101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3239

 

Introduced 2/11/2020, by Sen. Sue Rezin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/10-21.4  from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.4

    Amends the School Code. Provides that a school board shall, upon passage of a referendum after submission of a petition signed by no less than 8% of the school district's voters in the last consolidated election, or may, by resolution, enter into a joint agreement with other school boards to share the services of a superintendent or other administrator. Provides that any savings realized by sharing services must be divided equally between classroom needs and property tax relief. Provides that a school district wishing to withdraw from the joint agreement shall obtain from its school board a written resolution approving the withdrawal and shall present a petition for withdrawal to the other member school districts within the timelines designated by the joint agreement if the school district entered into the joint agreement by resolution. Provides that a school district wishing to withdraw from the joint agreement shall submit to the voters of the district the question of whether the school district shall withdraw from the joint agreement if the school district entered into the joint agreement by a referendum vote (also provides for a referendum upon submission of a petition).


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3239LRB101 19767 CMG 69277 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
510-21.4 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/10-21.4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.4)
7    Sec. 10-21.4. Superintendent - Duties; shared
8administrators.
9    (a) Except in districts in which there is only one school
10with fewer than 4 teachers, to employ a superintendent or share
11the services of a superintendent as otherwise provided in this
12Section, who shall have charge of the administration of the
13schools under the direction of the board of education. However,
14in any school district that has boundaries that lie in 3
15counties, one county of which has a population exceeding
161,000,000 inhabitants, that has an enrollment of more than
1735,000 students, and that has on staff properly licensed
18assistant superintendents or directors in the areas of
19instruction, finance, special education, assessments, and
20career and technology education, the school board may instead,
21by a vote of a majority of its full membership, appoint a chief
22executive officer to serve as its superintendent, who shall be
23a person of recognized administrative ability and management

 

 

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1experience, hold a master's degree, have been employed with the
2school district for a minimum of 5 years in an administrative
3capacity, be responsible for the management of the district,
4and have all other powers and duties of a superintendent as set
5forth in this Code, but who shall be exempt from the provisions
6and requirements of Section 21B-15 of this Code for a period of
75 years.
8    (b) Except for a principal or assistant principal, a school
9board shall, upon passage of a referendum as provided in
10subsection (c) after submission of a petition signed by no less
11than 8% of registered voters in the school district in the last
12consolidated election, or may, by resolution, enter into a
13joint agreement with other school boards to share the services
14of a superintendent or other administrator, including, but not
15limited to, an assistant superintendent, associate
16superintendent, chief school business official, assistant
17school business official, special education director or
18supervisor, assistant special education director or
19supervisor, general administrator, general supervisor,
20director or dean, supervisory dean, athletic director,
21curriculum director, assistant athletic director, or assistant
22curriculum director. Each school board involved in the joint
23agreement must agree to the joint agreement by resolution or by
24passage of a referendum, but not both. A school board is not
25required to enter into a joint agreement in the same manner as
26the other school boards in the agreement, as long as the school

 

 

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1board agrees to the joint agreement by resolution or by passage
2of a referendum. The joint agreement must include the amount
3that each school board shall contribute to the salary of the
4superintendent or other administrator. The superintendent or
5other administrator may be employed by one school board, which
6shall be reimbursed on a mutually agreed-to basis with other
7school boards that are parties to the joint agreement. The
8joint agreement must contain clear and equitable funding
9formulas covering each school district's obligations. The
10joint agreement may be amended at any time as provided in the
11joint agreement or, if the joint agreement does not so provide,
12the agreement may be amended at any time upon the adoption of a
13resolution (if the original joint agreement was entered into
14upon adoption of a resolution) or the passage of a referendum
15(if the original joint agreement was entered into upon passage
16of a referendum) in all member school districts. A fully
17executed copy of the joint agreement shall be filed with the
18State Board of Education and each applicable regional office of
19education. The State Board of Education must provide technical
20support as requested by the school districts or a regional
21office of education. In the event 3 or more school boards
22decide to enter into a joint agreement and at least one school
23board submits a referendum under subsection (c) that does not
24pass, the agreement between the remaining school boards is
25still valid.
26    Any savings realized by sharing services under this

 

 

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1subsection must be divided equally between classroom needs and
2property tax relief for the school district's residents.
3    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section,
4shared administrator services may not alter an individual
5school board's authority to make decisions on behalf of a
6school district.
7    (c) A petition to enter into a joint agreement under
8subsection (b) shall be filed with the school board's secretary
9no more than 92 days prior to the election at which the
10question is to be submitted to the voters. The school board's
11secretary shall certify the question, and the proper election
12authority or authorities shall submit the question to the
13voters. This referendum shall be subject to all other general
14election law requirements. The proposition shall be in
15substantially the following form:
16        Shall the (school district) enter into a joint
17    agreement with (other school district or districts) to
18    share the services of a (superintendent or other
19    administrator)?
20    Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
21    If a majority of all votes cast on the proposition are in
22favor of the proposition or the school board adopts a
23resolution in all affected school districts, the school boards
24shall enter into a joint agreement.
25    (d) If, within 6 months after passage of a referendum under
26subsection (c) or adoption of a resolution under subsection

