Section 705.50  Agreement Criteria

a)         School districts seeking a grant under the Program shall negotiate a proposed agreement to secure the services of a third-party consultant to conduct a reorganization feasibility study (Section 2-3.206(a)(1)). Studies may consider any type of reorganization, but must consider at least one of the following types:

1)         Consolidation (Article 11E of the School Code);

2)         Partial Elementary Unit District Formation (Article 11E of the School Code);

3)         Dissolution-Annexation (Article 7 of the School Code);

4)         Deactivation (Section 10-22.22b of the School Code); or

5)         Cooperative High School (Article 11E of the School Code).

b)         The agreement must contain, but is not limited to:

1)         identification of the school districts participating in the study;

2)         the consultant name/firm, with name of lead consultant, as applicable;

3)         a statement confirming the consultant(s) meet the criteria provided in Section 705.45;

4)         the start and end dates of the study;

5)         the types of reorganization(s) that will be studied; and

6)         performance items of the study, including, but not limited to:

A)        current transportation systems, including contract or district-owned systems, and equipment of the districts;

B)        transportation issues in combining systems, including the increase or decrease to mileage or routing due to reorganization; increase or decrease to transportation costs; and additional equipment needed due to reorganization;

C)        condition, capacity, and usage percentage of current facilities;

D)        capacity needs at reorganization and through a five-year enrollment projection;

E)        percentage of buildings utilized, any building closures, and necessity of new construction;

F)         health/life safety needs;

G)        current class/course offerings, strengths or limitations of current curriculum, potential enhancements to curriculum after reorganization, including advances placement courses and courses in career and technical education, foreign language, or fine arts;

H)        current classroom technology and any needs after reorganization;

I)         a five-year financial projection that includes local, State, and federal revenue sources, reorganization incentives, salaries and benefits, and fund balances;

J)         expected budget savings/economies of scale;

K)        current and estimated tax rates, and its effect on each community;

L)        equalized assessed valuation trends and projections;

M)       current short-term and long-term debt of the districts, combined short-term and long-term debt, and estimated debt needed after reorganization;

N)        comparison of the financial profile for all districts;

O)        past enrollment trends, current enrollment, and five-year enrollment projections;

P)         student/teacher ratios, current and minimal projected staff numbers for administration, teaching, and support staff, and estimated class sizes after reorganization (elementary, middle school/junior high, high school);

Q)        comparison of testing results per the latest School Report Card;

R)        comparisons of racial/ethnic diversity, low-income students, student mobility, chronic truant students, graduation rates, student attendance, students with disabilities, and English Learners per the latest School Report Card;

S)         current athletic and non-athletic activities offered by district and potential enhancements to extracurricular activities due to the reorganization; and

T)         a recommendation on the feasibility of the reorganization of the districts, including a recommended type of reorganization if recommended or other areas for the districts to consider if not recommended.