By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday I reported at District 87 only 19% of 8th Graders passed Algebra. 52% of graduates that attended community college had to take remedial courses to learn what District 87 didn’t teach them: https://blnnews.com/2021/09/02/more-on-district-87/ That 52% was from 2018, think the percent is better or worse now after remote learning? How does […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below proves District 87 should concentrate on education instead of social justice. Schools prepare kids to be adults, if they fail the kids have a limited future. There is limited data available for how the kids did academically last year because District 87 (and many others) decided not to participate in […]
By: Diane Benjamin From the website: https://www.district87.org/Page/1 Link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JQLFB2H The survey has 31 characteristics you think the next superintendent should have. You get to pick 10, comments can also be entered. Two on the list show being “woke” is what they will be looking for if you don’t demand the kids are […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2021/08/30/schools-cant-quarantine-your-kids/ Unit 5 wants a student who isn’t sick banned from the attending school for 14 days. Her crime was being within 3 feet of a student who tested positive for COVID. Everyone in the school is required to wear masks. The masks supposedly protect people against COVID […]
By: Diane Benjamin Press Release: ATTENTION:We do not elect masters to tell us what to do. We elect those to represent us in service to The People, by The People, and for The People. We are not a democracy, we are a representative republic engaged in a democratic process in that it is The People’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin District 87 is meeting tonight (5:00 at BHS) to demand your children wear masks when the school year starts. There is no proof masks work and lots of proof they don’t. The School Board will do it anyway. What the School Board should be doing is insuring rouge teachers don’t follow the […]
By: Diane Benjamin All Illinois government salaries and pensions can be found from this link: https://www.openthebooks.com/illinois/#School%20District Every time a unit of government hires additional staff or provides lavish salaries, the pension costs go up. They know it doesn’t matter because YOU will be forced to pay by law. Your “public servants”. This one is interesting, […]
By: Diane Benjamin As of 6/29/2021 no one was in the hospital for COVID. Deaths by age in McLean County show ZERO deaths for people under 30, why risk giving an experimental vaccine to children who aren’t in any danger of dying? Positivity rated is now .002. That means if 10,000 people get tested only […]
By: Diane Benjamin H/t a reader Does EQUITY apply to sports in District 87 and Unit 5? If: Every child who wants to play can’t, where’s the EQUITY? Every child doesn’t get equal playing time, where’s the EQUITY? Why is the score kept? Doesn’t that violate EQUITY? If EQUITY doesn’t apply to sports, why does […]
By: Diane Benjamin Local school Districts claim the 1619 Project isn’t being taught. Obviously it is since numerous students mentioned it at the District 87 School Board meeting. See this article, the author even admits it isn’t history: https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/07/1619-project-creator-admits-it-is-not-a-history-but-a-fight-to-control-the-national-narrative/ Nikole Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer prize for her fiction however. First the Nobel Prize (Obama) diminishes […]
By: Diane Benjamin Posting comments is at my discretion. This is my site and I can do anything I want with it. Sometimes I allow the ridiculous because I know readers will deal with them. Sometimes I just don’t feel like explaining the obvious to people who don’t care. I’m really good at telling who […]
By: Diane Benjamin Government only thinks they can set rules for citizens at public comment. They can limit your time, but not what you say. Chris Koos tries it, Mboka Mwilambwe just started reading a statement to limit you, Unit 5 did last week, and so did District 87 two weeks ago. Be inspired – […]
From Edgar County Watchdogs: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2021/06/bloomington-school-district-87-violates-open-meetings-act/?fbclid=IwAR2P_UP6DP2sdvB6N_rnszJdn1zMDt00TU7kr5UfkCT3FABVn9fTFeryjFQ Excerpt: Bloomington School District 87 has been violating the Open Meetings Act by demanding people reveal their home addresses in order to participate in public comment. The Illinois Attorney General has already issued multiple opinions, at least as far back as 2014, stating that requiring addresses to speak, or even to […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent some questions to District 87. The response was written by: Dr. Diane Wolf Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction District 87 Question: What is the district’s position on the 1619 project and its use in the school’s curriculum? Response: We do not and never have used the 1619 project as […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve known about the 1619 Project for quite awhile. It is fake history written to make people think America was racist from the start and therefore must be abolished. It is Critical Race Theory meant only to divide people by race. The videos of the kids who spoke at the District 87 […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader The response below is what District 87 thinks of parents and other citizens who showed up to the school board meeting last week, they couldn’t care less what you have to say about education: Anybody surprised? They don’t work for you, they just want your money. This came from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Clips of what Becky Swan said at the School Board meeting last week have gone viral across the country. In case you missed them or want to hear ALL of what she said, here it is. Is the District 87 School Board paying attention?
