Prairie Crossing school will make payroll

Some officials were sweating, but Prairie Crossing Charter School in Grayslake has received enough state money to cover employee checks that go out today.

"We had a back-up plan," Prairie Crossing board President Linda Wiens said Thursday. "But we were concerned. Very concerned."

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's budget battle with state lawmakers is what delayed the $741,000 quarterly payment to Prairie Crossing, the suburbs' lone charter school. The general state aid cash that should have arrived much earlier landed in Prairie Crossing's bank account Monday, officials said.

Wiens said Prairie Crossing would have borrowed money if the state check didn't arrive this week. She said the $741,000 in quarterly per-pupil general state aid payments should continue in a timely manner for the academic year.

Prairie Crossing is a public school with an environmentally focused curriculum that receives students from Woodland Elementary District 50 and Fremont Elementary District 79. Illinois' per-pupil general state aid follows Prairie Crossing's children, who attend kindergarten through eighth grade.

Out-of-area tuition must be paid for children who attend Prairie Crossing but don't live within Fremont or Woodland boundaries.

Prairie Crossing Director Myron Dagley said the state aid accounts for almost all of the school's roughly $4 million budget. He said there was a sense of relief when the Illinois State Board of Education indicated late last week the $741,000 would arrive electronically before payday.

"Other school districts have funding mechanisms that we don't have," Dagley said.

Meanwhile, the state has put Prairie Crossing board members on notice that they must improve in various areas or risk having the school's charter revoked. Two factions of four board members have been clashing on issues and unable to make decisions because of tied votes.

Wiens said officials are ready to address the state board of education's demand that Prairie Crossing increase its advertising and outreach to encourage a more diverse student body.

To address another concern, Dennis Munk of Grayslake was appointed to the Prairie Crossing board as its ninth member this week. Wiens said Munk is a respected educator who is a former Prairie Crossing board member and president.

Prairie Crossing had 359 students enrolled as of Monday. There is a waiting list of about 170 children to enter kindergarten through fourth grade.

In May, Prairie Crossing was named one of 53 charter schools of the year by the Center for Educational Reform in Washington, D.C.