101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB2446

 

Introduced , by Rep. Dan Caulkins

 

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 5% 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

 

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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.
8    (a) Except in districts in which there is only one school
9with fewer than 4 teachers, to employ a superintendent or share
10the services of a superintendent as otherwise provided in this
11Section, who shall have charge of the administration of the
12schools under the direction of the board of education. However,
13in any school district that has boundaries that lie in 3
14counties, one county of which has a population exceeding
151,000,000 inhabitants, that has an enrollment of more than
1635,000 students, and that has on staff properly licensed
17assistant superintendents or directors in the areas of
18instruction, finance, special education, assessments, and
19career and technology education, the school board may instead,
20by a vote of a majority of its full membership, appoint a chief
21executive officer to serve as its superintendent, who shall be
22a person of recognized administrative ability and management
23experience, hold a master's degree, have been employed with the

 

 

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1school district for a minimum of 5 years in an administrative
2capacity, be responsible for the management of the district,
3and have all other powers and duties of a superintendent as set
4forth in this Code, but who shall be exempt from the provisions
5and requirements of Section 21B-15 of this Code for a period of
65 years.
7    (b) A school board shall, upon passage of a referendum as
8provided in subsection (c) after submission of a petition
9signed by no less than 5% of the school district's voters in
10the last consolidated election, or may, by resolution, enter
11into a joint agreement with other school boards to share the
12services of a superintendent or other administrator. Each
13school board involved in the joint agreement must agree to the
14joint agreement by resolution or by passage of a referendum,
15but not both. A school board is not required to enter into a
16joint agreement in the same manner as the other school boards
17in the agreement, as long as the school board agrees to the
18joint agreement by resolution or by passage of a referendum.
19The agreement must include the amount that each school board
20shall contribute to the salary of the superintendent or other
21administrator. The superintendent or other administrator may
22be employed by one school board, which shall be reimbursed on a
23mutually agreed-to basis with other school boards that are
24parties to the joint agreement. The joint agreement may be
25amended at any time as provided in the joint agreement or, if
26the joint agreement does not so provide, the agreement may be

 

 

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1amended at any time upon the adoption of a resolution (if the
2original joint agreement was entered into upon adoption of a
3resolution) or the passage of a referendum (if the original
4joint agreement was entered into upon passage of a referendum)
5in all member school districts. A fully executed copy of the
6joint agreement shall be filed with the State Board of
7Education. In the event 3 or more school boards decide to enter
8into a joint agreement and at least one school board submits a
9referendum under subsection (c) that does not pass, the
10agreement between the remaining school boards is still valid.
11    Any savings realized by sharing services under this
12subsection must be divided equally between classroom needs and
13property tax relief for the school district's residents.
14    (c) A petition to enter into a joint agreement under
15subsection (b) shall be filed with the applicable election
16authority, as defined in Section 1-3 of the Election Code, or,
17in the case of multiple election authorities, with the State
18Board of Elections no more than 10 months and no less than 3
19months prior to the election at which the question is to be
20submitted to the voters, and its validity shall be determined
21as provided by Article 28 of the Election Code. The election
22authority or Board, as applicable, shall certify the question
23and the proper election authority or authorities shall submit
24the question to the voters. Except as otherwise provided in
25this Section, this referendum shall be subject to all other
26general election law requirements. The proposition shall be in

 

 

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1substantially the following form:
2        Shall the (school district) enter into a joint
3    agreement with (other school district or districts) to
4    share the services of a (superintendent or other
5    administrator)?
6    Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
7    If a majority of all votes cast on the proposition are in
8favor of the proposition or the school board adopts a
9resolution in all affected school districts, the school boards
10shall enter into a joint agreement.
11    (d) 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    (e) 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 5% of the district's voters in the last
6consolidated election. The petition or other school board
7action shall be filed with the applicable election authority,
8as defined in Section 1-3 of the Election Code, or, in the case
9of multiple election authorities, with the State Board of
10Elections no more than 10 months and no less than 3 months
11prior to the election at which the question is to be submitted
12to the voters, and its validity shall be determined as provided
13by Article 28 of the Election Code. The election authority or
14Board, as applicable, shall certify the question and the proper
15election authority or authorities shall submit the question to
16the voters. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, this
17referendum shall be subject to all other general election law
18requirements. The proposition shall be in substantially the
19following form:
20        Shall the (school district) withdraw from the joint
21    agreement with (other school district or districts) and
22    cease sharing the services of a (superintendent or other
23    administrator)?
24    Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
25    If a majority of all votes cast on the proposition are in
26favor of the proposition, the school district shall be

 

 

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

 

 

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1in making reports required by the board, and perform such other
2duties as the board may delegate to him.
3    In addition, each year at a time designated by the State
4Superintendent of Education, each superintendent shall report
5to the State Board of Education the number of high school
6students in the district who are enrolled in accredited courses
7(for which high school credit will be awarded upon successful
8completion of the courses) at any community college, together
9with the name and number of the course or courses which each
10such student is taking.
11    (g) The provisions of this Section shall also apply to
12board of director districts.
13    (h) Notice of intent not to renew a contract must be given
14in writing stating the specific reason therefor by April 1 of
15the contract year unless the contract specifically provides
16otherwise. Failure to do so will automatically extend the
17contract for an additional year. Within 10 days after receipt
18of notice of intent not to renew a contract, the superintendent
19may request a closed session hearing on the dismissal. At the
20hearing the superintendent has the privilege of presenting
21evidence, witnesses and defenses on the grounds for dismissal.
22The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a district
23under a Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
24violating a financial plan.
25(Source: P.A. 99-846, eff. 6-1-17.)