D-158 parents dismiss special-education plan

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HUNTLEY – Administrators presented the District 158 school board Thursday night with a revised plan to spend $1.6 million in federal stimulus dollars on special education.

While some board members were receptive, eight parents of special-needs children in attendance spoke out against various pieces of the proposal.

“I feel like there was a lot of input that was missed, not only by staff but by parents,” said parent Kathleen Trautmann regarding a recent district questionnaire. “Out of 1,300 [Individualized Education Programs], only 63 parents completed the survey. I think you missed the mark on that, too.”

But perhaps the biggest sticking point with parents is the initiative to spend $360,000 on several dozen Read 180 and System 44 reading program licenses.

Parent Linda Betzold called Read 180 a “big red flag” that hasn’t been independently researched for positive benefits, specifically for special-needs students.

“We talked about a pilot,” Betzold said.

“Pilot says, to me, scaled back, spending less money,” Betzold said. “I see the word ‘pilot,’ but I still see $360,000.”

However, Special Services Director Cheryl Kalkirtz said she was confident in the programs, as they continually were being developed for a variety of students.

“It saddens me if we were to pull the plug on a project that we have begun to implement, that has been proven to be successful with students, improving their lexiles and reading needs,” Kalkirtz said.

Board member Aileen Seedorf became visibly angered during the three-hour discussion, and opined that the reading licenses should be pared down and a district study completed before buying so many.

“I’m still extremely frustrated,” she said. “The parents were very specific asking that we not dump X amount of money, which was a large amount of money, on Read 180.”

Board member Don Drzal also was not in favor of the price tag.

“I don’t even want to spend $80,000 on Read 180,” Drzal said, amid claps from parents.

Administrators might bring back more information and alternatives next week, when the school board could vote on approving the tentative plan. The regular meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday in the administrative board room, 650 Academic Drive, Algonquin.

What's next


The District 158 school board will revisit and possibly vote on the special-education proposal during its next regular meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in the administrative board room, 650 Academic Drive, Algonquin.

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