Monday, December 31, 2012
These are the most-popular articles in 2012—not necessarily the "best."
Readers' top stories of the year weren't always the "top" stories of the year, but there was signficant overlap with those most of us would call important or newsworthy. If you'd like to compare this list to a more-newsy list, check out Geneva Patch's "year in review" series loosely titled "Geneva Newsmakers of 2012." The series looks at the people who made the news but also reflects both the most important stories and the most popular stories of the year. There's no doubt that the No. 1 story was also the one most-followed by Geneva Patch readers. The No. 2 most-read story falls into the category that's (perhaps sadly) always at the top of the reading list: celebrities. The remainder in this list represents individual stories that made …
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Three things need to happen before the issue of inflated enrollment projection numbers can be put to rest.
Now that Brenda Schory's story has been published in the Kane County Chronicle, and with so much going on in School District 304—kindergarten class sizes, Coultrap demolition, teachers' contract negotiations—there is a chance that the "Enrollmentgate" issue will quietly fade to black. It shouldn't. Here's why. The issue is that enrollment projection numbers presented to the public prior to 2007's $80 million building-bond referendum were not the same as those submitted to the district by its professional consultant. The projections were made up, pure and simple—pulled out of someone's hat and presented in charts and graphs, sanctioned by the School District and presented on its website. It's not a little thing. It's called voter fraud, and…
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Kane County Chronicle report reveals a lot of details and background about the inflated 2007 referendum enrollment numbers, as well as who did what. So do the projection numbers themselves.
Whether you're a School Board member or a TaxFACTS "disciple," you have to appreciate the work Brenda Schory put into today's (June 13, 2012) Kane County Chronicle story on the "Enrollmentgate" issue. Schory outlined the background, interviewed probably a dozen of the people involved in the pre-2007 enrollment-projection process and went through stacks of Freedom of Information Act-gathered materials to create a fuller picture and understanding of the issue, as well as what's at stake. The issue, of course, is that the enrollment projections distributed to the public prior to the 2007 referendum were much higher than those of a professional consultant hired by the district. The referendum passed by 100 votes out of the 4,910 ballots cast, …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
The Kane County Chronicle reports that more than 100 people came out on Monday night to find out more about Geneva School District 304
Geneva TaxFACTS has enough of a following to draw more than 100 people to a community forum on school spending, the Kane County Chronicle reports. The town hall meeting, hosted by the citizens group, was held Monday night at the First Baptist Church, 2300 South St., Geneva. According to the Chronicle story, the discussion touched on the recent dispute over enrollment projections the School District distributed prior to the 2007 building bond referendum. TaxFACTS co-founder Bob McQuillan and other member of the group have called for the resignation of School Board members and administrators who were responsible for the release of the projections, which were higher than those presented by a consultant. The article said McQuillan called on …
41.88318
-88.33718
First Baptist Church of Geneva
2300 South St, Geneva, IL
/articles/taxfacts-town-hall-meeting-draws-more-than-100-people
318875
/locations/7154043
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
"The accusation that district officials did anything deceptive is untrue," School District 304 says in a press release issued Tuesday afternoon.
Less than two hour before Tuesday's School Board meeting, Geneva School District 304 issued a press release and posted a statement on its website in response to the so-called "Enrollmentgate" accusations. Members of the Geneva TaxFACTS organization had pointed out that the enrollment numbers distributed to the general public prior to a 2007 building bond referendum were higher than the numbers given the board by its consultant, Dr. John Kasarda. The Kasarda report's "most aggressive" estimates said Geneva enrollment would be 6,670 by 2011-12 school year. The number presented in campaign literature was 7,472 students by 2012. According to the press release, School District staff spent more than a week pouring over meeting minutes and …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Citizens group says Geneva's School Board is "grossly underestimating the seriousness" of allegations that the administration purposefully misinformed voters prior to a 2007 referendum.
Who came up with the inflated enrollment numbers distributed to the public prior to the 2007 referendum? How did those numbers end up on informational flyers and the School District's website? Was there a purposeful effort to deceive the public? And if so, should the School Board members or staff members responsible be asked to resign? These are some of the questions raised at Monday night's School Board meeting by Geneva TaxFACTS member Sandra Ellis during a two-part presentation in separate public-comment periods. In a Powerpoint printout, Ellis showed a graphic that appeared on the School District's website in 2006 that indicated enrollment growth projections rising annually, from 5,854 in 2006 to 7,472 in 2012—an increase of 1,618 …
41.89081
-88.31847
School District 304 Coultrap Facility
1113 Peyton St, Geneva, IL
/articles/taxfacts-member-asks-for-resignations-over-enrollmentgate
1760139
/locations/7030894
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
There were some very good moments and some not-so-good at Monday's School Board meeting.
I think it might have been the great Joe Gillette who brought to The Beacon-News editorial page a fun feature called "Bows and Arrows." It was an opinion piece in which The Beacon's editorial board handed out "bows" for good works, good deeds and good behavior and "arrows" for not-so-wonderful works, deeds and behaviors. As I recall, there was a cute "bow" (as in a tied ribbon) graphic and an "arrow" (pointy projectile) graphic that went with each item. There are a few bow-and-ribbon moments from Monday's School Board meeting that I'd like to highlight, just for the record and to make note of moments that didn't make the "QuickStory" that followed. Please envision the little "bow" graphic and "arrow" graphic before each bullet point and …
41.89081
-88.31847
School District 304 Coultrap Facility
1113 Peyton St, Geneva, IL
/articles/bows-and-arrows-a-review-of-monday-s-school-board-meeting
1760139
/locations/6876799
Monday, April 23, 2012
School Board President Mark Grosso acknowledges that enrollment numbers presented to the public prior to the 2007 referendum were higher than a consultant's, but seeks no investigation. "We can't go back in history," he says.
School Board President Mark Grosso addressed the "Enrollmentgate" issue at Monday night's School Board meeting, but did not invite public comment after he made his explanation. As promised, Grosso personally looked into the enrollment numbers that the School District released to the public prior to 2007's $79 million referendum. The referendum sought public approval to build two new schools and passed by a 100-vote margin—2,495 to 2,395. Grosso acknowledged Monday that enrollment projection numbers presented on the district website and distributed by referendum supporters in 2007 were higher than the projections presented to the district by consulting demographer John Kasarda. Kasarda's "B" range projections for the 2011-12 school year …
41.89081
-88.31847
School District 304 Coultrap Facility
1113 Peyton St, Geneva, IL
/articles/quickstory-grosso-on-enrollmentgate-we-can-t-go-back-in-history
1760139
/locations/6864011
Thursday, April 19, 2012
School District 304 Board President Mark Grosso will have an on-camera comment regarding the "Enrollmentgate" questions raised by TaxFACTS member Bob McQuillan.
TaxFACTS members are calling it "Enrollmentgate." School Board members are calling it a "gotcha moment" that distracts from the real challenges facing the district at this time. What's at issue is whether Geneva School District 304 officials knowingly released hyped-up enrollment projection numbers prior to the 2007 referendum that approved construction of two new Geneva schools. That $79 million referendum passed by 100 votes—2,495 "yes" votes to 2,395 "no" votes. School Board President Mark Grosso said Wednesday evening that he would make some sort of statement at Monday night's School Board meeting regarding accusations made by TaxFACT leader Bob McQuillan at the April 9 board meeting. During the public comment part of that meeting, …
John R
9:39 am on Saturday, July 7, 2012
I agree with Mitotero's comment. more ›