By: Diane Benjamin Wrong video was here previously, this is the right one. (Hazzard of having 32 videos) Equity means decreasing the value of some while increasing the unearned value of others so all are equal. It isn’t education. I have lots of videos of adults who spoke passionately about education. I believe hearing from […]
East Washington is getting water, sewer, and road. $4.3 million, its going to be closed for quite awhile. By: Diane Benjamin 1) A citizens of Normal wants to know how many hours of staff time has been invested in the Underpass project. The Town of Normal claims they don’t keep track. At the last council […]
By: Diane Benjamin I have a ton of videos from the District 87 Board meeting. I might post more or I might not. They take along time to load! If you want to see some awesome parents who spoke or more of the kids let me know. Below are two of kids who mentioned the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I will be posting videos of some of the students who spoke. The 1619 Project is mentioned at least 3 times by them. Unless you know what it is you can not understand the destruction studying it has caused. First it was edited and compiled by a New York Times reporter. If […]
By: Diane Benjamin I attended the District 87 School Board meeting last night and filmed every one of the 30 speakers. After several parents talked to the Board 2 weeks ago it was obvious kids were recruited to show up and speak. They might have thought it was a good idea, it wasn’t. The kids […]
Masking kids is child abuse. Fauci knew it 15 months ago and let the nonsense continue anyway. District 87 School Board meeting is June 9th: https://www.district87.org/domain/138 The Unit 5 School Board meeting is June 16th: https://www.unit5.org/cms/lib/IL01905100/Centricity/Domain/79/Board%20of%20Education%20Meeting%20Schedule%202020-2021.pdf Outside of Bloomington-Normal? Check your school’s website. Demand no masks ever!
By: Diane Benjamin VIDEO would be much better, but below is the text from 2 parents. I heard a report this morning from the Attorney General’s office about kids posting inappropriate pictures online. Parents and government, what did you think would happen when you are sexualizing kids in kindergarten? The next school board meeting is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember last summer when statues were being torn down by BLM and Antifa? Did you wonder why Abraham Lincoln statues were a target? It sounds like we found out because of public comment at last night’s District 87 Board meeting. Your kids are being taught Lincoln didn’t free anyone and this country […]
By: Diane Benjamin Has District 87 has gone “woke”? Is Martin Luther King’s dream of a color blind society is dead? Government’s biggest fear is we all get along and we don’t need them. Color blind can’t be tolerated, it was working too well. Americans believe hard work always led to success. Personal responsibility allows […]
By: Diane Benjamin I do know at least one classroom at a local school had the kids read this book: Ask your kids if their class read it. I’m more interested in where the discussion went after reading it. Also, what age was the class? More later . . . .
By: Diane Benjamin All of the below is from a reader because District 87 isn’t making their policy public, even to parents. One would think more than a year into the lockdowns and refusing to hold regular in person classes for many months, a policy would be in effect to make sure students aren’t losing […]
See who was endorsed in the last local election: https://web.archive.org/web/20190710062621/http:/www.bntrades.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=736543 Hint: Jenn Carrillo, Jeff Crabill, Kathleen Lorenz, RC McBride, . . . . By: Diane Benjamin The picks below were made by Bloomington-Normal Trades and Labor. Some of their picks make ALL of their candidates suspect: To that end we ask our members and the […]
I’m going to add emailed comments at the bottom instead of posting them as a comment. By: Diane Benjamin Kids are suffering from closed schools. Parents are suffering and watching their kids fall behind. Meanwhile, Tri-Valley is holding in-person classes while Unit 5 and District 87 are closed. The Unit 5 school board had the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Followup to this story: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/17/public-service-announcement-district-87/ We’ve known for a long time Martin Luther King’s vision of America is dead: Would King want people to vote for blacks only? Kiasha Henry proved King’s legacy is dead in her Facebook rant. Replace her comment about Trump with Obama and imagine a WHITE School Board […]
By: Diane Benjamin District 87 has a statement on their website expecting kids to E-Learn: https://www.district87.org/Covid 19 Update Unit 5 has this statement: https://www.unit5.org/cms/lib/IL01905100/Centricity/Domain/4/parent_letter.pdf Act of God? Evidently God isn’t banned in schools when he can be used as an excuse! District 87 uses the same terminology but they are still E-Learning anyway. I […]
The writer of this Facebook post if a Board Member of District 87 – you know the ones in charge of making decisions about your kids education. She should immediately resign. Parents: Do you want this person making policy decisions for your kids?
By: Diane Benjamin I asked District 87 for missing receipts. Asking is a waste of time – they evidently don’t exist. One policy I’ve had from the beginning, screw with me and I will post what I have. I don’t care if the offenders have an explanation, District 87 had a chance to comply and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Start on page 69 Same procedure as the previous article, if you missed it read it first. You won’t want to miss how much Barry Reilly spends on coffee: https://blnnews.com/2019/06/13/district-87-how-about-some-current-spending/ See what was received by FOIA for this month: 04-2019 Buying local doesn’t apply to District 87. Some of these charges do […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below are the charges made in April and May 2019 – by person. I’m going to dissect each one. Sam’s Club – no receipt Lowes: The receipt is labeled “Skills USA”. It includes Sales Tax of $33.92. Home Depot: $598, the receipt doesn’t say what the “miter” equipment is for. No sales. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The information I have looked at so far only creates more questions. This is one: This address is an auto repair shop. Shop class? Conferences are huge, I don’t know why 2 went and one paid more: Your property taxes at work: Note: The invoice says annual fee for 3 people. Evidently […]
By: Diane Benjamin Received by FOIA: 08-2017 The Walmart charges are for 48 of these, no mention of who is using them or why they were bought separately. The other highlighted items are for eclipse glasses. All of the below are food receipts – some not itemized. Legally, all receipts must state the purpose of […]
By: Diane Benjamin On a tip from a reader I FOIA’d 2 years of credit card charges from District 87. I’m not anywhere close to looking at everything yet. I will post items I found as I go through the files. Start with this one from July 2017: No, Barry Reilly didn’t spend all that […]
Open The Books has a new interactive map for Illinois which allows users to see Illinois Educators either receiving a salary or pension in excess of $100,000. Click below to see it. Keep in mind the pensions go up 3% every year, Pritzker refuses to put a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot to change it. […]
