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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The Governor's Office of Management and Budget is | ||||||
3 | requiring negotiations with existing regional superintendents | ||||||
4 | of schools to abolish some of the statutorily created Regional | ||||||
5 | Offices of Education without General Assembly input; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The Governor's Office of Management and Budget and | ||||||
7 | the State Board of Education are pursuing a new regional map | ||||||
8 | showing the reduction of Regional Offices of Education without | ||||||
9 | General Assembly input; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The elected office of the Regional Superintendent | ||||||
11 | of Schools is statutorily created in Articles 3 and 3A of the | ||||||
12 | School Code; any changes to the number, duties, and | ||||||
13 | responsibilities of the regional superintendents can only be | ||||||
14 | realized with General Assembly action; and
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15 | WHEREAS, The Regional Superintendent is the direct | ||||||
16 | successor of the Commissioner of School Lands; and
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17 | WHEREAS, In 1829, the Sixth General Assembly made it the | ||||||
18 | duty of the body known as the County Board to appoint a | ||||||
19 | competent and responsible person to act as commissioner and | ||||||
20 | agent for the county in the sale of public lands; in 1841, the | ||||||
21 | General Assembly changed the title to County Commissioner, an | ||||||
22 | ex-officio county superintendent of schools; in 1865, the | ||||||
23 | General Assembly called for the election of the county | ||||||
24 | superintendent of schools; and | ||||||
25 | WHEREAS, Until 1973, there were 102 County Superintendents | ||||||
26 | in Illinois, one for each county; by the consolidation of | ||||||
27 | smaller counties into regions, that number was reduced by the | ||||||
28 | General Assembly to 78; in 1977, further consolidation of | ||||||
29 | smaller counties reduced the number of regions to 57;
in 1994, | ||||||
30 | the General Assembly eliminated the office of the Regional |
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1 | Superintendent in Cook County as of June 30, 1994; subsequent | ||||||
2 | General Assembly action allowed for its reinstatement on August | ||||||
3 | 7, 1995; In 1995, the General Assembly reduced the 57 | ||||||
4 | Educational Service Regions to 45; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Section 3-1 of the School Code states: | ||||||
6 | "Quadrennially there shall be elected in every county...a | ||||||
7 | regional superintendent of schools, who shall enter upon the | ||||||
8 | discharge of his duties on the first Monday of August next | ||||||
9 | after his election"; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, Section 3A-1 of the School Code states: "Each | ||||||
11 | county of the State shall, except as otherwise provided in this | ||||||
12 | Article, be designated as an educational service region"; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Section 3A-2 of the School Code states: "The chief | ||||||
14 | administrative officer of an educational service region shall | ||||||
15 | be designated and referred to as 'Regional Superintendent of | ||||||
16 | Schools' or 'regional superintendent.' Such person shall, in | ||||||
17 | his region, have the powers and duties and perform the | ||||||
18 | functions required of or exercisable by a county superintendent | ||||||
19 | of schools, except as otherwise provided by law."; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, Section 3-0.01 of the School Code states: "the | ||||||
21 | chief administrative officer of an educational service region | ||||||
22 | shall be designated and referred to as the 'regional | ||||||
23 | superintendent of schools' or the 'regional superintendent' | ||||||
24 | and...the office held by the chief administrative officer shall | ||||||
25 | be designated and referred to as the 'regional office of | ||||||
26 | education'"; and | ||||||
27 | WHEREAS, Section 3-2.5 of the School Code states:
"the | ||||||
28 | regional superintendents of schools shall receive for their | ||||||
29 | services an annual salary according to the population, as | ||||||
30 | determined by the last preceding federal census, of the region | ||||||
31 | they serve, as set out in the following schedule.... The salary |
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1 | that the regional superintendent of schools receives for his or | ||||||
2 | her services shall be adjusted annually to reflect the | ||||||
3 | percentage increase, if any, in the most recent Consumer Price | ||||||
4 | Index..., except that no annual increment may exceed 2.9%.... | ||||||
5 | When regional superintendents are authorized by the School Code | ||||||
6 | to appoint assistant regional superintendents, the assistant | ||||||
7 | regional superintendent shall receive an annual salary based on | ||||||
8 | his or her qualifications and computed as a percentage of the | ||||||
9 | salary of the regional superintendent to whom he or she is | ||||||
10 | assistant, as set out in the following schedule.... The | ||||||
11 | salaries provided in this Section for regional superintendents | ||||||
12 | and assistant regional superintendents are payable monthly | ||||||
13 | from the Common School Fund."; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, Section 3-14.2 of the School Code states: "The | ||||||
15 | county superintendent of schools shall exercise supervision | ||||||
16 | and control over all school districts within the county."; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Section 3A-4 of the School Code states: "After | ||||||
18 | October 15, 1993, each region must contain at least 43,000 | ||||||
19 | inhabitants.... If locally determined consolidation decisions | ||||||
20 | result in more than 45 regions of population greater than | ||||||
21 | 43,000 each, the State Board of Education shall direct further | ||||||
22 | consolidation, beginning with the region of lowest population, | ||||||
23 | until the number of 45 regions is achieved."; and | ||||||
24 | WHEREAS, The Governor's Office of Management and Budget is | ||||||
25 | not authorized to change the number and responsibilities of the | ||||||
26 | regional superintendents; and | ||||||
27 | WHEREAS, Before any changes are considered to the School | ||||||
28 | Code in relation to regional superintendents, the General | ||||||
29 | Assembly should focus on what is in the best interest of | ||||||
30 | students, teachers, and parents; therefore, be it
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31 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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1 | NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
2 | the House Appropriations - Elementary & Secondary Education | ||||||
3 | Committee shall hold subject matter hearings with regard to the | ||||||
4 | regional delivery of educational services and that the | ||||||
5 | Committee's chairperson shall post notice of each hearing as | ||||||
6 | provided under House Rule 21; and be it further
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7 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall receive testimony on the | ||||||
8 | current structure of regional delivery of educational services | ||||||
9 | and that issues that should be examined include teacher | ||||||
10 | professional development activities, teacher certification | ||||||
11 | services, life-safety inspections, and other statutory | ||||||
12 | regional office of education responsibilities and duties; and | ||||||
13 | be it further | ||||||
14 | RESOLVED, That the Committee shall report its findings and | ||||||
15 | recommendations on regional superintendent service delivery to | ||||||
16 | the House of Representatives by filing a copy of its report | ||||||
17 | with the Clerk of the House no later than January 1, 2006.
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