When my husband and I moved to Mahomet 42 years ago, we were looking for a quiet and safe community to raise a family. Good schools were a plus we discovered later on as our children grew. As my children entered school, I devoted hundreds of volunteer hours in the schools serving as President-elect, President and Treasurer of the PTO, as well as classroom volunteer and chairman of many of the PTO programs. My education included a degree in child psychology and education. I state this in reference to my interest in the M-S school boards over the last 35 years.
Since the 2005 elections, I began to notice a disturbing pattern to the seating of board members. Part of that pattern began with the appointment of Max McComb in 2007. Max ran uncontested until 2017 when two other candidates joined the race. But, the Mahomet-Seymour School board was in a pattern of appointing board members, filling the seats four times by hand-picking representatives. This leads me to analyze the present election and Max McComb’s re-election because he serves as head of the board.
A little information about Max:
- McComb was first selected to the board in May of 2007. He became a realtor in 2008.
- He has served 14 years after winning re-elections and became board president in 2015.
History of serving student and parental needs:
- As early as 2011, the board was made aware, at public sessions by various principals, that there were serious overcrowding issues at Mahomet-Seymour Junior High. At that time the student population was 662 and now, in 2020, it’s 729. McComb has been aware of the population growth problem at schools for almost 10 years, and he is just now bringing this to the board as a point of crisis. This shows a lack of insight and vision and has put teachers in an environment where classrooms are busting at the seams. Sources: (2011, October 26, Mahomet Citizen) (2013, December 5, Mahomet Citizen)
- McComb was one of the visionaries for the one K-2 Middletown Prairie building, instead of two separate buildings, as originally planned. The first addition that was completed in 2015 was just big enough for Pre-K and kindergarten and the final product, a Pre-K to 2nd-grade building, in 2018 was already too small for the community’s growth. Once again, lack of insight and vision.
- In 2013, former Superintendent Rick Johnston said that the junior high and athletic fields would be located on the Middletown property by 2022. Yet, we are just beginning a discussion on what is the best course of action. As head of the board since 2015, that rests on McComb’s shoulders. Source: (2013, December 5, Mahomet Citizen)
Why this matters:
There are 840 lots for dwellings to be built in the next few years. If only 50-percent of those families bring children into the district, what plan of action has been put into place with professionals who are experienced in school engineering, construction management, and how it all fits into city planning? Are there other ideas other than building more schools every few years? Yes, I am aware of community people or friends of the district who are planning a new school; 10-percent of those are realtors.
Standings of Mahomet-Seymour Schools:
- ISBE (Illinois State Board of Education) does not recognize Mahomet-Seymour as an “Exemplary” district, as it does Prairieview-Ogden and St. Joseph-Ogden.
- Since McComb became president of the school board, the district has fallen in the Niche and Great Schools rankings, at the district and individual-school level. In 2015, M-S was ranked 25 by Niche; in 2017, the M-S district was ranked 28; now M-S is ranked 32 as a district. In 2015 Lincoln Trail was ranked 77 in the state by Niche. By 2016 it was not ranked anymore. In 2015 Mahomet-Seymour Junior High was ranked 42nd; in 2021 it is ranked #134. Great Schools give Mahomet-Seymour High School and Lincoln Trail Elementary a 6 out of 10 while giving Mahomet-Seymour Junior High an 8 out of 10.
- In 2021,Niche rates Mahomet-Seymour at the 32nd best district in Illinois. Ranked at #33 is Tri-Valley, with Monticello at #35, Morton at #36, Teutopolis at #37, Maroa Forsyth at #42, McClean County at #43 and GCMS at #62.
Financial History:
- The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) takes into account district finances, class sizes, teacher-to-student ratio, student spendings, graduation rates, etc to issue its State Report Card for schools. According to ISBE, Mahomet-Seymour spends the least amount of dollars per year on students than any other school in Champaign County.
- From 2007 to 2009, M-S was recognized by ISBE as a district in the financial Recognition category. Since 2009, the district has been in the Recognition category once (2016). The other years, M-S has been in the Review and Early Warning categories. In 2020 (based on 2019 financial reports) the district was placed in the lowest financial category with only 8 other schools in Illinois. Most other schools in Champaign County have weathered the State and County financial blunders without reaching the lowest financial ratings.
