Category: schools

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Unit 5 tax increase – fewer students!

By: Diane Benjamin Enrollment last year: Unit 5 just posted the new enrollment: 197 fewer students, but they need more money. Did you know Income Inequality is higher in Blue States than Red? https://www.dailywire.com/news/blue-states-have-worse-inequality-than-red-ones-new-census-data-shows Before voting on Unit 5’s demand for more money, see what they did with the money they already have: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:272dce9b-d9ad-3886-8b64-4b28ffafcc1b That […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Unit 5 Vote YES group using fuzzy math

By: Diane Benjamin See Unit 5’s state report card here: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?source=trends&Districtid=17064005026 Graduation rate is 90% 35% need Community College remediation 30% of 8th Graders pass Algebra 1 26% are chronically truant (90% graduate?) Unit 5 is currently spending $12,000 per student. Unit 5 now wants a tax increase expected to raise $20,000,000. h/t a reader: […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Unit 5: Things you need to know!

By: Diane Benjamin https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1482?meeting=542269 The Unit 5 School Board will vote to raise your property taxes tonight: Some things Unit 5 doesn’t want to hear: Quit wasting money on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion because it teaches kids to judge each other based on the color of their skin. Opt out of Comprehensive Sexual Education like […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

How many Illinois School Districts believe in School Choice for employees, but not for YOUR kids?

By: Diane Benjamin School Districts request waivers of tuition so out-of-districts students don’t have to pay tuition to attend. The requests are usually for multiple years and for children of District employees, some like Tri-Valley requested a waiver for only children of licensed staff. This is a follow-up to this story, I wanted to see […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tri-Valley: Mouser gets SCHOOL CHOICE, you don’t

By: Diane Benjamin I received a tip that before David Mouser left Tri-Valley for his new job as Superintendent of District 87 he got approval allowing the children of employees to attend Tri-Valley even if they don’t live in the District. His wife works at Tri-Valley, the family moved probably because District 87 thought their […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Why are teachers quitting?

This story is hot on Social Media: https://thechalkboardreview.com/report-615-midwestern-teachers-reveal-why-theyre-really-leaving-the-classroom/ 615 verified teachers were surveyed by the writer. I’d love to know if local teachers agree with the results. By far the biggest reason teachers reported quitting is the behavior of students and administrations refusing to do anything about it. Salary comes in third after progressive politics […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Need more reasons to get your kids out of Public Schools?

By: Diane Benjamin The State of Illinois made Social Emotional Learning Standards the law. Every teacher will be trained in these methods. It’s all about “how you feel” and then creating activists. Illinois learning standards are already poor, educating students to read, write, do math and and science isn’t the goal of any public school. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

What Public Education Produced:

From a new poll conducted by HEARTLAND/RASMUSSEN: See the entire poll and more details at this link https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/heartlandrasmussen-poll-majority-of-democrats-would-abolish-supreme-court-call-it-racist-and-sexist LV is likely voter average. Do you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court? Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

It’s not a workers rights amendment

By Diane Benjamin Remember when we defeated the Progressive Income Tax amendment? Amendment 1 will be on the November ballot, it must be defeated too. This Amendment hands power to government unions that shouldn’t exist at all.  They shouldn’t exist because they elect people to negotiate their own contracts.  We just get the bills. Amendment […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Schools that opted out of the New Sex Ed:

By: Diane Benjamin This is a link to a spreadsheet of Illinois School Districts that refuse to teach the National Sex Education Standards. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sU4MdybeSthyh6sr6TmTBIXG8j1JuGRluyaWkwJ31S0/htmlview# Unit 5 opted in for grades 8 and 9 – they didn’t have to! Unit 5 didn’t have to spend money developing the curriculum to comply with exposing your children to: […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Four things

By: Diane Benjamin 1) Normal is meeting tonight: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4338 Of course they are handing out your money. See PDF pages 20-22 to see how much the free entertainment costs you. Harmon Arts grants are on page 45. Read the rest of the agenda yourself or watch the meeting at 7:00 2) WGLT is cheerleading for […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Unit 5 is WOKE, Wake up Parents

By: Diane Benjamin Quote from this story: https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/america-first-attorneys-demand-rural-iowa-school-stops-indoctrinating “School should prepare students for citizenship in our constitutional republic and colorblind society, not turn impressionable children into social justice warriors who view all that is good and just through the distorted lens of race, sex, gender, power, and politics.” This is a screen shot of what […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Just say NO to Unit 5

By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 has a superintendent that uses PRONOUNS! Proof: https://blnnews.com/2021/08/27/the-winning-email/ If that doesn’t tell you your kids are going to a leftist indoctrination camp, maybe this will help. Unit 5 is all in on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Stop and read this article: https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/10/500-school-districts-publicly-declare-only-woke-teachers-need-apply/ Is “woke” Weikle only hiring woke teachers? Would […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

WGLT reports the ridiculous

By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2022-06-01/in-the-wake-of-uvalde-b-n-teachers-want-change-not-guns Corey Beirne needs to report the WGLT article as a campaign contribution. He is running for the McLean County Board and WGLT just happened to pick him for an interview him from all the teachers in the Unit 5 School District. Beirne proves he isn’t qualified to hold an elected office […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Ridgeview Taxpayers: Why are you funding Leroy Schools?

