A coalition of Lake County legislators, responding to concern over the vote in North Chicago earlier this year to fold the financially ailing system, introduced legislation Thursday that would make it more difficult for a school district to dissolve.
A bill proposed by state Rep. Andrea Moore (R-Libertyville) would toughen the requirements for a school board to declare itself insolvent, as North Chicago officials did in spring before rescinding their action.
Under current law, half the voters in the school district or a majority of a school board can petition for dissolution.
Under the new legislation, however, a three-fourths majority of a school board would have to vote for dissolution and 15 percent of the local electorate would have to sign petitions in support.
In a second scenario, 50 percent of voters could call for dissolution by petition. In either case, the Regional Board of School Trustees would have to approve the dissolution.
The bill has the backing of state Rep. Robert Churchill (R-Lake Villa), the deputy House GOP leader, and the three other House Republicans from Lake County, Verna Clayton of Buffalo Grove, Al Salvi of Wauconda and Virginia Frederick of Lake Forest.
If passed, it would give stability to a volatile situation in North Chicago, supporters said.
“I certainly think this gives people a higher level of comfort,” said Moore, whose legislative district includes school systems that would have had to absorb displaced students from North Chicago if its breakup had occurred.
“It just seems to me that an issue this important really ought to have a much larger discussion,” Moore said.
The school board in North Chicago voted last March to dissolve the district and distribute its 4,250 students to schools in Libertyville, Green Oaks, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and Gages Lake.
The legislative proposal drew praise from some county school leaders. The current law makes it too easy for a district to throw up its hands and leave the responsibility of education to surrounding communities, they say.
But officials in North Chicago were outraged over the bill that would apply to districts with 1,000 or more students.
“I think it is blatant racism,” said Board President Pamela Johnson. “If this community were not predominantly black, they wouldn’t even be wasting their time. The state is supposed to provide a quality education for school children no matter where they have to go to get it.
“So (Moore) is saying, `Yeah, you can get a quality education,’ as long as you don’t go get it in her district,” Johnson said.
