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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
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
 
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
 
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
 
15     WHEREAS, The Regional Superintendent is the direct
16 successor of the Commissioner of School Lands; and
 
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
 
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
 
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.