Rob Sherman News
The hot social and political issues of the day

Serious Journalism, Professionally Written

         
Click on either picture for larger image

         March 12, 2010        

Batavia Schools reinstate
unconstitutional tuition-based
full day kindergarten

One day after the School Board voted not to conduct a tuition-based full day kindergarten program, Batavia School District 101 has resurrected tuition-based full day kindergarten.  Only the name has been changed, as Jack Webb on Dragnet used to say, to protect the guilty school officials, but they're not fooling anybody.

For background on this story, see the March 10th edition of Rob Sherman News, entitled Batavia Schools persuaded by Sherman to reverse decision to charge tuition for full day kindergarten.

The original proposal, approved by the Batavia School Board on February 23rd, was to offer half day kindergarten for free to everybody, or Fee Based Extended Day Kindergarten for $250 per month.  Students enrolled in full day kindergarten would have the same certified teacher, teaching the kindergarten curriculum, all day long, with the same students in the same class both in the morning and afternoon.  According to Dr. Jan Wright, Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, and Kris Monn, Assistant Superintendent for Finance, the $250 per month fee "was calculated ... by using the actual personnel costs of staffing the extended day kindergarten ... and dividing the total by the number of expected seats available."  I pointed out at this week's Batavia School Board meeting that this is precisely what is prohibited by Article X, Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution, as interpreted in 1925 by the Illinois Supreme Court in the case of Segar versus the Rockford School Board.

As someone who strongly supports full day kindergarten, I told the Board that they didn't have to offer full day kindergarten, but if they did, they can't charge tuition for it.  Shortly thereafter, the Board voted to not offer Fee Based Extended Day Kindergarten, and one Board Member told me after the meeting, "If it's against the law, then we can't do it." 

The new proposal is to offer half day kindergarten for free to everybody, plus After School Enrichment for a fee of ... you guessed it ... $250 per month.  The program, policies and method of fee calculation for After School Enrichment are absolutely identical to the program, policies and method of fee calculation for Fee Based Extended Day Kindergarten.  The only differences between the two programs are the name of the program, and the word used to describe what the teacher does.

In the former program, instruction in the subjects taught was called "teaching."  In the latter program, instruction in the subjects taught is called "enrichment."  However, that Segar decision from 1925 specifically states that "instruction in the subjects taught, without a tuition charge, provides free schools," regardless of whether you call the instruction "teaching" or "enrichment."  The teacher is doing the identical thing -- instruction in the subjects taught -- so whether it is called "teaching the curriculum by certified staff" or "providing enrichment in the curriculum by certified staff," it's the exact same, identical thing -- instruction in the subjects taught -- so the School District can't charge tuition for it.

I'm not finished fighting this battle.  Stay tuned.

Are you a parent in Batavia, or a parent in St. Charles, the second city north of Batavia, where full day kindergarten is currently being offered for a tuition charge of $250 per month?  Do you desire guidance with the process for ensuring that you are not charged tuition for your child to attend the free public school that you already have paid for with your tax dollars?  If so, contact Rob Sherman Advocacy at (847) 870-0700 or at rob@robsherman.com .  I don't charge a fee.  That's why I'm so effective in fighting injustice, one victory at a time, and it's why I put the Fear of God into government officials who violate your constitutional rights.

I can even help parents in St. Charles get a refund of kindergarten tuition that you were illegally charged.  It's illegal.  They can't do that.  Call me.  I'll get you your money back.

The Daily Herald did a story in today's paper, entitled Batavia full-day kindergarten is now 'enrichment', about my efforts to stop the Batavia Schools from violating the constitutional rights of 5-year-olds by charging them tuition for the free public education that their parents have already paid for with their tax dollars. The award-winning Daily Herald covers suburban Chicago like a blanket and is the third largest newspaper in Illinois, after the two Chicago major dailies.

Help support my work by purchasing a Rob Sherman News Mini-Crank Flashlight for $20.  It never needs batteries.  You just wind it up a few times and it works.  Remember, you're not paying twenty bucks just for a flashlight.  You are helping me to shine a light on unconstitutional government policies.  That's the value of what you are purchasing.  Contributions of any size towards the substantial cost of my work are appreciated.

Other views of the Rob Sherman News Mini-Crank Flashlight:    Close-up    Front    Illuminated    Inch

Please tell your friends about this through your social media networks and word of mouth.

E-mail comments about my stories to me at rob@robsherman.com to let me know what you think.  Send personal comments, comments unrelated to this story or notification of typos that you see in any of my posts to the same e-mail address.

Thanks for visiting Rob Sherman News.