Diane Rado – Page 9 –

Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School District 233 gave then-Superintendent Laura Murray 20 percent raises two years in a row leading up to her retirement in 2008, records show.

School districts still fatten pensions, pay millions in penalties

June 14, 2024 at 6:50 p.m.

Glenbard Township High School District 87 made a little-noticed wire transfer to the state two years ago, $164,198 that was never discussed in public. What taxpayers weren't told was that...

Search for cash penalties at your school district (database)

June 16, 2018 at 5:16 p.m.

A 2005 pension law was intended to rein in school districts' big salary spikes that boost retiree benefits and pension costs statewide, imposing cash penalties on districts that gave raises...

Arne Duncan, the U.S. secretary of education, walks through a small group of protestors on his way to Ariel Community Academy in Chicago on Thursday, March 12, 2015.

Department of Education cracks down on Illinois for lack of science exam

August 18, 2019 at 7:22 p.m.

In the latest controversy over state exams, Illinois is in hot water with the federal government for not administrating statewide science tests this school year. Failure to give the exams...

Tony Smith, speaking in California in 2013, was hired Wednesday, April 15, 2015, to lead the Illinois State Board of Education.

State board of education member resigns over superintendent hire

May 25, 2019 at 12:56 p.m.

James Baumann, a key member of the Illinois State Board of Education, formally resigned this week, citing concerns about the unusual way the new state school superintendent was chosen. There...

Illinois board of education names new leader, OKs severance deal for Koch

May 25, 2019 at 12:56 p.m.

Tony Smith — a charismatic but sometimes unpopular leader who closed struggling public schools, butted heads with teachers unions and created more privately run charter schools in California — was...

State school superintendent Christopher Koch still is working as the The Illinois State Board of Education's leader, though his contract has expired.

Illinois Board of Education to consider superintendent’s contract Wednesday

May 25, 2019 at 12:56 p.m.

The Illinois State Board of Education is expected to consider a change of leadership this week, taking steps to hire a new superintendent to oversee one of the largest state...

Sixth-grader Sam Morgan was forced to sit and stare at his desk and wasn't allowed to read a book for many hours over the course of a week after opting out of the PARCC exams.

Libertyville student opts out of PARCC, given ‘sit and stare’ time

August 18, 2019 at 7:01 p.m.

With his parents' permission, 11-year-old Sam Morgan skipped the new state exam called PARCC this month — the only sixth-grader at Libertyville's Highland Middle School who refused to take the...

PARCC testing launches with some pushback, confusion

August 18, 2019 at 6:55 p.m.

The launch of new state exams in most school districts this week signaled a historic shift in how and when Illinois public school students are tested. It also spurred rebellion...

Opting out of state assessments proves murky process for parents, students

August 18, 2019 at 6:51 p.m.

Once considered a rare act of rebellion, more students than ever are expected to ditch controversial standardized tests in Illinois this spring, parents, nonprofit groups and teacher union officials say...

Parents and teachers protest the PARCC test at a Feb. 26 news conference at the Thompson Center in Chicago.

CPS reverses course, will administer controversial test

August 18, 2019 at 6:51 p.m.

Faced with the loss of millions of dollars in funding, Chicago Public Schools on Monday said it has dropped plans to spurn a controversial standardized test, a decision quickly followed...

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