When Phil Costello, Cody Holt and Jeannette Ward were elected to the board of Elgin School District U46 in April, they ran on a platform of cutting taxes and spending. So when the board was asked to renew its membership in the Illinois Association of School Boards this week, the $40,000-a-year dues raised some hackles among those three. But they ended up all voting to renew the membership for at least one more year, partly on the theory that it could cost as much not to join as it does to join.
“I don’t see the IASB membership providing the district with $40,000 worth of value,” Ward said.
“True, this is only $40,000 out of a half-billion-dollar budget,” Costello said. “But we’re facing a difficult budget year. This may be a time to start looking at every line item.”
Board President Donna Smith said the association keeps its member school districts updated on the scores of changes to school law and rules that come out of Springfield each year. The group also sends staff members to lead board members each year in a “self-examination and training” session. The group provides chances to network with other school districts and helps defend school districts’ interests in the Legislature.
Smith said Ward and Costello have not yet been on the board long enough to see the benefits of membership. “I’m going to ask if we could possibly approve this for one year and see if you can see the value by then,” Smith said.
CEO Tony Sanders estimated that if U46 stopped getting IASB reports about the changes in state laws and regulations, tracking down those changes would require the work of half of a full-time employee in the U46 legal department. He said that alone could use up the equivalent of $40,000 in pay and benefits.
Holt said that could mean that dropping the membership is “not fiscally responsible.”
“One thing I have learned is that Springfield likes to make a lot of changes in education law,” said board member Sue Kerr.
Noting that U46 has about 40,000 students, board member Traci O’Neal Ellis said that “I think $1 per student is well worth the cost and we have bigger fish to fry.”
The board then voted unanimously to pay the $40,000 for one more year’s membership.