11/09/ 2005 - Forest Leaves

State report cards show more than test scores

BY CHRIS LAFORTUNE
STAFF WRITER

District 200 and 90 report cards include not only data on average student test scores, but also information on staffing levels, salaries and district expenses.

The report cards can be found at the districts' Web sites - www.oprfhs.org and www.district90.org, on the latter under the "District Overview" link.

In Oak Park-River Forest High School District 200, the average class size reported on the 2005 report card is 19.4 students, about the same as the state average for high schools, 19.7

In River Forest Elementary District 90, the class sizes at most grade levels were below the state averages, ranging from 16.6 students in kindergarten to 21.2 in eighths grade. Sixth grade, though, has an average class size of 26.4, topping the state average.

Overall enrollment, set at 1,367, came in lower than on the 2004 report card, when it was 1,380. Superintendent Marlene Kamm said Monday she believes the state did not report pre-kindergarten enrollment on the report card, and that enrollment was up about a dozen students last year.

The district has said it is out of space at its elementary school buildings. It is conducting demographic projections to see whether it needs to add classrooms to accommodate students, Kamm said.

In terms of salary, the average teacher pay was $77,053 at OPRF, compared to a state average of $55,558. The average administrator salary was $131,821, compared to a state average of $97,051.

District 90's average salaries, at $60,435 for teachers and $117,294 for administrators, also topped the state averages.

All of District 90's schools met adequate yearly progress targets on the 2005 report card.

At OPRF, where juniors were tested last spring, black students, disabled students and low income students failed to meet safe harbor targets in math. Lower targets were set for those groups on the Prairie State Achievement Exam because of low performance in the past, but the groups did not meet them.

ACT scores were up a few tenths of a point in every area on the 2005 report card compared to the previous year. Instruction director Amy Hill said those scores were for the class of 2005, while the Prairie State scores were for the class of 2006.

But math performance on the ACT has been up over the last five years, the same area the school has had problems on the Prairie State test.

"We're trying to see where we might have an explanation for that," Hill said Monday. "There is no magic ingredient other than quality instruction and high expectations."

Instructional expenditures per pupil in each district were about level with the previous reported year. In 2003-04, as reported in the current report card, District 200 spent $8,454 per pupil on instruction, compared to $8,534 during 2002-03. The state latest average for all schools was $5,216.

In District 90, per pupil instructional spending was $6,257 in 2003-04, compared to $6,026 in 2002-03.

The operating expenditure per pupil in 2003-04 for OPRF was $14,201, while in District 90, it was $10,301. The state average operating expenditure per pupil was $8,786 for all schools.

Of District 200's costs, more than 51 percent went toward education, nearly 6 percent toward general administration, 33 percent toward supporting services and nearly 10 percent toward other.

In District 90, almost 53 percent of costs were for education, 7 percent for general administration, 28 percent for supporting services and 12. percent for other.

The state averages were nearly 47 percent for education, under 2.6 percent for general administration, 32 for supporting services and 19 for other.

Kamm said there are many single school districts in Illinois, which would bring the average administrator costs down for the state. The district just conducted a comparison of its expenses with 24 other local school districts, Kamm said, including Franklin Park, Riverside, Oak Park, Hinsdale and Oak Brook, which showed its expenses were in line with them.

"If you compare us to like school districts, school districts of similar size and similar operating expense per pupil, you'll find that the percentage is right on the mark," she said.

Chris LaFortune can be reached at clafortune@pioneerlocal.com.