Contact your legislator or Governor Quinn

I have, today, sent correspondence similar to that below to Senator Deanna Demuzio, Representative Jim Watson and Governor Patrick Quinn. It is my hope that you, too, are in favor of fully funding these programs, so vital to North Greene Unit District No. 3. If so, I urge you to send a note or an e-mail to one, two or all three, asking that they fully fund the programs mentioned in my message below.

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As I understand the current situation, there is no money currently appropriated for programs very important to our school district. I urge you to speak out in favor of funding the following initiatives in the House and do whatever you can to see that the high quality of education we try to provide our students does not suffer due to tough economic times. Following are some examples of programs we cannot afford to lose or see watered down as a result of the budget mess with which you're currently dealing:

Early Childhood Education Block Grants - Our EC programming here has effectively addressed the need for parent training, in addition to preparing younger children for school. We cannot afford to lose this program or see it watered down.

ADA Block Grant - We have made very effective use of this grant money during FY09. We've facilitated parental contact with instantaneous phone calls to their homes in the event of an emergency. We have enhanced our high school juniors' chances of performing better on ACT/PSAE tests by purchasing graphing calculators for each of them and providing instruction in their use. We've purchased an additional copying machine. We've purchased name plates for marking equipment purchases with permanent inventory id tags. Recently we purchased a Promethean board for the high school teachers to share in our study hall classroom next year. The $32K we received this year was a boon for the district, providing me with great flexibility in the uses for this money. It needs to be fully funded for FY10.

Agriculture Education and Career & Technical Education - These programs are vital to our area. Greene county is one of the poorest counties in Illinois and unemployment was rampant before other parts of the United States suffered because of the current economic downturn. We desparately need to hang on to this funding, as it affords our students a chance for future employment by providing them with the skillset they need to work in agriculture and in technical careers.

Reading Improvement Block Grant - While we've made some progress, our reading scores still lag behind national and state standards which increase with each passing year under NCLB. More importantly, reading is the key to all learning. If our students cannot read well, they cannot access content information in any other discipline of study. We must continue our efforts to assist those students who come to our schools lacking in literacy skills because of the aforementioned parenting issues. We must have the funding to do so.

Truant prevention and dropout assistance - We are appropriately held accountable on these two fronts and have, I am happy to point out, made improvements in these areas. But dropping funding now or in the future only compounds the problems we have in holding students' feet to the fire regarding compulsory attendance and further compounds our unemployment problems in the future. These programs need to be funded. If we fail to keep kids in school, they continue down a path leading to unemployment, crime and drug abuse.

Regional Safe Schools - Some students, unfortunately, are not "wired" for the typical classroom. They find it impossible to "stay in line," keep their mouths shut and "play the game" we call school. Alternative classroom settings with "better" student:teacher ratios and more individualized programming are required. The cracks through which these students fall will widen with a drop in funding for these safe schools. Don't let this happen, please.

Again, we greatly appreciate your consideration of these issues, your commitment to education and the work you've consistently done on our behalf. We know the job ahead of your and your colleagues is not an easy one and we appreciate your efforts. As I stated recently to the media, we need someone in Springfield to take the lead and do what's right for all Illinois citizens, especially those who do not yet have a vote on issues that affect them now and well into their futures. I look forward to working along side you and we all look forward to better times ahead.

Thanks.
Les Stevens, Superintendent

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You may contact the senator, the representative and the Governor in the following methods:

Senator Deanna Demuzio
140 Carlinville Plaza
Carlinville, IL 62626
demuzio@senatedem.state.il.us

Representative Jim Watson
District Office
325 W. State St.
Suite 102
P.O. Box 160
Jacksonville, IL 62650
jimwatson@localnetco.com

Governor Patrick Quinn
Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm

Should you decide to contact any or all of these individual, realize that we must respectfully make our requests, providing reasoning for our making these requests. You can make a difference.