"What's so different about Mokena that we can't get this passed?"

her husband must pay the current property taxes.

"I'm just so disappointed for the students in Mokena," said Supt. Karen Perry. "It's a shame they're going to have to pay for this." The kids don't have to pay for this if cuts and perks are cut from within. Everyone has to learn to do without during these economic times and that includes the administrators and teachers of District 159. The taxpayers have voted for the THIRD time to not have this referendum pass - are you listening now District 159?

The real story is we have lost two more highly qualified and wonderful administrators to other towns who actually pay and don't complain about over-inflated salaries of a top-notch staff; this exodus has just begun. I will also wait to see how Ford and Markham (if they indeed have the final seats on the board) find $2 million dollars to cut "from within." It's not there to cut. That was already proven. Don't fool yourself into thinking this is what is right and good for our families and children and our village. We all lost yesterday.

I can only hope that the first thing Ford and Markham do is fire Perry. She has been an huge detrement as the superintendent of this district. All she has done from day 1 is take things away from the CHILDREN and not provide any leadership to the district. MIS should have been closed, the boundaries should be changed, the administrators should be cut, then the remaining administrators should take pay cuts and and pay for their own healthcare. They have thrown our children under the bus in order to save themselves. Enough is enough, move on out Perry. I firmly believe Ford and Markham will do what is right for the children of this community.

@Mokena Mom. I hope the spite that drove the No votes sustains everyone for the future... because it's going to be a rough road.

The idea that "more money" always leads to "better education" is a fallacy in itself -- you can see this from the staggering amount of money that the Chicago Public Schools bring in while many of their schools are on probation by the state. It's painfully misleading for Karen Perry to say that without a tax hike, "the children will pay." No honest reading of educational history in this country can back up that statement.

The referendum has been placed on three ballots in three election cycles, and failed each time. It's time for the administrators and board to understand the will of the voters -- and that will is for the board to streamline costs and bring fiscal responsibility back to the district without sacrificing education, which has been done time and time again in various districts and proven to be effective.

My husband always said that a school district needs to be run like a business. Bring in a business-person to do the superintendent's job. No one can do much worse.

As a No voter, I, also, feel sad that this ref had to fail and divide our community. But rather than be pessimistic I am looking at this as an opportunity for some changes in the way public education is funded and structured. The loss of adminstration is not because of the community/parents it because of the lower enrollment, the failure to close MIS, teachers to take a pay freeze,the economy,Pat Quinn, that is the TRUTH. The anger and pressure should be placed in those areas not finger-pointing at the community and parents. Join together to put pressure in those areas not blaming those who don't want their money going to the black hole of politics. Why would we, as parents, be threatened and made to fear for our children's future. And why would the board and admin go straight for the heart of the children's development as cuts? Why did the board ask for 48 cents first when now it becomes clearer that 29 cents would have been sufficient for a few years? Why did the board and Perry have to lie and break the trust the community had with the district? We have not lost until we give up on our kids and community. Parents ARE not against the teachers but they keep preaching that this about the kids. They will now have 2 years and a contract neg. to prove it. Us parents DO put our kids first and above all else. That should NEVER be questioned by a teacher or administrator that has an ulterior motive i.e. referendum.

I for one am proud of this community. It is a hard choice one has to make especially when there kids are being used as pawns. Just the words "the kids will pay", sends a shiver!, I'm excited to move forward FINALLY. To start making good fiscally responsible choices for our community and the kids. This comment just proves that when all is said and done KAREN PERRY has an agenda and it really does not match the spirit of Mokena and the people how live here. Bravo Mokena lets set an example now for our neighboring towns that supposedly like to laugh at us! Lets show them what responsible spending is.

WOW.

