I VOTE NO!!!!!

This is about the kids. Unfortunately the incompetence of the school administration needs fixing before we can fix Lincoln Hall. Continuing to misspend thousands of dollars by waving a "For our kids flag" does not help the kids, it hurts them. We need to put my chilldren, our communities children before the egos of the administration. We may or may not need a new school, the community has not been presented with the real information. That's the districts fault. I agree kids first which is why the referendum will be defeated, the folks running the district are not putting the kids first. Let's get a capable, intelligent, ethical group and then decide with facts what is best for the kids and Lincoln Hall. Let's make an educated decision not an excuse to laziness because Klaisner is hoisting the "for the kids" flag yet again. For the record my kids are in the district 4,9 & 11 so it does impact them. Quality education over quality bricks is what they need to build their lives as responsible adults.

The Gadsden Flag for rallying against this School Board is perfect. Do you remember your history? Named after an American General & Statesman. The flag was used by the Continental Marine Corps & the first flag carried into battle, during the American Revolution by the newly formed Marine Corps. It symbolizes American Patriotism and is a symbol of "disagreement with government" as well as a symbol of the American Tea Party movement.
These four bag apples on the S.B. need to resign and at least two of the three superintendents need to resign now as well.

This school board & administration couldn't manage & keep a record of the Administration Building construction......we can't trust them to do entire new school building project.
They are corrupt or incompetent to the nth degree.

Why won't these characters resign.
What are we missing in this ordeal?
There must be something really, really, important that they are continuing to coverup or that they think they have to gain. No one in their right mind, when they have been exposed on so many items with regard to so many factors; and by so many other public officials & private residents chastising them, would stay on this board,
There is not another side to the story....that would look favorably upon these board member & administrators actions. These crooks, liers & thieves are wrong!
Why do they remain?
What is it that we are missing?

Something that was not brought up in the public dialogue in any great detail as of yet, is the overall cost of a new school.
This School Board is asking for only $25,000,000. Yes! That is a lot!
But, that is just for the new building construction ONLY!
The old building would need to be abated before demolition. NO PRICE!
The old building torn down. NO PRICE!
Furnish the new building. NO PRICE!
Relocate the supplies & furnishings being reused from the old to the new. NO PRICE!
I guess these other minor costs will just come out of the operating budget, or they will need to raise our taxes to pay for that portion.
A new school with interest will probably cost this community between $45 million & $50 million dollars.
Not at this time with these crooks in charge!
Vote 'NO' on the referendum. on March 20th.

I know me again.....but, you want the facts don't you?
Has anyone asked about the old furnishings from the administration building?
They built the new Admin. Bldg. & bought all new furnishings & art work.
As I understand, there was a weekend "break up the old furniture" event, with overtime payroll money spent for a crew to come in & throw out all the perfectly useable furnishings into a dumpster & have it hauled away, before anyone would realize it.
These "kings" & "queens" on the school board & administration couldn't be asked to sit on a slightly worn chair in a new Admin Bldg., that cost over 3 times what was budgeted to cost.
These folks have no shame.
OH! As for the art work......what did that cost?
Are not our own student's art projects good enough for the "kings & queens?"
It's "time to foldem!",,,,,,,,RESIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

I have children in two schools here. I am appalled at the conditions at Lincoln Hall. The rooms are cramped, things are visibly falling apart, and looking at the information posted, looks like it is unreasonably expensive to maintain. It looks like a school that should belong on the South Side of Chicago. But I, too, have reservations about the current board, but only one member of the administration. My friends in Wilmette hold Kevin Nohelty in infamy. He did not leave them in a good way financially. I understand, and this is third hand, however, that he did not leave Palatine in much better standing. He is a crook, and Klaisner's biggest mistake was bringing him on board. I truly think Dr. Klaisner has the best intentions, and I would love to see our schools become a beacon for others to follow. I think the board has enabled him to follow that dream slightly outside the confines of reality, however. And the board has lived the high life. Koder, Davros, and Fourkas look at their position as some sort of entitlement, and Frankel will say whatever she needs to eventually become mayor. They have forgotten their duty to the students and us taxpayers. Anderson and Daly are wild cards. Nickell has her heart in the right place, but does not have the strength to lead.

