A Knight in Dragonland

From the staff editorial in the weekend edition (April 7-8) of the Daily Times (bold emphasis mine):
At this time, it should be apparent the progress toward consolidation that a November 2006 referendum told the two districts to work toward is stalled. The reason: Pekin schools and feeder districts have unique situations that make us [...]

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The Peoria Journal Star editors really need to keep their noses out of Tazewell County. The JS has paid virtually no attention to the Pekin school district consolidation issue, but for some reason they now feel the need to make a ridiculous proclamation on today’s editorial page. Their ignorance on the consolidation issue [...]

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The District 303 School Board officially declared the school district consolidation issue dead on Monday night by declining to carry through with an official study of the issue. With a mandate from the state requiring inclusion of the other feeder districts in deciding this issue, and no interest from those districts, most board members [...]

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The contrarian in me is itching to post something to antagonize my stalker, although I have no idea what I said that so offended them. My usual topics of discussion are experiencing a bit of a lull.
The school consolidation issue seems dead in the water – the proper place for that proposal, in my [...]

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Jim Mangan’s state of denial regarding the “benefits” and feasibility of consolidating Districts 108 and 303 has now crossed the border into pathologic.
The Wednesday edition of the Times contains an article entitled “District views the financial impact of consolidation.” The Illinois State Board of Education and District 303 administrators put together financial numbers regarding [...]

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I was saddened to learn that the rumors regarding Don White’s resignation as District 108 superintendent were indeed true. In my opinion, Pekin students are losing a quality advocate. My exposure to Dr. White was very limited, but I found him to be extremely intelligent and hard-working. He truly seems to have [...]

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OK, Rick. You vigorously defended your paper against my suggestion that it might be acting as Jim Mangan’s mouthpiece a little too much.
But now … page 1, lead article … “Citizens challenge candidates.”
For one thing, that title is misleading. I read the article several times to make sure that I didn’t miss anything, [...]

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I had to re-read the opening article of today’s Pekin Daily Times to make sure I was interpreting this correctly (bold emphasis is mine):
The District 303 board has three seats open – those of Larry Howard, Jim Mangan and Mark Rossi. All are for four-year terms. Howard is the only incumbent to file for re-election. [...]

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Yes, I know … I’ve been remiss in my blogging duties in regards to Pekin school consolidation. Blame the multiple viral plagues that runneth amok throughout the city of Pekin. M’lady, myself and all four Little Dragons have been sick with not one, but two different viruses that have made their sickly way [...]

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Today the Journal Star Opinion page served as the Pekin School District consolidation battleground. On the pro-consolidation side, we find a letter from Dr. Fred Reader with the sensational title of “Duplicate districts gouge taxpayers.” Challenging the need for a consolidation study is District 108 Superintendent Don White. His piece in the [...]

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It seems that my interpretation of the Illinois statute governing school consolidation is correct, at least according to Don White, District 108 superintendent. White offered his clarification as a letter to the editor in the Times today.
White attributes the following quote to 108 board attorney Mike Tibbs:
A petition to create an optional elementary unit [...]

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Well, it seems like Jim Mangan isn’t the only one who writes “specials” to the Times regarding consolidation. Today we have a piece by former 108 board member Sandi Roos-Ellwanger entitled “District 108 shows voters no respect.”
Ms. Roos-Ellwanger has some not-so-nice things to say about district 108 superintendent Don White and the 108 school [...]

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Both the District 108 and District 303 school boards met on Monday night to vote on tax levies for the upcoming year and discuss the issue of school consolidation.
I’m not going to weigh in on the issue of tax levies. Frankly, all the discussion of abatements and different state & local regulations makes [...]

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I’d like to thank Michael Legel of Tremont for his letter to the editor that was published in today’s Daily Times. Sometimes I wonder if I’m talking to myself here, and it’s nice to see someone with the same perspective in print.
Money Quote:
School consolidation is more about saving money. Comparing test scores is a [...]

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Well, we all knew this was coming, right? It’s time to blog about the latest in a LONG series of Jim Mangan rants, and the first since his smackdown at the last 303 school board meeting. First we heard from his journalistic proxy and official brown-noser, Mike Noyes. Now the big man [...]

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