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It will also add a conference room for
parents and teachers and will make the entrance fully
handicapped-accessible, according to Superintendent Bailey Climer.
The new entrance for visitors will be
on the west side of the building rather than the north side, where
it currently is, and will also provide added security. The secretary
will have visual access to the new entrance and the parking lot, the
door will be locked, and visitors will have to press a buzzer to get
in.
The $265,000 project will be funded by
bonds for the school's working cash fund. The district published a
notice and held a public hearing, but since no one petitioned the
board to have a referendum, the bonds can be issued without being
put to a vote. The bond issue is for six years at an interest rate
of less than 4 percent.
The board has yet to choose one of two
possible plans for the addition. The initial design was done by the
J.H. Petty architectural firm in Springfield. Lincoln resident Bob
Schattuck, a member of the firm, helped develop the plan, Climer
said. The project will take six to eight months to complete.
Unlike many of the school districts in
Illinois that are facing financial problems because of cuts in state
aid, West Lincoln-Broadwell is in solid financial shape, Climer
said. The school has a low poverty rate and substantial commercial
and residential development in its district.
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this article] |
"We do anticipate a cut in state
funding. Every district will receive a cut, but we receive very
little, just under $60,000 a year, in state aid," he said. "The
biggest financial challenge we face is that we are under tax caps.
That limits us to a 5-percent-a-year increase in the tax levy, with
the exception of new construction."
He said his biggest concern regarding
state funding is about reimbursement for transportation and special
education expenses. "Transportation is supposed to be reimbursed at
80 percent of expenses. The state may be cutting that 80 percent by
another 80 percent, so if that happens, we will get only 64 percent
of expenses." Total annual budget for the district is about $1.85
million, he said.
"We are very appreciative of the
support of the property owners and taxpayers in our district," he
added, "and we will continue to be very conservative in our
financial planning."
West
Lincoln-Broadwell has about 190 students and 15 teachers. Climer
became superintendent in July of 2002, after former superintendent
Dorothy Romberg left to take a position elsewhere.
[Joan Crabb]
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Blagojevich signed a set of three executive orders Thursday that he
said “answer a critical need for our state. It provides a logical
and meaningful response to what has occurred in Illinois.”
“These
executive orders are designed to change a culture of corruption that
has permeated state government,” he said.
“From
now on, higher ethical standards will be required -- and expected --
of state employees.”
A key
result of the governor's order will be the appointment of an
individual who will be assigned to carry out investigations of
potential acts of public corruption allegedly committed by any
employee of the governor's office or other parts of the government
under his jurisdiction.
Additionally, the executive orders will empower members of the
public to report any instances of corruption, provide greater
protections to state employees who turn over such information and
instruct state employees about the ethics rules that they are
supposed to follow.
The
measures announced Jan. 23 represent the second round of executive
orders the new governor has issued since taking office last week
that are aimed at dramatically reforming state government.
The
previous week he terminated more than 30 of the previous governor's
last-minute political appointees, froze the ability of agency heads
to acquire new cars or pad the state payroll, and appointed a new
special investigator to determine the qualifications of people
holding jobs throughout the state government as well as the need for
such positions in the first place.
Blagojevich stressed that his work on strengthening ethics and
cleaning up state government would not be limited to the actions
announced Thursday.
“Stopping public corruption and improving ethical standards will be
ongoing priorities for my administration. The people of Illinois
expect a new day of integrity, of openness and accountability -- and
they deserve a government as good and honest as they are,” the
governor said.
The
executive orders unveiled Thursday included the following reforms:
1. Creation of an
independent inspector general and establishment of an ethics hotline
Blagojevich's executive order calls for the establishment of an
independent inspector general who will be assigned to investigate
any allegations of corruption or any other misconduct by any
employee in his office as well as any agency, department, board or
commission directly responsible to the governor.
To
ensure the greatest degree of independence, the inspector general
will have a full staff, will have direct and ongoing access to the
governor, and will report to him.
He
stressed that “every supervisor, every employee, who is responsible
to me should understand that cooperating with the inspector general
is not just something you should do -- but something you should want
to do,” adding that uncovering corruption will win an employee
praise from the governor.
[to top of second column in
this article] |
In
addition to creating the new inspector general's position, the
executive order also allows individual citizens of Illinois to play
a role in reporting and uncovering any instances that have witnessed
involving corruption or unethical behavior.
As part
of this executive order, Blagojevich will direct the inspector
general to establish a “Citizens Ethics Hotline,” a toll-free phone
number that any member of the general public can call to anonymously
and confidentially report instances of public corruption.
“This
hotline will put the public to work as our eyes and ears to help
ensure higher ethical standards,” he said.
2. Whistle-blower protection
Blagojevich's second executive order encourages employees to come
forward with information and protects them when they do.
“This administration will protect whistle-blowers,” Blagojevich
said.
The executive order will allow for personnel action to be taken
against anyone who retaliates against a whistle-blower.
Currently, state law makes it illegal to intimidate, silence or
threaten whistle-blowers. The governor said that he seeks to take
immediate administrative action to punish people who threaten
whistle-blowers.
“In my administration, whistle-blowers will no longer be viewed as
troublemakers -- instead, they will be encouraged to act as
troubleshooters,” the governor said.
3. Ethics training for all state employees
“Reforming a system of corruption requires more than simply
replacing corrupt public officials,” he said.
“We must also change the culture -- and establish a new mindset.”
To accomplish that goal, Blagojevich's third executive order
mandates an ethics training program for all state employees. The
training will be set in motion by the governor's general counsel.
The sessions and related documents would be designed to clear up any
lingering questions that employees or the public might have about
what constitutes proper and improper behavior. The governor stressed
that such training has become common in the private sector in the
wake of Enron and will become standard operating procedure in his
administration.
Blagojevich added that further ethics reforms will be included in
legislation which he will be developing in partnership with Attorney
General Lisa Madigan. Such legislation will be introduced in the
Illinois Legislature in the future.
(Listen to the
governor's archived news conference -- audio)
(View the
governor's archived news conference -- video)
Executive Order Number 3
Executive Order Number 4
Executive Order Number 5
[Illinois
Government News Network
press release]
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