When will this community come together and address the real problems...the complete lack of respect for people and the unending desire to place blame? Ford and Markham have their work cut out for them because now they are part of the problem (assuming the results stand.) They are members of the board of a school district which takes in close to two million dollars less than it spends each year. I know lots of people will get excited about this statement. In actuality if the State of Illinois continued to fund Mokena 159, per pupil, at the same level it did, per pupil, in 2007 the need for a referendum would most likely not exist. So by all means, Mike and Pat, close buildings, cut administrators, cut teachers wages. All of these will contribute to the bottom line but are unlikely to completely close the gap. Cut programs, cut services, still not enough. I am not suggesting that some cuts should not be made. I am suggesting that investment in our children and our community sould present a far better return than cutting off our nose to spite our face. Sadly, when it is all said and done, the quality of education in Mokena 159 will catch up to the average cost per pupil spent in Mokena 159, lowest of the low.

When does Markham, Ford and Spalla get sworn in? are they going to be on the April 13th board meeting?

@ KMB - I am serious and so are you yet the argument rages on and still nothing is gained. Here is a question for you, suppose you lived in the Hickory Creek school district. How excited would you be to give a way a sizable portion of your tax base to another school district? Yet we still hear about changing boundarys. Both districts would need to mutually agree to do this and the voters would need to approve. Waste of time and energy. It is not right nor fair for anyone to feel threatened by anyone else. I would hope we are all more civil than that. Maybe the reason that the board keeps saying the same things over and over again is because that is exactly what the situation is. To be clear, Perry and Germany are not board members. Just because one chooses to not believe something does not make it incorrect. As far as credentials are concerned to suggest that one should be stripped of them because you interprit a comment in a way that could be different than the speaker intended makes no sense to me. Would you suggest that Mr. Markham be removed from the board and not allowed near a school ever again because of his past transgressions? That knife cuts both ways. No one is perfect. At the end of all of this rhetoric the issues remain.

@KMB Barb Germany is not just a "secretary." She earned an MBA about two years ago that perfectly qualifies her to hold the position she currently does. The misinformation held and passed on by people in this community is astounding.

Years of financial mismanagement and the misappropriation of funds have lead to this. Not just in the school district, but in the village itself. How many businesses and their tax dollars did Mokena lose to surrounding communities? For years, those running the village refused to allow for sustainable growth. New homes were approved and new schools, but no new businesses. The job of paying for and supporting everything fell on the resident tax payers. Mokena has some of the highest property tax rates in the area, but unlike Frankfort and New Lenox, Mokena voted against commercial growth until it was too late. Now, we've got a shiny new junior high and renovated elementary schools that are barely 50% full. Nearly a quarter of the deficit would be eliminated by closing the under-used intermediate school, but it's been kept open. The adults running the show are worried about themselves rather than the kids. Yes, it's a shame the kids have to suffer, but maybe they'll learn from the mistakes of the adults who were supposed to be looking out for them.

@ KMB unfortunately you are proving my point in my original post about lack of respect and placing blame. For all of the talk about cutting administration how much more are you willing to pay for "qualified" superintendent and "qualified" business manager? Surely you know the difference between Bradberry's pay and Perry's pay. The same goes for the difference between Jim and Barb. One could argue that you get what you pay for. But that could also mean increasing administrative salary spending. Thank you for clarifying that a board of seven people did not choose Mrs. Perry and that Tim King single handedly anointed her. At least we have someone to blame, right? As respects the re-drawing of the boundries perhaps I misunderstood your point. Were you talking about keeping two districts and re-drawing their boundries or were you refering to consolidating two districts into one district? I believe that in either case the voters of each district would have to approve such an action. Interesting that you completely avoided my question about Mr. Markham and his past. @ Kipper, I disagree with you. I believe that the community has failed the community. All of the current board members, with the exception of Tony B., were elected by this community. Tim received enough votes to win a spot on the board. We as a community put him there. We as a community also turned a blind eye to the district when times were good, home values were rising and the economy was growing.

I believe that we did lose as a community. We can all point fingers and place blame but the reality of this is we need to quit pointing blame and hope and pray that the new board members can at least help and try to fix this problem. This is not something that you can just put a band-aid on and this can be fixed. We should all look towards the future now and forget about the past with Bradberry that is over and done with and nothing we can do about it now. Hopefully, everyone that has voted will be happy with who they put in as board members and go from there. Everyone can agree to disagree because that is why we are in the LAND OF THE FREE (thanks to all of the people that have served and are serving right now for us). But no matter what we have a crisis that needs immediate attention. There is going to be no fast fix for this. I am leaving this in GOD's hands as he always has the right answer for everything. All we can do from this point on is hope and pray for the best for our community and for our school district.

