Post by title1parent on May 7, 2010 5:11:46 GMT -5
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=378889&src=76
DuPage truancy program could get ax
By Jake Griffin | Daily Herald 5/7/2010
Four truancy officers at the DuPage County Regional Office of Education have been told they may not have jobs next year because of potential state funding shortfalls.
The truancy officers are among 31 employees at the agency who may be out of work if state and federal grant dollars that normally fund their salaries are withheld. The office went through a similar situation last year and funding sources were eventually found, but Superintendent Darlene Ruscitti said she was particularly concerned about the truancy program this year.
"You hear things," she said. "We have heard through the grapevine that the ($130,000) renewable state grant we get each year may not be there this time."
That grant covers the salaries of the four officers and has remained flat for the past several years, Ruscitti said.
Local school district officials said the loss of the program would be a burden on the schools as the officers handle an average of about 600 cases a year. Schools turn over tougher truancy cases to the county agency's staffers, who meet with the students and the parents and decide if judicial intervention is necessary. A small number of the officers' caseloads wind up in court, but that keeps school administrators from having to handle them at that level.
"If the regional office doesn't have the program then who's going to be responsible for that?" asked Phil Wright, assistant principal at Roselle's Lake Park High School. "That would definitely have an impact on our school."
But Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 spokesman Robert Rammer doesn't believe the program would be completely eliminated.
"My guess is they'd sit down with us as they've always done and we'd discuss how we'll address this problem," he said. "The truancy program is one of the things they have to provide."
Ruscitti said her office would work with schools to provide some type of program, but it may be a far cry from what the schools are used to.
"I have to prioritize my core functions," she said. "This year is more serious just because of everything we're hearing from the state about funding. I am meeting with school districts and asking them to work with me if we don't have truancy funding next year."
Some say Ruscitti should use the nearly $700,000 a year the county allocates to her office for essential programs and not office staff. However, Ruscitti counters that the office workers are doing more than just clerical work and there are no grant programs that cover salaries for those workers.
County board member and finance committee Chairman Paul Fichtner sides with Ruscitti and said he doesn't believe the agency's funding woes will translate to the board mandating how she spends the funds it allocates to her office. He noted that she's not alone in her plight.
"The line is beginning to form to come to the county coffers to replace state funding," he said. "It's a similar situation in the state's attorney's office and probation. It's going to be very frustrating come budget time."
DuPage truancy program could get ax
By Jake Griffin | Daily Herald 5/7/2010
Four truancy officers at the DuPage County Regional Office of Education have been told they may not have jobs next year because of potential state funding shortfalls.
The truancy officers are among 31 employees at the agency who may be out of work if state and federal grant dollars that normally fund their salaries are withheld. The office went through a similar situation last year and funding sources were eventually found, but Superintendent Darlene Ruscitti said she was particularly concerned about the truancy program this year.
"You hear things," she said. "We have heard through the grapevine that the ($130,000) renewable state grant we get each year may not be there this time."
That grant covers the salaries of the four officers and has remained flat for the past several years, Ruscitti said.
Local school district officials said the loss of the program would be a burden on the schools as the officers handle an average of about 600 cases a year. Schools turn over tougher truancy cases to the county agency's staffers, who meet with the students and the parents and decide if judicial intervention is necessary. A small number of the officers' caseloads wind up in court, but that keeps school administrators from having to handle them at that level.
"If the regional office doesn't have the program then who's going to be responsible for that?" asked Phil Wright, assistant principal at Roselle's Lake Park High School. "That would definitely have an impact on our school."
But Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 spokesman Robert Rammer doesn't believe the program would be completely eliminated.
"My guess is they'd sit down with us as they've always done and we'd discuss how we'll address this problem," he said. "The truancy program is one of the things they have to provide."
Ruscitti said her office would work with schools to provide some type of program, but it may be a far cry from what the schools are used to.
"I have to prioritize my core functions," she said. "This year is more serious just because of everything we're hearing from the state about funding. I am meeting with school districts and asking them to work with me if we don't have truancy funding next year."
Some say Ruscitti should use the nearly $700,000 a year the county allocates to her office for essential programs and not office staff. However, Ruscitti counters that the office workers are doing more than just clerical work and there are no grant programs that cover salaries for those workers.
County board member and finance committee Chairman Paul Fichtner sides with Ruscitti and said he doesn't believe the agency's funding woes will translate to the board mandating how she spends the funds it allocates to her office. He noted that she's not alone in her plight.
"The line is beginning to form to come to the county coffers to replace state funding," he said. "It's a similar situation in the state's attorney's office and probation. It's going to be very frustrating come budget time."