 

 

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1(b), the school boards who are parties to the joint agreement
2are unable to reach an agreement on how they will share the
3services of a superintendent or other administrator, the
4regional office of education that has supervision and control
5of the school districts that are sharing services or, if more
6than one regional office of education has supervision and
7control, the regional office of education that has supervision
8and control of the largest portion of the affected school
9districts must assist in the development of the joint
10agreement.
11    (e) A school district wishing to withdraw from a joint
12agreement under this Section shall obtain from its school board
13a written resolution approving the withdrawal if the school
14district entered into the joint agreement by resolution. The
15withdrawing school district must present a written petition for
16withdrawal from the joint agreement to the other member school
17districts within the timelines designated by the joint
18agreement. Upon approval of the petition by all of the
19remaining member school districts, the petitioning school
20district shall be withdrawn from the joint agreement effective
21the following July 1 and shall provide the State Board of
22Education written notification of the approved withdrawal.
23    (f) A school district wishing to withdraw from a joint
24agreement under this Section shall submit to the voters of the
25district at the next consolidated election the question of
26whether the school district shall withdraw from the joint

 

 

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1agreement if the school district entered into the joint
2agreement by a referendum vote. In addition, the question shall
3be submitted to the voters of the district at the next
4consolidated election upon submission of a petition signed by
5no less than 8% of registered voters in the district in the
6last consolidated election. The petition or other school board
7action shall be filed with the school board's secretary no more
8than 92 days prior to the election at which the question is to
9be submitted to the voters. The school board's secretary shall
10certify the question, and the proper election authority or
11authorities shall submit the question to the voters. This
12referendum shall be subject to all other general election law
13requirements. The proposition shall be in substantially the
14following form:
15        Shall the (school district) withdraw from the joint
16    agreement with (other school district or districts) and
17    cease sharing the services of a (superintendent or other
18    administrator)?
19    Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
20    If a majority of all votes cast on the proposition are in
21favor of the proposition, the school district shall be
22withdrawn from the joint agreement effective the following July
231 and shall provide the State Board of Education written
24notification of the approved withdrawal.
25    (g) In addition to the administrative duties, the
26superintendent shall make recommendations to the board

 

 

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1concerning the budget, building plans, the locations of sites,
2the selection, retention and dismissal of teachers and all
3other employees, the selection of textbooks, instructional
4material and courses of study. However, in districts under a
5Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
6violating a financial plan, the duties and responsibilities of
7the superintendent in relation to the financial and business
8operations of the district shall be approved by the Panel. In
9the event the Board refuses or fails to follow a directive or
10comply with an information request of the Panel, the
11performance of those duties shall be subject to the direction
12of the Panel. The superintendent shall also notify the State
13Board of Education, the board and the chief administrative
14official, other than the alleged perpetrator himself, in the
15school where the alleged perpetrator serves, that any person
16who is employed in a school or otherwise comes into frequent
17contact with children in the school has been named as a
18perpetrator in an indicated report filed pursuant to the Abused
19and Neglected Child Reporting Act, approved June 26, 1975, as
20amended. The superintendent shall keep or cause to be kept the
21records and accounts as directed and required by the board, aid
22in making reports required by the board, and perform such other
23duties as the board may delegate to him.
24    In addition, each year at a time designated by the State
25Superintendent of Education, each superintendent shall report
26to the State Board of Education the number of high school

 

 

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1students in the district who are enrolled in accredited courses
2(for which high school credit will be awarded upon successful
3completion of the courses) at any community college, together
4with the name and number of the course or courses which each
5such student is taking.
6    (h) The provisions of this Section shall also apply to
7board of director districts.
8    (i) Notice of intent not to renew a contract must be given
9in writing stating the specific reason therefor by April 1 of
10the contract year unless the contract specifically provides
11otherwise. Failure to do so will automatically extend the
12contract for an additional year. Within 10 days after receipt
13of notice of intent not to renew a contract, the superintendent
14may request a closed session hearing on the dismissal. At the
15hearing the superintendent has the privilege of presenting
16evidence, witnesses and defenses on the grounds for dismissal.
17The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a district
18under a Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
19violating a financial plan.
20(Source: P.A. 99-846, eff. 6-1-17.)