We support Rick Boultinghouse for the District 97 Board of Education because we trust him to stand for fiscal responsibility and accountability to the community. Rick has been our source for insight into the district in the several years we’ve known him. He made time to attend most board meetings when we couldn’t, and his knowledge of the district’s workings and history informs his opinions.
Like many of us, he felt betrayed after the passage of the 2011 referendum that increased D97’s tax revenues. The bill passed because voters wanted to protect essentials such as arts, music, and foreign language instruction — but the board then turned around and rubber-stamped an unproven $500,000 reading software program (Fast ForWord) and set forth upon elaborate plans for a new administration building.
Now we are concerned about $2 million spent on iPads that many parents believe have been shoehorned into the curriculum without proper consideration of their pedagogical value, the hazards of excessive screen time, and basic Internet security and privacy concerns.
While Rick has sometimes represented the voice of community dissent at board meetings, he has not merely been a critic. He serves on the district’s CLAIM committee, which monitors legislation that will affect the district — such as the School Funding Reform Act of 2014, which would have significantly cut state aid to D97. That bill is back on the books for 2015, and the district stands to lose millions a year. Factor in shifting pension costs and state spending cuts, and the district will not be able to fund programming and staffing at current levels.
Rick is raising the alarm. We are worried about the future of our children’s education. Rick Boultinghouse can help the board and the district regain the trust of taxpayers and parents.
Laura Lallos and David Harrell
Oak Park