By: Diane Benjamin I filed a FOIA request with the Ridgeview School District for the following: All documents and communication concerning one of your students currently being bused to school in Leroy. Please include cost, documents showing reasons, and communication with Leroy schools/parents. Ridgeview claimed most of my FOIA is exempt, but I did get […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More Unit 5 salary increases

By: Diane Benjamin I previously wrote about large increases in salaries reported to the Teachers Retirement System: https://blnnews.com/2022/05/21/this-needs-explained-by-unit-5-part-2/ Since not every employee of Unit 5 is a member of this pension fund, I also FOIA’d IMRF for salaries reported in 2019 and 2020 by Unit 5. Tracking down who these people are would take forever, […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Feds forcing boys in girls restrooms

By: Diane Benjamin The below is part of a slide presented at the 5/26/22 Unit 5 School Board meeting. Unit 5, and probably all local public schools, take Federal money for meals. The Biden administration now says Federal money will be pulled from Districts that don’t allow boys to use girls restrooms: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/if-schools-don-t-let-boys-into-girls-bathrooms-biden-will-take-their-lunch-money/ar-AAXJFM4 Another source: […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Six things you need to know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) In case you missed this story, librarians in Dunlap got in trouble for reporting a man viewing and printing child porn: https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2022/05/dunlap-library-punishes-two-employees-for-reporting-patron-reportedly-viewing-child-porn.html Understand yet why schools are sexualizing your kids? It’s the agenda! 2) County Board member Jim Soeldner was at the Libertarian’s meeting I attended, so I asked him about […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

District 87 gathered information on YOUR kids

By: Diane Benjamin Schools can not use surveys to gather information on students without the permission of parents: https://blnnews.com/2022/05/16/know-your-childs-rights/ Did they get YOUR permission before doing an invasive survey using Panorama? https://blnnews.com/2022/04/20/district-87-and-panorama/ District 87 refused to give me a summary of the results, I doubt I even received the complete survey. The Illinois Attorney General’s […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More Unit 5 deception?

By: Diane Benjamin From the 4-26-2022 Community Engagement meetings for Unit 5: Is this what pay freezes and reduced raises looks like? https://blnnews.com/2022/05/21/this-needs-explained-by-unit-5-part-2/ Two more sessions: https://www.unit5.org/ Monday, May 23 — 6 to 7:30 pm – Normal Community High School, 3900 E. Raab Road, Normal Tuesday, May 24 — 6 to 7:30 pm – Virtual […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Unit 5: BIG raises

By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 has another Community Engagement meeting tonight! 6-7:30 at Parkside. See the other two meetings in this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/05/18/middle-of-the-road-college-at-veterans-pkwy/ Maybe somebody will ask them to explain this: Remember Superintendent Kristen Weikle claiming on video nobody got 7+% raises between 2019 and 2020? https://blnnews.com/2022/05/07/unit-5-word-salad/ OpenTheBooks.com showed total salaries increased 7.9%. Since their […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Know Your Child’s Rights

By: Diane Benjamin This document is amazing. Parents have rights too, schools have to provide you with ALL materials used to teach. Schools can’t use surveys to gather information on your kids without your permission. We know they are breaking that one! Schools can’t sell your child’s information without your consent. Schools can not discriminate […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Surprised? They knew and let parents file lawsuits and fought them anyway!

By: Diane Benjamin Parents and people who care about kids need to be on the AwakeIl.com email list. Today they dropped a bombshell. CALL TO ACTION: JCAR BREAKING – Discovered via FOIA: In September 2021, the Governor’s office, The Attorney General’s office, the IL Education Association (teacher union), Sangamon County State’s Attorney, and educational leadership […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Read between the lines

By: Diane Benjamin See this Press Release for Gov. Pritzker: https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.23781.html This was issued after 2 bills related to sex education were signed: SB 818 and HB 24. What you need to notice in this press release: Sex education has been replaced by “Sexual” Education Comprehensive Health Education is more “inclusive” If you don’t know […]