102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB1637

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, 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

 

SB1637LRB102 15937 CMG 21307 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
11share the services of a superintendent as otherwise provided
12in this Section, who shall have charge of the administration
13of the schools under the direction of the board of education.
14However, in any school district that has boundaries that lie
15in 3 counties, 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
2the school district for a minimum of 5 years in an
3administrative capacity, be responsible for the management of
4the district, and have all other powers and duties of a
5superintendent as set forth in this Code, but who shall be
6exempt from the provisions and requirements of Section 21B-15
7of this Code for a period of 5 years.
8    (b) Except for a principal or assistant principal, a
9school board shall, upon passage of a referendum as provided
10in subsection (c) after submission of a petition signed by no
11less than 8% of registered voters in the school district in the
12last consolidated election, or may, by resolution, enter into
13a joint agreement with other school boards to share the
14services of a superintendent or other administrator,
15including, but not limited to, an assistant superintendent,
16associate superintendent, chief school business official,
17assistant school business official, special education director
18or supervisor, 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
24by passage 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
2passage of a referendum. The joint agreement must include the
3amount that each school board shall contribute to the salary
4of the superintendent or other administrator. The
5superintendent or other administrator may be employed by one
6school board, which shall be reimbursed on a mutually
7agreed-to basis with other school boards that are parties to
8the joint agreement. The joint agreement must contain clear
9and equitable funding formulas covering each school district's
10obligations. The joint agreement may be amended at any time as
11provided in the joint agreement or, if the joint agreement
12does not so provide, the agreement may be amended at any time
13upon the adoption of a resolution (if the original joint
14agreement was entered into upon adoption of a resolution) or
15the passage of a referendum (if the original joint agreement
16was entered into upon passage of a referendum) in all member
17school districts. A fully executed copy of the joint agreement
18shall be filed with the State Board of Education and each
19applicable regional office of education. The State Board of
20Education must provide technical support as requested by the
21school districts or a regional office of education. In the
22event 3 or more school boards decide to enter into a joint
23agreement and at least one school board submits a referendum
24under subsection (c) that does not pass, the agreement between
25the remaining school boards is still 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
9secretary no more than 92 days prior to the election at which
10the question is to be submitted to the voters. The school
11board's secretary shall certify the question, and the proper
12election authority or authorities shall submit the question to
13the voters. This referendum shall be subject to all other
14general election 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
26under subsection (c) or adoption of a resolution under

 

 

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

 

 

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1whether the school district shall withdraw from the joint
2agreement if the school district entered into the joint
3agreement by a referendum vote. In addition, the question
4shall be submitted to the voters of the district at the next
5consolidated election upon submission of a petition signed by
6no less than 8% of registered voters in the district in the
7last consolidated election. The petition or other school board
8action shall be filed with the school board's secretary no
9more than 92 days prior to the election at which the question
10is to be submitted to the voters. The school board's secretary
11shall certify the question, and the proper election authority
12or authorities shall submit the question to the voters. This
13referendum shall be subject to all other general election law
14requirements. The proposition shall be in substantially the
15following form:
16        Shall the (school district) withdraw from the joint
17    agreement with (other school district or districts) and
18    cease sharing 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, the school district shall be
23withdrawn from the joint agreement effective the following
24July 1 and shall provide the State Board of Education written
25notification of the approved withdrawal.
26    (g) In addition to the administrative duties, the

 

 

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1superintendent shall make recommendations to the board
2concerning the budget, building plans, the locations of sites,
3the selection, retention and dismissal of teachers and all
4other employees, the selection of textbooks, instructional
5material and courses of study. However, in districts under a
6Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
7violating a financial plan, the duties and responsibilities of
8the superintendent in relation to the financial and business
9operations of the district shall be approved by the Panel. In
10the event the Board refuses or fails to follow a directive or
11comply with an information request of the Panel, the
12performance of those duties shall be subject to the direction
13of the Panel. The superintendent shall also notify the State
14Board of Education, the board and the chief administrative
15official, other than the alleged perpetrator himself, in the
16school where the alleged perpetrator serves, that any person
17who is employed in a school or otherwise comes into frequent
18contact with children in the school has been named as a
19perpetrator in an indicated report filed pursuant to the
20Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, approved June 26,
211975, as amended. The superintendent shall keep or cause to be
22kept the records and accounts as directed and required by the
23board, aid in making reports required by the board, and
24perform such other duties as the board may delegate to him.
25    In addition, each year at a time designated by the State
26Superintendent of Education, each superintendent shall report

 

 

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