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News
Early learning center's fate up to state : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisEarly learning center's fate up to state
| Visiting lawmakers voice support for efforts to keep Brokaw open
| by Lyle R. Rolfe
| 2/25/2010
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It was like preaching to the choir, but Oswego School District officials still wanted two state lawmakers to see what district parents and children could be losing if state funding does not come through for the Brokaw Early Learning Center at 1000 Fifth Street, Oswego.
So, State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, chairman of the House Secondary and Elementary Education Appropriations Committee and State Rep. Tom Cross, R-Oswego, accepted an invitation from Superintendent Dr. Dan O'Donnell, and Brokaw Principal Jeff Modaff to visit the facility last week.
The visitors, which also included Dan Hoefler, president of the Oswego Teachers Association, the school district's teachers' union, had an opportunity to see the facility buzzing with activities. It was also the day when parents were allowed to attend classes with their children. A dog was also brought into the classrooms for the children to pet and learn about.
During their visit, the legislators talked to parents and observed the children in their classes.
One mother told Chapa-LaVia she would have to stay home with her child if the center were closed.
Another mother, Nikita Ellis of Oswego, said taking care of kids is not cheap "and when you have children with special needs it's a lot more expensive and a lot of people no longer have the money," she said.
Her three-year-old son Julian is blind, but she said the teachers do an awesome job with him considering they have very few books written in Braille.
She had her one-year-old son Preston on her lap as she talked to Chapa-LaVia who was taking notes.
Melissa Mendoza, Brokaw's special education administrator, said, "People need this service more now than ever with the economy the way it is. We're seeing more and more people come in needing this. But now it's coming down to the state level and we're hearing we may not have this any more and that's very scary for us," she said.
Children are accepted into the school by need. Mendoza said students include homeless children, those whose parents are incarcerated, foster children as well as at-risk students.
Modaff said children are screened to check for developmental concerns and to review possible eligibility through the state's At-Risk criteria.
The students with the highest needs are either referred to a support team to determine eligibility for special education services or enrolled into the at-risk program.
Lessons are designed to meet the needs of all students and by age five prepare them for success in kindergarten. The curriculum provides goals and assessment for students and progress is monitored for each individual child.
Modaff said their curriculum is closely aligned to the Illinois Early Childhood Learning Standards. There are no specific academic or social achievement requirements for students.
If Brokaw is closed, families will have to keep the children home or find other places such as a private preschool.
"Although these other preschools are excellent, many of the children would not receive the intensity of intervention or the amount of resources available that Brokaw can provide," Modaff said.
Most of Brokaw funding
comes from state grants
"There is no other preschool of this kind within the Oswego School District boundaries. It should also be stated that the at-risk program has a major positive affect on the effectiveness of instruction for our special education population," he said.
"There are currently no fees or tuition required for attendance in our program," he added.
The school has an annual budget of $1.2 million, most of which comes from the state as a categorical grant which means the money can be used only for this school.
Modaff said most of the district's cost is for student transportation which includes about 85 percent of the students, Chapa-LaVia suggested they see if state funding can be obtained to help pay for transportation.
Financially, last year was almost a disaster, O'Donnell said. The state had talked about cutting so much, they would have been able to teach only special needs children. Then the state came up to 35 percent funding and finally 90 percent, he added.
It appears they will get through this school year but the 2010-11 school year is anybody's guess, he said. The state has no idea what the funding will be. It could be nothing and it could be the same as this year, he said.
The center has a staff of 83 people which includes 17 teachers and 27 teacher assistants and paraprofessionals. He said 59 people are employed by the Kendall County Special Education Cooperative and 24 by the Oswego School District.
O'Donnell said they have accepted only children living in the district, and in response to a question from Cross, said they have used every method possible to inform residents the school is available.
O'Donnell said he felt having the legislators visit the school will help them see and understand where some of the dollars they allocate are going and how they are being used. "I think it's good for them to come and see the school in action," he said.
"These kids don't know about the silly games we're playing (in Springfield). It has to stop. Those who come to the table and work together are winners. They're not losers," Chapa LaVia said. "People in this state are very upset. People want this to get done."
Cross said he is sold on the early learning center concept.
"I don't think there's any question on the need. The positives are certainly there. Anytime we can emphasize early childhood education and get things done on the front end, it pays long-term dividends for the state,
"I'm committed to the program. Now we'll have to see how the rest of the General Assembly feels about it," Cross said, adding, "Certainly we want to be committed to make this work."
Chapa-LaVia compared the state's financial situation to kids being in a burning building and no first responders are coming.
"What we're doing right now by not acting on some kind of revenue enhancement for education is intellectual child abuse," she said.
"We're not giving them the resources to become productive citizens and in the end it hurts everybody. I'm going to keep on pushing to get people to come to the table and find some resolution for it.
She added, "From what I know in my position as chairman of the Appropriation Committee for Elementary and Secondary Education, the state owes 871 school districts in the state close to $1 billion in money we haven't given them. The ISBE (Illinois State Board of Education), is presenting a budget to the governor and they will be coming to my committee meeting next week," Chapa-LaVia said.
She said the governor is going to ask everyone to take a 20 percent cut and said they can't cut any deeper. If there were a tax increase as some legislators have proposed, those funds would have to be used for existing pension, Medicaid and other existing obligations, she noted.
"The only resources school districts have right now is to do some type of referendum in their own districts," she added.
O'Donnell said the district has been telling its staff and the people for two months that there is no money and added that they are finally beginning to understand.
Chapa-LaVia said she estimated that 12,000 teachers will be laid off throughout the state for the 2010-11 school year.
Because of union rules, any teachers to be laid off next year by the Oswego School District must be notified by April 1 even though the district has no idea what its funding will be next year. They can be hired back if funds become available.
"Linda and I can work in a bipartisan way to try to get some stuff done," Cross said.
Chapa-LaVia said no one on her committee is partisan.
"They all work together," she said.
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