The new board members will find out exactly why we needed a "yes" on the referendum. They will get in there and, in time, find out what we all knew in the beginning...but I guess you didn't believe it because Mrs. Perry was the messenger...after all the cost cutting, we still need more money to operate! Check out the situation in Lemont...had to borrow from H.S. district to make payroll this year. No money to open school in August. We're about a year behind them.

I am happy that this referendum failed again. Our property values have decreased, still our property taxes go up. The ability to sell a home in Mokena is becoming increasingly difficult due to the higher taxes in Mokena compared to surrounding communities. In fact my monthly property tax escrow payment is twice my mortgage principle and interest! Additionally I did not see the teachers take a pay cut, nor did I see the administrators hire any non-union teachers to decrease the costs. Unions do not make fine teachers, and many fine non-union teachers could be hired if the will were there. In fact at the junior high I witnessed the better teachers (with less seniority) get laid off and the high-seniority less-eager (and higher paid) teachers stay. We dont need our school district being run by the union, we pay the bills, so we should have the say on teachers salaries and hiring firing. We will have quality schools at sane prices if and only if we go non-union. I personally dont want any more of my property tax payment going to union dues, unsustainable pension promises, and the enormous political contributions (bribes) the unions make to politicians who simply guarantee to the union that they will come pick my pocket later for more taxes. I want politicians that fight for my tax payment, not the ones that fight for the unions who want to forever increase my tax payment.

When a politician says to a public-worker union "Ill fight for your jobs" he's essentially saying I wont represent the taxpayers, I'll represent you. At that point the taxpayer is un-represented because the elected official and the union are in bed together, and nobody is on the other side of the table representing the taxpayer anymore. Collective bargaining at a one-sided table. At least referendums guarantee that someone is representing the taxpayer even if the union and politician are cozied up on the other side of the table.

The referendum lost. The School Board election is over. Ford, Markham and Spalla won. Now let's put all that aside and do the heavy work in 159. Perry. She has a year on her contract, but she's a disaster as a supt. What to do. Most supt contracts have a article that outlines the job description. Most of the time there will be a section that will say "other duties as directed by the School Board". Take Perry and assign her to your first sub teacher everyday. You will still have to pay her contractual salary, but the district will save about $17,000 during the year. Direct her not to do any other duties except sign documents that mandates the supt's signature. Have her set the Board agenda with the Board President and attend Board meetings, but not participate. Assign one of the principals as Head Principal for the year. Pay this person a stipend of $17,000 for the extra work. This principal will communicate with the other principals on a daily basis and solve building problems that are not resolved at the building level and solve district problems with the help of the business manager. All personnel problems will be solved at the building level with the HP's help if necessary. Personnel problems not resolved at the HP level will need to be resolved by the Board. Begin a supt search. Restore all students activities for 2011, freeze all 2011-12 salaries and benefits at 2010-11 levels , restore free student bus services. More to come.

Extend the present teacher contract for 1 year minus the salaries and benefits that will be frozen. Establish ad hoc committees including Board members and community members to discuss and make recommendations to the Board on closing MIS, streamlining and prioritizing student extracurricular activities, total review and revisal of the curricular day and the curriculum that will include length of the student day, evaluation of the teacher workdayand the school calendar. Rehire all non-certified staff for 2011-12. Establish a residency rule for employment and give all present employees 5 years to move into the district. Completely revamp the present pay schedule. Discontinue any contract with the present auditor and school lawyer. Ask IASB for recommendations for new auditor and new lawyer. Interview at least 3 of each. Get ready to pay top $ for GREAT SUPT. And, my major recommendation to the Board is that your were elected to make decisions. Listen to the total school community, but have the guts to make decisions on your knowledge of the district that sometimes can't be shared with the community. Show strength, competence, knowledge and unite the communtiy through great decision making. Your first concern should always be the CHILDREN.

@Mike I hope your last name is Ford. And if it's not, I think you missed your calling.

