About 100 parents of pre-kindergarten through 8th-grade pupils at Sears School in Kenilworth District 38 are urging administrators to toughen student discipline procedures to ensure safety and respect at school.
Parents are fired up because last year’s 8th graders were particularly prone to pranks and disrespectful language, said Helga deBontin, the mother of 2nd- and 7th-grade pupils. Also, an older pupil recently brought a soda can with gas in it to school, she said.
The student who brought the can to school was suspended, and the police followed up, said Supt. Linda Murphy.
“But we didn’t find out about the incident until three days after it happened,” Murphy added.
Parents were angry that they weren’t notified immediately, deBontin said. In addition, she said the school should spell out increasing levels of consequences for serious infractions.
Joan Allison, board member and parent of an 8th grader, said the small school has traditionally had more informal procedures. But with schools nationally looking at safety and escalating violence, civility and character building, Allison agreed the school needs written procedures.
Murphy has convened a committee of parents and teachers to work over the summer on discipline.
“I don’t see children worrying about their safety at school, but I have seen a growing concern among adults,” she said.
Consequences for breaking the rules might include having pupils do work around the school, or lose sports privileges, Allison said.
But not all parents think pupils should be disciplined, she added. A consistent set of rules will help with a small group of permissive parents “who get upset if a child is disciplined,” Allison said.
Wilmette tax tussle: The Wilmette Village Board will file an objection to Carson Pirie Scott’s appeal asking the Cook County Board of Review to reduce its 1999 commercial tax assessment from $3.2 million to $1.6 million.
Mike Earl, assistant village manager, said the reduction would put a burden on residential property owners in the village. Each homeowner would have to pay an average of $50 more on their 1999 property tax assessment if Carson’s appeal is approved, Earl said.
The retail store in Edens Plaza appealed its 1998 property tax assessment, but Earl said that appeal is still pending. Other taxing bodies that would be affected include the Wilmette Park District, Avoca School District 37 and New Trier High School District 203.
The boot gets the boot: Evanston aldermen on Monday voted to prohibit for at least 90 days the booting of vehicles on private property by private companies.
“What I’m afraid of is that someone could be injured as a result of their car being held hostage,” said Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) “This is a recipe for a lot of confrontation”
The City Council has received dozens of complaints from citizens who had their vehicles booted by Guardian Parking Management while parked in two privately owned lots in the north suburb.
Problems started in April after the Chicago company was given a contract by Great Bank Evanston, 603 Main St., to boot vehicles illegally parked in a nearby 25-space lot in the 900 block of Chicago Avenue. The company also has the contract to boot vehicles parked in another lot adjacent to a Burger King restaurant in the 1700 block of Orrington Avenue.
Evanston resident Paula Adams, said her husband’s car was booted in the lot in the 900 block of Chicago Avenue last week after he parked there to make a call from a nearby phone booth and was gone for only a few minutes. The attendant told him he had to pay $105 to have the boot removed or have his car towed at an additional expense.
Merchants in the area say as many as 15 vehicles have been booted each day.