We need a new building, but we need new representation on the board. And get rid of the crook.

While on subject there is another issue which should concern Lincolnwood taxpayers. How many are aware that on Saturday mornings during banking hours a marked Lincolnwood Car is parked in front of the Republic Bank (formerly Bank of Lincolnwood) at Lincoln & Touhy and a uniformed officer is sitting there at a desk. Sometimes a fellow officer joins him. To my knowledge there are no village facilities in this building that would require the police to be there. Is there some deal here where the officer is being paid by the Bank as a security guard while also drawing a salary from the village ? Crime isn't exactly low in the village. Ask the village about this.

So has the School Board figured out how to cover the Lincolnwood School's Illinois state tax payment shortage, that was reported to not be coming in the final annual payment from Springfield?
$230 million short!
What will the school district's portion be that they have to make up elsewhere?
Or what can they cut out from their expenses?
I have an idea......how about that New School scheme they have been plotting?

I teach in another district, and the school I work in is 15 years older than the oldest part of Lincoln Hall. There is no plan to knock down the building; preventative maintenance is used instead. Of course, it would be exciting to teach in a “lighthouse” district, preparing students for the future. But, wait! At my school we also prepare our students for the future by honing our teaching methods to engage them in learning and by using technology—we actually have Promethean boards mounted on our ancient walls. The Lincolnwood School Board seems to be confusing good teaching and glamour.
I, too, wonder how Lincoln Hall has gotten into such a state of disrepair that razing it could possibly be the only option. This couldn’t have happened overnight, and if it is in such a perilous state, it must have been a dangerous place to be when the priority was to “dream” about having a brand new state of the art administration building. Yes, I know the administration had to settle for renovation (and, of course, some School Board members were also more concerned about spending our money on wine and limos), but perhaps it would have made more sense to dream about the safety of Lincoln Hall students.
I guess it all comes back to the judgment (or lack of) and the agenda of the administration and School Board, doesn’t it? How could they possibly be trusted to decide what is best for District 74?

The level of trust has further eroded with the revelation of the misappropriation of funds by the board and their poor judgment regarding expenses. This is further compounded by their spending of additional community money to defend and deflect the communities efforts to correct these obvious lapses in judgment. Once again showing a complete disregard to financial responsibility regarding the communities funds.

What really sums it up is the complete lack of support the board has in the community from every person I know up to the mayor of the city. Yet, out of sense of arrogance and contempt the board continues on a course that is counterproductive, costly and doomed to fail. Are they truly that out of touch with the community or is this simply a petty foot stomping tirade for being forced to be accountable to the community. I think the later because anyone person on that board who truly wished to represent the communities would do so and step down, any other action is simply self serving.

This all seems to be boiling down to a matter of trust and poor judgment. The board says that after reviewing all options the school needs to be torn down and replaced at a cost of $25M plus furnishings and inevitable cost over runs. I can accept this as a starting point and the board may have done a good job getting to this point but here is where the breakdown of trust starts. When the community asked to see the data leading up to this decision they provided little or no data. When questions were asked by the community the board chose not to respond. The board who is a representative of the people began acting independently of the people who put them in power. The board viewed their decision making as above the community they represent and should be accepted without question. Arrogance and ego began to take the place of service and community. To make matters worse this comes on the heels of a previous attempt to ramrod an unwanted and unneeded project down the communities collective throat, the administration building project. This was rejected by the community soundly and with good reason. Instead of learning from this the board has become even more intent on spending community money on unnecessary projects during economically hard times. This in and of itself highlights the current board’s disconnect with the community’s needs.

(Continued…..)

If it is costing $31,000 to respond to FOIA requests, I have to question the record keeping and internal controls in this business office. These FOIAs are not that complicated. Expense records should be detailed and easily available for analyzing. Who is the auditor of this district? The sup of business, Nohelty, and the district auditor should both be fired for fraud and/or incompetence.

