Mayor Lovero on Education

At the All Berwyn Committee's Meet the Mayor program, BerwynCARES submitted 3 questions. Below are the 3 questions and a summary of Mayor Bob Lovero's answers.

1. One of your first actions as Mayor of Berwyn was to abolish the Education Committee. Why?

The mayor answered, "Because they didn't do anything." He went on to add that the "more important" issue of where the revenue comes from (economic development) will be addressed by his administration partially through the reinstituted Business, License, and Taxation Committee.

2. The Cermak TIF district contract is up for renewal in 2010. It is unclear whether Morton College and Morton HS District 201 support its renewal. If it is not renewed, will you support the re formation of a TIF district given the dire funding situation for our schools?

The mayor answered that this action is "already done." He indicated that the TIF will expire and then will be re-created allowing taxing bodies (including school districts) to begin getting tax revenues from the TIF properties at 2010 EAV rates, as opposed to the 1990 rates. Mayor Lovero indicated that both the Morton College and Morton High School Boards would support creating a new TIF district for Cermak Road, possibly extending it to include more businesses. This means that the property tax revenue of those properties in the TIF would be frozen at the 2010 EAV levels and all incremental increases during the life of the TIF (20 years) would be reinvested in the TIF district rather than added to the general city fund and other taxing bodies such as school districts and park districts.

3. In 1995, the city of Madison, WI set out to eliminate the 3rd grade reading achievement gap between minority and white students. Their efforts were successful, and involved the entire community, including students, parents, schools, the school district, civilian volunteers, local universities and social service agencies, as well as the chamber of commerce, government and the mayor. Given that Berwyn has similar educational challenges, what are your feelings about involving city government – as well as yourself – in educational improvement efforts for our students?

Mayor Lovero answered, "I don't tell the school districts what to do." He added that if they asked for his help in such an effort, that he would help. "I most definitely would," said the mayor.

Berwyn CARES will continue to engage our public officials in our efforts to unite ALL residents to improve educational opportunities in Berwyn. We are encouraged by Mayor Lovero's answer that if asked, he would help. We'll definitely be asking! We hope that our elected School Board officials will ask, too, and collaborate with Mayor Lovero and his administration to make the vision of excellence in education IN BERWYN a reality.

Are You Up To The Challenge?

2009

Berwyn

Challenge

DonorsChoose.org

Support these TEACHER Projects by donating as little as $10. Besides the financial support, our teachers will know that our community supports their efforts at giving the children of Berwyn the resources, high expectations and exceptional education that they deserve! There are currently 24 projects submitted, but more are added every week, so keep checking! ALL donors to funded projects will receive a personalized thank-you packet from the teacher and students who benefit from your generosity. It is a rare chance to see clearly the direct impact that your gesture has on the lives of many young minds! Minds like these:

We See Your True Colors of Light

This middle-school drama club hosts plays, an improv team, speech team and Thespian society for free, but they need new lights.

You Mean....That's Poetry?

Inspire middle-school students to study and write like poets.

Becoming Beethoven

Help students pursue their music dreams in the classroom through the purchase of new keyboards.

Definitely Definitions!

Provide illustrated children's dictionaries to low income students.

Literature for Literacy

Introduce 60 students to the life-long experience of good literature.

Power & Picks

Sometimes it is the ‘little things’. This music room has guitars and keyboards, but needs more guitar picks and batteries.

To read about many more BERWYN classrooms that need your help, please visit The Berwyn Challenge page at Donors Choose and donate!

Morton West Student gets perfect ACT score

A student from Morton West got a perfect score of 36 on his ACT!! This is an incredible accomplishment by a student in our community! Congratulations to Anthony Bruno! There is no question that he is a well-educated young man who received an exceptional education from your local public school and his family. Congratulations to all of his teachers and his family for the part they played in his success!