Good thing Mike Fords kids go to a catholic school! Also thank goodness I live in Frankfort where we have full day kindergarten and great schools that have managed their money. Reading all of these comments just affirms what is wrong with Mokena.

It's unfortunate that our community has been able to rally around this critical issue. Believe me, I understand that we are all progressively over-burdened by taxes in this State.
But for those of you who think Ford is going to be a difference maker - just know that he is divisive - he's not a team builder - it's gonna be interesting.

I spoke earlier today with four former Board members who were on the Board when Perry was selected. It was a Board vote in favor of her over other candidates. No one Board member has the power to "annoint" someone. While I am no fan of hers - you really should speak more factually prior to pointing fingers.
The only thing King has done wrong has been to be a consensus builder in a conflicted Board. If you knew more - you would realize that nothing gets done without a Board vote.

@ Crabby - I believe we agree that no individual acts on behalf of the board. You said it best, "no one board member has the power..." Kudos. @ KMB - This is our communities fault collectively for not being more involved in the school district. @ Mike - You might have guessed that I was/am in support of the referendum however I would rather have the teachers union walk out than extend any contract. That is too easy and does not address the issue. The community should be involved but they should rely on their elected officials to do the heavy lifting. I for one dont care abour residency requirements for teachers, I care about high quality educators in our district, for our kids. Residency is a red herring. I hope that the new board members bring their guts and conviction however I also believe that several members of the current board have what it takes. How could they not? They took something as unpopular as a tax increase to the community three times in a row. What some call ill advised I call gutsy. The easy way out would have been to ignore it and not put it to a vote. Just because someone chooses not believe something does not mean it is wrong.

I attended the band concert at the junior high... When they started to talk about this subject in front of the audience I was tempted to ask them why they choose to turn a humble band concert into a political forum? I would have said... since you've turned this into a forum, tell me how much of a pay cut the teachers union was going to take at this time? Or is the first impulse to, in this order.... cut what the kids get, increase what the taxpayers pay and not even consider cutting your own bloated salaries, benefits and pensions. The union runs the show, not the board, not the parents, anyone who thinks differently is fooling themselves. And the union are the thugs everyone is too afraid of or in-bed with to confront. If the board or the parents were truly in control, then they would have control over something as fundamental as teacher salaries and ability to fire/hire best-value teachers. I resent the band concert being turned into a one-sided political preaching event for the teachers union. A pay freeze is NOT a pay cut.

I agree with RH. My child came home AGAIN yesterday in tears because the teachers are discussing the referendum in class with the students. Who gave the teacher's permission to dicuss this subject with the students?? And we also attended an awards night where the principal got up and started pushing the referendum in front of the children who where there to receive awards. It is dispicable and I for one am sick of the entire thing.

I swear the next time this happens at a school event I'm going to raise my hand and make the conversation continue as though it were a political discussion event instead. Then after wasting the time for what the real event should have been, they'll get the message. My kids are not a pawns. Teachers, just do your job and let the board and citizens run the school. And if you do choose to "educate" my kids about the issue, be sure to present both sides, wont you. It would be a good lesson in finance. Somehow I dont think all you union schills will do that though.

@ RH - Suppose you have an adjustable rate mortgage and your rate is due to adjust in three months. Right now the going rate is significantly lower than what you are paying. You don't get to have your rate adjust until the time when the mortgage allows it to adjust. The situation with the teachers contract is no different. Back in 2006 or 2007 when the last teachers contract was entered into the economy was different. The contract is the contract. Hind sight is always 20/20. I'm not personally a big fan of unions and like you believe that the board should negotiate hard this time around. I too have been at band concerts and heard the presentations. I heard them remind everyone that there were important issues at hand, encourage people to get the facts and vote. Maybe the message was different at your concert RH or your awards night KMB. And kudos to the bands and choir for sounding great and to all the students who earned awards!

The teachers could save your district and their fellow teachers if they would agree to take a pay cut and freeze for a year or two. It is really too bad teachers are in a union. If it were a corporation they would just give them a percentage pay cut and no raises for a year or two and things would probably be solved. That's what has happened to my husband to save his company.