Paul L

The School Board has acted, and continues to 'act' in a duplicitous manner, which, to a reasonably minded person, Frustrating and Irritating beyond words? The SD74 board has shown time and again a lack of competency both in a fiduciary capacity and leadership capacity. You have to ask yourself, 'What is your mission here"? This is Lincolnwood, population 11,000+ ? Why didn't the SD74 Board perform more Due Diligence when researching what needs to be done in the school to correct deficiency to bldg codes and certain education needs? Why only ONE engineering consultant?? Why the lack of transparency? Why the lavish spending...on OUR Tax Payer Money?? Why is the school board so confused and dilenquent with answering the 30 FOIA requests?
"Is perception reality' ??? If one hasn't come to a 'Reasonable' conclusion based on the quesitons I posed, the answer is YES. Don't let the door hit your 'bum' on the way out and we want those reimbursement checks signed and returned to the Tax Payers Pronto

The School Board in Lincolnwood have not corrected TWO very critical problems they have caused, and they keep cheating the the Lincolnwood Taxpayers. As of early March the principal payment due in December 2011, still has not been paid on the $7,000,000.00 note with Northern Trust Bank. LINCOLNWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT #74 is in DEFAULT. There is no written agreement to allow the school district to avoid the payment. DEFAULT ! If the FDIC checks in on Northern Trust & finds that the S.D. has not paid according to the written note, they can "call the note" to be paid in full immediately, with penalty interest. I guess Board Member Koder's influence with the FDIC might help at that point. Maybe not! Just maybe the taxpayers of Lincolnwood will have to pay up again to cover for this School Board 'Gang of Four' members.
Lincolnwood's Taxpayers & Lincolnwood's Children Deserve Better.

Second, when are the Gang of Four members going to pay back the over $6,000. in funds that they illegally took from the taxpayers? OH, you thought they paid that back already. Well they did, BUT, they demanded their checks back from Asst. Supt. Nohelty. As of early March, no repayment from the Gang of Four has been deposited into the school district's account. WHEN, is it going to happen?
Wake up Lincolnwood! This school board can't be trusted with Referendum money.
Vote "NO" on election day or before. Tell your neighbors...Fourkas, Koder, Davros, & Frankel.....need to step down & get out of the way, right away...RESIGN! See them; tell them that!
Lincolnwood's Taxpayers & Lincolnwood's Children Deserve Better.

I have been a resident of Lincolnwood since January of 1971. In the mid to late 1990’s our village voted to improve the buildings of District 74 by updating the library resources and adding computer rooms. I voted for those change for two reasons, the same two reasons I will vote for a new Lincoln Hall building. Those two reasons are the future and the past.
In 1981, as a Freshman at Niles West I quickly realized that my fellow Wooder’s and I knew more and had done more than our classmates from Skokie and Morton Grove. In general we had learned more science, math and read more. I attribute this in part to Lincoln Hall having been a cutting edge brick and mortar building for the 20th Century. It was in the 8th Grade science labs of Dr. Bargman and Mr. Polster that we were expose to more and different experiments than kids from the other districts feeding into 219. The solid education I received here put me ahead at Niles West, in college and was one of the main reasons I returned to Lincolnwood to raise my family.
part 1

Today it is technology that is on the cutting edge. I work for a software company and I teach people how to use our program. Many of the younger people coming to my class don’t want to hear me lecture, they want to text their friend, check email, and surf the net. Between all this they play with the software. It is then the 20 something student, who is half listening to me, that will ask a better question than the 45 year old who listens to every word I say. I am tech savvy and have adapted to technology, but the young adults of today have evolved with technology, it is natural to them. Technology and its ability to transcend walls, borders and oceans is the future of our species, and ignoring it or hindering its adaption is not forward thinking.
If Lincolnwood is to maintain its cutting edge advantage it must have a modern facility so teachers, as well as students, can better leverage technology. This will allow a freer exchange and flow of ideas and people that are at the core of new learning techniques. The building needs to be clean, fire safe and ADA compliant. And it would be nice if mold remediation was not a regularly occurring item on the maintenance budget. It seems possible that we can spend millions less over the next several years to update and improve the current building than is projected to build new. But in 15 years will not our district face a similar question, to spend millions on renovation or rebuild?
part 2

I know many of you are skeptical of the process or the people involved in the decision to build new instead of fixing up the old. But that is not what this decision is about. When you step into the ballot box and exercise your franchise it will not be a referendum on the past, but a statement about our future. As I see it we must ask ourselves; do we move our cutting edge educational offering into the 21st century, or do we remain behind the curve and in the past.

end