Maine Township High School District 207
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| Maine Township High School District 207 |
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| Superintendent | Dr. Ken Wallace |
| Type | public secondary district |
| Established | 1902 |
| Location | 1131 S. Dee Rd. Park Ridge, Illinois |
| Website | www.maine207.org/ |
Maine Township High School District 207 is a school district based in Illinois.
Composed of Des Plaines and Park Ridge as well as portions of Glenview, Harwood Heights, Morton Grove, Niles, Norridge, and Norwood Park Township, the 36-square-mile (93 km2) district lies 30 minutes from downtown Chicago. Primarily residential with some light industry, office developments and shopping centers, the district is adjacent to O'Hare International Airport and lies at the hub of rail and highway transportation (sections of I-90, I-190, and I-294 lie within the district boundaries).
Contents |
[edit] Schools
- Maine East High School
- Maine South High School
- Maine West High School
- Youth Campus
- Maine North High School (1970-1981)
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] Statement of Purpose
Together we educate students to be informed, inquisitive, responsible, creative, and reasoning individuals.
[edit] District Headquarters
The district administrative offices were formerly located in a small building at 1171 S. Dee Road; the southwest corner of the property on which Maine South is located. This building was later sold to the Tooling and Manufacturing Association of Chicago. The district offices were then moved into a section of Maine South. This section was refurbished to provide a board room for meetings as well as offices for the superintendent, his assistants, and the business office.
Despite being housed in the same building, the district offices have an address of 1131 S. Dee Road, compared to the address for Maine South which is 1111 S. Dee Road.
[edit] District Leadership
Maine Township High School District 207 is governed by a seven member board of education. This board is the legislative, policy-setting authority of the school district and while the board is the hiring authority and approves all hiring (following recommendations by the Superintendent or their designee), the board's only direct employee is the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent of Schools is the executive authority of the school district.
The Board undergoes an annual reorganization each April, where the Board elects a president and vice president from among their number.
[edit] Board of Education
Members of the Board of Education are elected to four year terms, with elections held in the Spring of odd-numbered years. Candidates must be 18 years old, a legal resident of the district for at least one year prior to the election, and must be a registered voter. School trustees and the school treasure for the township are specifically forbidden from running for the Board. Board members cannot have any interest in any contract with the District, and are required to file an Economic Interest Statement each year for verification.
In odd-numbered years, the Board elects a president, vice president, and secretary from among its members in the first meeting after the election. These positions are held for a period of one year. In even-numbered years, the election is held at the first meeting in the month of April.
| Position | Board Member[1][2] | Term Expires |
|---|---|---|
| President | Edward Mueller | 2013 |
| Vice President | Donna Pellar | 2011 |
| Member | Joann Braam | 2011 |
| Member | Eldon Burk | 2013 |
| Member | Eric Leys | 2013 |
| Member | Margaret McGrath | 2013 |
| Member | Sean Sullivan | 2011 |
In April, 2009, Eric Leys and Edward Mueller were retained by voters for their positions. Marijo Bustos was not. Member Jeffrey Bergen declined running for his seat again. Eldon Burk and Margaret McGrath were voted to fill the remaining positions on the Board.[3]
[edit] Superintendent of Schools
The Superintendent of Schools for Maine Township High School District 207 is Dr. Ken Wallace who assumed those duties on July 1, 2009.[4]
The Superintendent is supported by three assistant superintendents; one in curriculum, one in business, and one in general administration who deals primarily with personnel.
[edit] Wiemerslage vs. Maine Township High School District 207
The district was a defendant in a federal court case, Wiemerslage vs. Maine Township High School District 207, 29 F.3d 1149, which helped reaffirm the doctrine of In loco parentis, the rights of schools to act in the place of parents in certain situations. The case involved a Maine South High School student who was suspended for loitering near a gate which gave access to school grounds from a neighborhood area. Students were permitted to use the gate to get to and from school, but were explicitly forbidden to loiter in the area due to complaints from neighbors about property damage and other problematic behavior.
The student and his family sued, citing violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The District's motion to dismiss the case was granted by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal, holding that the school had acted "appropriately".[5][6]
[edit] 2010 budget cuts
The 2009–10 school year saw the need for a $15 million cut to the district's budget.[7] The cuts included the dismissal of 75 teachers and 62 other staff members.[7] According to district officials, the cause of the financial crisis was due to a "flat Consumer Price Index" which helps determine property values and the corresponding property taxes from which the school raises a large percentage of its monies.[7] The problem was identified in July 2009 when the projected deficit spending of $3.8 million for the year was found to be $10.3 million; 2.7 times larger than anticipated.[7] At a public meeting that drew more than 3,000 community members, a representative of the teacher's union claimed that the deficit spending was due to a lack of oversight from school officials.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ District 207 Board of Ed; accessed 19 May 2009
- ^ Directory of the Board; accessed 19 May 2009
- ^ Results of 2009 School Board elections; accessed 14 April 2009
- ^ 6 April 2009 Board of Education Meeting Summary; accessed 14 April 2009
- ^ Decision in Wiemerslage vs. Maine Township High School District 207, line 20
- ^ Decision in Wiemerslage vs. Maine Township High School District 207
- ^ a b c d Krishnamurthy, Madhu (12 January), "Maine Twp. District 207 to cut 137 jobs next year", Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL, USA), http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=350219, retrieved 21 January 2010
- ^ Krishnamurthy, Madhu (21 January), "More than 3,000 rally against proposed Dist. 207 cuts", Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL, USA), http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=352632, retrieved 21 January 2010, "Maine Teacher's Association President Emma Visee questioned how district administrators could miss a nearly $6 million increase in the projected deficit for the 2008-09 school year. "The current economic problem the district faces is not about teachers," she said. "This district's budget problems beg the question who was watching the store? How do we find ourself in a double-digit budget deficit now.""
[edit] External links
