THURSDAY
Jan u a r y 2 2, 2015 • $1 .0 0
‘BACHELOR’ EXIT Algonquin native goes home from show, says she learned a lot about reality TV
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Planit Play, 4
D-155 OKs issuing bonds
Complete forecast on page A8
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PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS WEIGH CURRICULUM REVISIONS
Mixing in Common Core
Will fix, update its high schools By EMILY K. COLEMAN ecoleman@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Science lab renovations, asbestos abatement and new special education accommodations are being lined up for this summer. The School District 155 Board, in a 6-0 vote Tuesday evening, approved issuing up to $10 million in general obligation bonds to fund two years worth of projects at all four of its high school buildings. This is the second half of bonds approved following the required public hearing process last year, said the Crystal Lake-based district’s interim chief financial officer, Martin McConahay. The bonds did not need to go to a referendum because the dollars they generated must be spent on health, life and safety projects. The approximately $10 million in bonds issued last year were part of a refinancing move that reduced the amount that property owners collectively need to cover the district’s principal and interest by about two-thirds. Debt service cost taxpayers $3.675 million in 2012-13, McConahay said. That number fell $750,000 last year, will remain level this year and is expected to go down another $1.5 million when the district passes its property tax levy in 2016. That line item on tax bills will stay at that reduced level for several years, according to board documents. The second half of the bonds will be sold by the end of this month, McConahay said. The exact amount and interest rate the district will get will be determined at that time, he said, adding that the average interest
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Norma Viets (left) talks with Aiden Ayares, 10, during fifth-grade math class Tuesday at Immanuel Lutheran School in Crystal Lake. If private schools don’t accept federal money, they don’t need to follow Common Core. The new curriculum standards are affecting textbooks and the standardized tests required to get into college. Immanuel Lutheran adopted math textbooks tied to the Common Core.
Local private schools selectively adopting new standards By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Using new math textbooks aligned to Common Core standards, Ed Bower sometimes finds himself dropping the text and teaching students in his pre-algebra class at Immanuel Lutheran School the basics about integers. Bower, the school principal, who is teaching one pre-algebra class this year, said he detours from the textbook because the new education standards within it assume students have already mastered the initial lessons of adding, subtracting, multiplying and
“We have the freedom as a nonpublic school to devise our own curriculum. We incorporate parts of the Common Core, but yet we also hold to some of the more traditional steps in teaching.” Ed Bower Principal of Immanuel Lutheran School in Crystal Lake
dividing whole numbers. “We have the freedom as a nonpublic school to devise our own curriculum,” Bower said. “We incorporate parts of the Common Core, but yet we also hold to some of the more traditional steps in
teaching.” Like many parochial schools across the nation, Immanuel Lutheran in Crystal Lake is selectively revising its math and English curricula to fit the Common Core, a controversial set of standards
adopted by Illinois, 42 other states and the District of Columbia. In public schools, the debate over the standards focuses on local control and a perceived federal takeover of curricula. In private schools, many are adopting certain Common Core standards out of necessity. Publishers are increasingly producing textbooks aligned to the Common Core, limiting options for parochial schools. Many privately educated students also go on to public high school, where they will be taught the rigorous standards.
See COMMON CORE, page A6
See D-155, page A6
County Board extends contract with lobbyists for 1 more year By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Board again extended its contract with its Washington, D.C., lobbying firm over the objections of a minority questioning the benefit. Board members voted Tuesday evening, 17-6, in favor of a one-year extension of its 2014 contract with
Ferguson Group, not to exceed $82,000. The county has employed Ferguson since 2005 to help augment the county’s working relationships with its representatives in Congress. The brief debate that played out mirrored past discussions when Ferguson’s contract came up for renewal – the faction most dedicated to limiting government size and spending questions either the cost
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versus the benefit, or questions the practice of government lobbying on general principle. “People want to know, ‘Hey, are you really serious about reducing spending and cutting the size of government, or is it just something you say in a campaign slogan, and after the campaign go back to business
See LOBBYING, page A6
How they voted The McHenry County Board voted Tuesday evening, 17-6, to extend its contract with a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm for another year. Members Diane Evertsen, R-Harvard, Andrew Gasser, R-Fox River Grove, John Hammerand, R-Wonder Lake, Donna Kurtz, R-Crystal Lake, Michael Walkup, R-Crystal Lake, and Charles
LOCAL NEWS
WHERE IT’S AT
8 indicted in tax scheme
Advice ..................................C8 Business Snapshot ...........A7 Buzz.................................... C10 Classified........................D1-12 Comics .................................C9 Community ......................... B1 Local News.......................A1-6 Lottery..................................A2 Movies.......................Planit 13 Nation&World.................B3-4 Obituaries ...........................A7 Opinions ............................. B2 Planit Play .....................Inside Puzzles .............................D8-9 Sports................................C1-7 State .................................... B3 Weather ...............................A8
McHenry, CL, Marengo residents charged as part of tax-service fraud case / A3 STATE
Wheeler, R-McHenry, voted no. The board also voted, 19-4, to approve its state and federal legislative agenda – Evertsen, Hammerand, Kurtz and Walkup voted no. Hammerand, who is out of state, participated by phone. Member Michael Skala, R-Huntley, was absent.
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Raiders rely on solid defense
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Huntley boys basketball beats struggling McHenry to move to 2-1 in FVC Valley / C1
State senator revamping school funding overhaul to boost chances with lawmakers / B3
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