A Message to Park Ridge Taxpayers
As President of District 64 School Board, I have the task of planning and conducting our meetings, as well as serving as the public voice of the consensus of the Board.
As a Board member I also have the right to speak as an individual Board member.
Pardon me while I have a few words of my own in rebuttal to a malicious blog recently written about me.
I have been fortunate to be elected by my peers to the public office of membership in the District 64 Board of Education twice.
Each election time I have pledged to do the following:
* Foster increased communication between the district and our taxpayers
* Improving overall academic achievement throughout all of our schools and grades
* Providing financial accountability to the taxpayers to honor their property tax investment in the education of our children
During my first four-year term on the School Board, I set out to create a respectful transformative process of changing the culture and landscape of 25 years of developed expectations and status quo. I believe that I am achieving what I set out to do.
I offer the following facts as evidence of my accomplishments and the change I have brought to the School District:
* I was the first to raise the issue of videotaping our meetings for the general public, a district service which is very prominent today
* I personally led the effort to improve the communication value of the district web site and I continue to foster additional developments which are now in progress
* I have repeatedly been outspoken about our student test scores, have challenged the constant references to state or national norms and have refused to accept lower scores due to a philosophy of “Teaching the Whole Child”
* I continue to point out the lack of any District 64 schools in the annual ranking of the “Top 50” schools in Cook County and have sought ways to improve that ranking
* Through the Board and my suggestions combined with the hard work of our current administration, Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) will soon provide a comparison against districts to whom we will compare ourselves. This will provide for the first time a true comparison against very similar school districts both in Illinois and across the country.
Also I am proud to state, as shown in our last regular meeting, our Math scores have improved by almost 50% from the mid 50th percentile to over the 80th percentile across all grades. At the same time, our reading scores continue to be in the 90th percentile across all grades.
Financially, when I first joined the D64 Board four years ago, all the talk of the Board and administration was of wishing and hoping that we could stretch the referendum dollars to reach 2017. The plan I inherited was that every drop of that money was to be used and then some by 2017.
I am proud to state that we have made the following investments in student learning.
* A district wide 1:1 technology initiative wherein each student receives their own internet device, either iPad or Chromebook
* Absorbed the costs of lunch time monitoring to lower the fees to families,
* Increased technology coaching and other support for staff in the use of
state of the art instructional aids
* Invested $11 million in improving our aging buildings and ensured that 100% of our buildings are air conditioned for possible future use year round
As well as slowing the growth of expenses in salary and benefits, (I voted no on the current PREA contract and voted no on administration extensions last year and this among other votes), we continue to run a positive end of year balance and I am proud to state that we now expect that our financial situation will be positive for another 3-4 years beyond the original 2017 date.
By all accounts, I believe that is a good record of accomplishment!
* I take my elected responsibilities seriously.
* I cannot do any endeavor half-heartedly.
* I combine my vision of a positively charged district with respect and understanding of those whom those decisions would impact. That is both, taxpayers and staff.
* I am sensitive to the view of the taxpayers who want justification for the taxes they spend and yet I am also sensitive to those who families and lives are dependent on those salaries that we oversee.
Today, we are undergoing a change in culture. Such a significant change takes time in order to weather and implement the changes without a drop in efficiency, morale and results.
Change will happen and the speed of that change will vary depending of the obstacles to be overcome. Change has already happened and more will come.
Early on, during my first elected term a vocal former retired staff member printed derogatory, subjective and inflammatory statements with which to denigrate and dismiss my actions of change. I responded just once in an open meeting to counter the negative demagoguery.
I am confident in my beliefs and secure in my knowledge of the effect of my efforts that to provide a single retort would belay any misinformation that could be sputtered.
Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I have recently read an accusatory and inaccurate blog written by a person whom I had respected in the past.
This is a person with a solid intellect and if he so chooses, he could help make great improvements in both our city and our schools.
Instead, I find that his words are no more than the same demagoguery in a different form that I encountered when I was first elected.
He professes a self-idealized, non-secular, organzational pogrom on my efforts within District 64. Should anyone differ they would be castigated to the full extent of his, self-defined and self-imposed law.
A true reporter utilizes only the facts and avoids hearsay. A true reporter is intent on exposing the facts and avoids innuendo.
Nary a post from this individual goes by where we encounter, not a report of activity and what it may mean to our taxpayers, but a scathing and often times personal reproach of any action that may differ from the writer's thoughts or opinions, regardless of accuracy and regardless of the true intent of the person he is writing about.
The blog exists to excoriate and tear asunder any function outside of the writer's goals and ambitions and not an analysis of the true merits of whom he is talking about.
In essence, it is a bullying tactic to force a cowering response through intimidation.
Just as we do not allow bullying anywhere within District 64, I personally do not countenance any bullying from an obscure, distant and hard-hearted observer of the many positive improvements in our community.
I value my contributions to the D64 School Board. I have remained consistent in my thoughts and deeds during my terms, which are now in the 5th year.
To have my sincerity and truthfulness questioned in light of my consistent attempt at reformation in this District is beyond disrespectful.
I believe in respectful thoughts and actions. While I may not agree with someone that does not mean that I should impugn their integrity. The writer of the referenced blog apparently feels otherwise.
* To constantly look for hidden messages and motivations where none exists
* To constantly denigrate hard working individuals of differing opinions or
actions
* To label and condemn people and undervalue their contributions
is nothing short of hated McCarthyism at its root!
I am sure that there will be a posted reply to this message.
When it arrives, I will not tolerate his words nor will I sit still and be shaken with his effrontery.
Unfortunately for this misdirected individual, I and many others in this town, have come to realize that his blog has worn out its welcome.
Reading his words only invites suspicion, rumor mongering and denigration of other individuals while doing nothing to improve the quality of life of our fellow residents.
While change is occuring and accelerating here in District 64, at least I can lay claim to my belief that we are seeing continuous improvements to educate our children, as evidenced by:
* Improved test scores
* Continued stretching of our budgets
* Continued focus on cost controls
* Extending the referendum timeline
* Maintaining our property values
all resulting in an improvement in the overall quality of life for all Park Ridge residents.
In closing, I paraphrase President Ronald Reagan, who in 1987 implored General Secretary Gorbachev to remove the Berlin Wall, by calling out
"Mr. Trizna, clean up your blog!"
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