October 1, 2019 Harwood Heights, IL - The Ridgewood High School Board of Education sent out a press release on Friday, September 29th, regarding the feasibility study on the consolidation of Ridgewood High School District 234, Norridge School District 80, and Union Ridge School District 86.
The Union Ridge School Board of Education, Faculty, and Administration have not been part of the discussion related to a consolidation study, nor do we understand the full intentions of this study. We are very proud of our many student accomplishments and our ability to provide a top quality education in a fiscally responsible manner.
We would like to share some facts with our community as we enter into a study that is directly related to reducing the ever-increasing burden of property taxes in Illinois. The information shared in this release can be obtained via the Illinois School Report Card. I encourage everyone to please look at the data on https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/Default.aspx
In 2018, Union Ridge School District 86 spent $2,271 less than the state average in operational spending per pupil.
In 2018, the Adequacy Target (The Adequacy Target is the minimum cost to educate students within the district based on the cost factors outlined in the Evidence Based Funding (EBF) formula) for Union Ridge School was $8,307,998. Currently, Union Ridge School is only receiving 74% or $6,141,415.
In 2018, Union Ridge students outperformed students across Illinois on the PARCC assessments in both English Language Arts and Math. In English Language Arts, students of Union Ridge School achieved 63% in the category “meet or exceed” compared to 37% of the students across the state in the “meet or exceed” category. In Mathematics, Union Ridge School students achieved 46% in the “meet or exceed” category compared to 32% in that same category across the state.
These are some facts that must be shared when we venture into a discussion about consolidation. We are very proud of our students and our ability to educate our students in a cost efficient manner. I encourage you to please review all the data located on the Illinois School Report Card. Let’s have a very honest and open discussion about spending and results across all our districts.
Sincerely,
Michael Maguire
Superintendent
Union Ridge School District 86