In response to a Cook County Debt Disclosure Ordinance, Glenbrook High School District 225 was required to disclose specific annual financial information to the Office of the Cook County Treasurer that was included on the March installment of local property tax bills.

This information was pulled from the District's annual audited financial reports and included: total debts and liabilities, gross operating budget, total pension liability, total unfunded pension liability and pension funded ratio.

(A breakdown of the source data for each of these categories listed on the property tax bills can be viewed by clicking here)

During the February 11 Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Business Hillarie Siena stressed the importance of providing additional information about these categories, specifically when looking at pension liability.

"The information presented on the tax bills does not reflect data relative to the state-funded retirement system known as TRS (Teachers Retirement System of Illinois)," Siena said. "We understand recent concerns regarding the public pension system in Illinois and want to clarify that the information listed on the property tax bills is not related to TRS."

Employees of District 225 participate in one of two pension systems: TRS and IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund). Non-certificated support personnel are members of IMRF. IMRF is locally funded by Glenbrook High School District 225, which levies taxes for this purpose. Certified personnel are members of TRS, which unlike IMRF, is funded through contributions from District 225 employees and the State of Illinois. 

The information on the tax bills relative to pension liability applies to IMRF and all post-employment benefits, mainly insurance. The District's total pension liability is listed at $44,106,803 and the total unfunded pension liability at $20,473,982.

However, both of these figures include $13,321,459 attributed to other post-employment benefits, which are not related to pension.  The portion actually attributable to total IMRF pension liability is $30,785,344 and to total unfunded IMRF liability is $7,152,523.

Siena explained total pension liability reflects the amount District 225 would have to pay out in IMRF pension and other post-employment benefits if each covered employee as of June 30, 2012 were to retire now. Unfunded pension liability refers to the amount the district would theoretically be short if this occurred.

Much of the shortfall in total unfunded pension liability is due to investment losses suffered by IMRF due to the economic downturn.  Recovery of these losses is expected over time through increases to the District's employer rate and returns on investments.

"The District fully supports transparency for our tax payers through full disclosure of financial information. However, it is equally as important to provide context to avoid any confusion or misinterpretation," Siena said.

Additional information about the District's financials, including the Annual Financial Report and the audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Report are available at  http://www.glenbrook225.org/district/District-Departments/Business-Operations/Financial-Info. Both are posted annually for public review.

District 225 moves forward with new Common Core State Standards

While the state's new Common Core standards may mean significant changes for some school districts, Glenbrook High School District 225 has already begun implementing key changes to better align its curriculum with the new standards.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers in collaboration with educators. These standards, which apply to students in grades K-12, primarily impact math and English/language arts.

"Common Core State Standards were developed to better prepare U.S. students for college and careers and provide consistency in the quality of education across the nation. While this initiative requires changes in our curriculum, the work our teachers have begun will allow for a smooth transition to the new standards," said Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Dr. Rosanne Williamson.

During her presentation to the Board on February 11, Williamson explained what these changes would look like at the high school level. For example, in math, the new standards focus on developing students' conceptual understanding, which prepares a student to apply and adapt mathematical ideas to new situations. There will also be fewer topics to allow for more in-depth learning of important concepts and a new testing structure that moves away from multiple-choice questions.

To align the curriculum with these new standards, math teachers revised and implemented extended response problems this fall that are of greater high-cognitive demand.

In English/language arts, the new writing standards focus more on argumentative writing rather than persuasive writing. Additional non-fiction reading material will also supplement core units of study in response to the standards' call for more non-fiction reading.

Professional development sessions were conducted in 2010 and 2011 for District 225 and sender districts to prepare teachers for these changes. Since then, teachers have reviewed writing standards that focus more on argumentative writing and are currently conducting a "gap analysis" to better bridge 8th and 9th grade writing assignments in light of the new standards.

"District 225 will continue to work collaboratively with sender districts to ensure that the transition from 8th grade to 9th grade remains smooth for our students in spite of these curricular changes," Williamson said.

New assessments coming in the 2014-15 school year will measure student performance relative to CCSS and determine how effective school districts are in preparing students for college and careers.  These assessments are being developed by the Partnership for Assessment for Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).  The new assessments will be administered online to students in grades 9-11.