- McComb oversaw the sale of Sangamon Elementary, which sold for $750,000. In 2015, the three parcels that make up the Sangamon Elementary school were appraised at $2.2 million.
- McComb frequently uses the diversionary tactic that Mahomet-Seymour has one of the lowest tax rates in Champaign County, but fails to mention that it has the highest property values. Taxpayers pay a bigger fee than other districts despite the lower rate.
- Under McCombs’s leadership, lawyer fees have increased 1,785.26%. There are other fees that include settlements not included in this figure. When the new board members ask for details to explain this increase, they are gaslighted and ignored. I personally asked the board if this is how they deal with their personal finances.
- In order to build the most recent construction, the district has borrowed against its anticipated sales tax revenue through the year 2033, significantly limiting its ability to borrow for future buildings. Any future new school building will have to be approved with a tax referendum (tax increase) in order to be viable.
- The full board, under the leadership of McComb, never discussed or approved a new, second TIF district that will take tax dollars away from the schools for the next 23 years. In a discussion about an extension of the first TIF district, a board member on the finance committee said he was unaware that a second district was established and Max seemed to be uniformed of the boundaries of the district.
- Chief Business Officer Heather Smith said, “as of March 22 we are at 67 days of cash on hand.” The Illinois State Board of Education guidance suggests that districts keep 180-days of cash on hand.
Why this matters:
We have lost ground in the standing of Mahomet-Seymour school. Other schools have weathered financial shortfalls due to state-funded distributions and late Champaign County real estate tax monies. They have also maintained the recommended 180-days of cash on hand, an adequate debt load, and been able to spend more per student than M-S – meeting needs with the dollars they have.
History of Leadership:
School Board members are elected to represent the community with the local educational entity; provide direction and policy for the school administration; and, provide oversight and review of the superintendent’s performance.
- The board president’s duty is to lead the board and allow for fair and open debate of issues and concerns by putting items on the agenda. Board meetings are to be conducted under Robert’s Rules of Order or board policies. All board members should be knowledgeable of those rules and how they are to be utilized. The board president should be the leader in respecting those rules. McComb has consistently not done that.
- The board is responsible for evaluating the Superintendent, whose total compensation package is near a quarter-of-a-million dollars. The Attorney General’s office has made clear that the discussions about the process used to evaluate superintendents must happen in open session. This has not been done. Why not? This is a highly compensated employee. The public deserves to know how the board will be evaluating her performance.
- It is the board president’s role to develop the agenda. Hall’s contract requires the board to set her goals, and I did not see the board set the superintendent’s goals in a public setting this year or others.
- Petty, but worth noting. Board member candidates are not to use school district logos for their personal campaigns. Board policy 8:90 establishes that the logo of the school district is their property because they are maintaining authority over its use. Board policy 2:105 says, “No board member or employee shall intentionally use any District property or resources in connection with any political activity. Look around!! Who is paying for the thousands of dollars spent on signs and why?
Over the years I have watched McComb behave as an employee and protector of the superintendent rather than being the head of the board that supervises and evaluates her. In my opinion, he doesn’t seem too bothered by ignoring and demeaning the other three members when they bring up matters that require discussion if he knows he has three additional votes. This behavior has spilled over to concerns from the public. His role is to build consensus and cohesiveness within the board.
He has made financial decisions that have benefited realtors and land developers, at the expense of the taxpayers. When a solution has been reached to ease the overcrowding of one school it has been made at great expense only to be a short-term solution because after three years-it is already too small. To me, this shows no insight, intelligence or vision in dealing with the growth of the school district and the inconvenience to teachers and students impacted by the overcrowding. Not to mention the cost to the taxpayers who will be paying for these decisions for many years to come.
I am not addressing the other two candidates in Max’s slate because they do not have a record on the board. They have stated publicly their inclinations-they are with Max in this campaign and goals. So, voters – Think carefully about your decision to vote for school board members and how your vote will affect the future of our communities if we continue to vote for people interested in power, prestige and real estate deals.
-Gloria Cherry
