lost, stolen or damaged tickets cannot be replaced. 

If you have any questions, please contact Pleasantdale's Six Flags Read to Succeed Coordinator, Gina Scaletta-Nelson, at geena @ aol dot com.

Amen to this!

Editorial: District 107 should offer taxpayer relief :: Opinion :: PIONEER PRESS :: The Doings Western Springs

January 13, 2011

The Doings Says...

District 107 Should Offer Taxpayer Relief

Pleasantdale School District 107 is cutting some of its student fees for next school year, saying it has enough money in the bank to afford the cut.

But taking a look at its budget, District 107 ought to give back more to taxpayers than that.

According to budget information from the district, District 107's spending plan amounts to $12.52 million for this school year.

All told, the district already had an estimated $11.07 million in the bank at the start of this budget cycle. That's 88 percent of its projected budget sitting in bank accounts.

And it's adding more. The district project adding about $450,000 more to its fund balances after this budget closes out.

Click on this link to read more: Editorial: District 107 should offer taxpayer relief :: Opinion :: PIONEER PRESS :: The Doings Western Springs

Blog Team Note:
Is our school board setting itself up for a possible lawsuit by "hoarding" taxpayer dollars?
http://triblocal.com/libertyville/2010/12/21/tax-objection-accuses-district-128-of-hoarding-millions-of-dollars/

Maybe they should call it fiscal greed.

Intimidation

Some people don't like to see their names on here.

Intimidating someone will get you that and more. Just so you know....