SB1637 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 15937 CMG 21307 b

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).

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 10-21.4 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/10-21.4) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.4)

Sec. 10-21.4. Superintendent - Duties; shared administrators.

(a) Except in districts in which there is only one school with fewer than 4 teachers, to employ a superintendent or share the services of a superintendent as otherwise provided in this Section, who shall have charge of the administration of the schools under the direction of the board of education. However, in any school district that has boundaries that lie in 3 counties, one county of which has a population exceeding 1,000,000 inhabitants, that has an enrollment of more than 35,000 students, and that has on staff properly licensed assistant superintendents or directors in the areas of instruction, finance, special education, assessments, and career and technology education, the school board may instead, by a vote of a majority of its full membership, appoint a chief executive officer to serve as its superintendent, who shall be a person of recognized administrative ability and management experience, hold a master's degree, have been employed with the school district for a minimum of 5 years in an administrative capacity, be responsible for the management of the district, and have all other powers and duties of a superintendent as set forth in this Code, but who shall be exempt from the provisions and requirements of Section 21B-15 of this Code for a period of 5 years.

(b) Except for a principal or assistant principal, a school board shall, upon passage of a referendum as provided in subsection (c) after submission of a petition signed by no less than 8% of registered voters in the school district 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, including, but not limited to, an assistant superintendent, associate superintendent, chief school business official, assistant school business official, special education director or supervisor, assistant special education director or supervisor, general administrator, general supervisor, director or dean, supervisory dean, athletic director, curriculum director, assistant athletic director, or assistant curriculum director. Each school board involved in the joint agreement must agree to the joint agreement by resolution or by passage of a referendum, but not both. A school board is not required to enter into a joint agreement in the same manner as the other school boards in the agreement, as long as the school board agrees to the joint agreement by resolution or by passage of a referendum. The joint agreement must include the amount that each school board shall contribute to the salary of the superintendent or other administrator. The superintendent or other administrator may be employed by one school board, which shall be reimbursed on a mutually agreed-to basis with other school boards that are parties to the joint agreement. The joint agreement must contain clear and equitable funding formulas covering each school district's obligations. The joint agreement may be amended at any time as provided in the joint agreement or, if the joint agreement does not so provide, the agreement may be amended at any time upon the adoption of a resolution (if the original joint agreement was entered into upon adoption of a resolution) or the passage of a referendum (if the original joint agreement was entered into upon passage of a referendum) in all member school districts. A fully executed copy of the joint agreement shall be filed with the State Board of Education and each applicable regional office of education. The State Board of Education must provide technical support as requested by the school districts or a regional office of education. In the event 3 or more school boards decide to enter into a joint agreement and at least one school board submits a referendum under subsection (c) that does not pass, the agreement between the remaining school boards is still valid.

Any savings realized by sharing services under this subsection must be divided equally between classroom needs and property tax relief for the school district's residents.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, shared administrator services may not alter an individual school board's authority to make decisions on behalf of a school district.

(c) A petition to enter into a joint agreement under subsection (b) shall be filed with the school board's secretary no more than 92 days prior to the election at which the question is to be submitted to the voters. The school board's secretary shall certify the question, and the proper election authority or authorities shall submit the question to the voters. This referendum shall be subject to all other general election law requirements. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:

Shall the (school district) enter into a joint agreement with (other school district or districts) to share the services of a (superintendent or other administrator)?

Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".

If a majority of all votes cast on the proposition are in favor of the proposition or the school board adopts a resolution in all affected school districts, the school boards shall enter into a joint agreement.

(d) If, within 6 months after passage of a referendum under subsection (c) or adoption of a resolution under subsection (b), the school boards who are parties to the joint agreement are unable to reach an agreement on how they will share the services of a superintendent or other administrator, the regional office of education that has supervision and control of the school districts that are sharing services or, if more than one regional office of education has supervision and control, the regional office of education that has supervision and control of the largest portion of the affected school districts must assist in the development of the joint agreement.

(e) A school district wishing to withdraw from a joint agreement under this Section shall obtain from its school board a written resolution approving the withdrawal if the school district entered into the joint agreement by resolution. The withdrawing school district must present a written petition for withdrawal from the joint agreement to the other member school districts within the timelines designated by the joint agreement. Upon approval of the petition by all of the remaining member school districts, the petitioning school district shall be withdrawn from the joint agreement effective the following July 1 and shall provide the State Board of Education written notification of the approved withdrawal.

(f) A school district wishing to withdraw from a joint agreement under this Section shall submit to the voters of the district at the next consolidated election 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. In addition, the question shall be submitted to the voters of the district at the next consolidated election upon submission of a petition signed by no less than 8% of registered voters in the district in the last consolidated election. The petition or other school board action shall be filed with the school board's secretary no more than 92 days prior to the election at which the question is to be submitted to the voters. The school board's secretary shall certify the question, and the proper election authority or authorities shall submit the question to the voters. This referendum shall be subject to all other general election law requirements. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:

Shall the (school district) withdraw from the joint agreement with (other school district or districts) and cease sharing the services of a (superintendent or other administrator)?

Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".

If a majority of all votes cast on the proposition are in favor of the proposition, the school district shall be withdrawn from the joint agreement effective the following July 1 and shall provide the State Board of Education written notification of the approved withdrawal.

(g) In addition to the administrative duties, the superintendent shall make recommendations to the board concerning the budget, building plans, the locations of sites, the selection, retention and dismissal of teachers and all other employees, the selection of textbooks, instructional material and courses of study. However, in districts under a Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for violating a financial plan, the duties and responsibilities of the superintendent in relation to the financial and business operations of the district shall be approved by the Panel. In the event the Board refuses or fails to follow a directive or comply with an information request of the Panel, the performance of those duties shall be subject to the direction of the Panel. The superintendent shall also notify the State Board of Education, the board and the chief administrative official, other than the alleged perpetrator himself, in the school where the alleged perpetrator serves, that any person who is employed in a school or otherwise comes into frequent contact with children in the school has been named as a perpetrator in an indicated report filed pursuant to the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, approved June 26, 1975, as amended. The superintendent shall keep or cause to be kept the records and accounts as directed and required by the board, aid in making reports required by the board, and perform such other duties as the board may delegate to him.

In addition, each year at a time designated by the State Superintendent of Education, each superintendent shall report to the State Board of Education the number of high school students in the district who are enrolled in accredited courses (for which high school credit will be awarded upon successful completion of the courses) at any community college, together with the name and number of the course or courses which each such student is taking.

(h) The provisions of this Section shall also apply to board of director districts.

(i) Notice of intent not to renew a contract must be given in writing stating the specific reason therefor by April 1 of the contract year unless the contract specifically provides otherwise. Failure to do so will automatically extend the contract for an additional year. Within 10 days after receipt of notice of intent not to renew a contract, the superintendent may request a closed session hearing on the dismissal. At the hearing the superintendent has the privilege of presenting evidence, witnesses and defenses on the grounds for dismissal. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a district under a Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for violating a financial plan.

(Source: P.A. 99-846, eff. 6-1-17.)