Don’t say regional offices not efficient

Your editorial of March 27, “An education in change management,” lacks logic and substance. The premise is that elected officials of regional offices of education (ROEs) are mostly anonymous, and since they fight for their preservation, they perpetuate inefficiency, evidenced by an unsuccessful effort to eliminate them in 2003, but efficiency demands change.

What? The ROEs and Intermediate Service Centers are efficient. The $13 million allocated to the ROEs in a budget of $31 billion is .00004, or four hundred thousandths, of the state budget; however, the ROEs return $135 million to the state in terms of mandated and support services, so for such a small investment the state is getting a return of 11 percent. If all of these services performed by other agencies, they would be very expensive.

For example, a $12 million construction project in Macon County would cost a local district $60,000 if a local municipality provided the permitting process. The ROEs and Intermediate Service Centers now provide the service for free.

In October 2010, the Streamlining Illinois’ Educational Delivery Systems Taskforce, as instructed by SB 18882, submitted recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly, instructing them to allow the regional offices to be the primary deliverers of support to Illinois districts and schools because these agencies most efficiently and effectively were able to deliver mandated safety and certification functions. The ROEs and ISCs enrich and sustain education through mentoring and training programs for students, teachers and principals. Without this locally provided service only the wealthiest districts will be able to maintain such services.

Your editorial will be first in line to decry the state of education because these vital services will go missing when they can now be maintained efficiently and effectively at a local level.

Edward Plum

Barrington