On the heals of Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposal to consolidate schools, a local legislator and school district have partnered to host a forum on education reform.

Rep. Carol Sente has partnered with the Education Citizen’s Advisory Committee and officials from District 128 in Libertyville and Vernon Hills to host the forum, set for 7:30 p.m. March 14 at Vernon Hills High School.

District 128 officials have been very vocal about opposing Quinn’s proposal to consolidate schools, saying consolidating schools would be an attempt to fix what isn’t broken.

“Is it a good use of time, effort and energy for the state to come in and say, okay, this needs to be fixed?” School Board President Pat Groody said. “I don’t think these kinds of savings are going to save the amount of money the state wants to save.”

Community High School District 128 Superintendent Prentiss Lea called it a “state versus local control issue.”

Later, in an interview, Lea added that he believes Quinn’s estimated $100 million in cost savings through cutting administrators’ salaries is a “fantasy” and a “shell game.”

District 128 staff posted a letter, “Illinois Forced School Consolidation” on the district’s website, stating the school board opposes Quinn’s proposal and is asking the public to contact their representatives, and send a letter in opposition of school consolidation, which has already been formatted on the website to local representatives and senators.

Sente is still contemplating how consolidation would or wouldn’t benefit students, but believes the governor’s 60-day timeline to make the decision for or against consolidation is too short.

“The 60 days really throws me,” she said. “We’re studying it. We’re considering it. I’m all for moving quickly, but we have to get the parties to the table. If we’re going to reform, let’s reform right. We could research in 60 days. We can bring all the parties together. We could have an outline of the topic, but we wouldn’t want to foist a plan.”

With schools like Vernon Hills High School winning a Blue Ribbon award and District 128 also receiving recognition from AAA for its credit rating, Sente agrees with Groody.

“If something isn’t broken, should we really mess with it?” she said.

If anything, settling bonds and contracts with vendors and salary bargaining agreements in 60 days is a nearly insurmountable task, she said.

“There may be areas for consolidating some schools and options to save money and better opportunities for children,” she said. “The bad thing about the bill is doing this too fast. I don’t believe that we can get that resolved in 60 days and have a plan. Could we save some money in that area if we consolidate districts on superintendent salaries? Potentially. But potentially we could more than lose that savings in salary in the negotiations for teacher salary.”

Most importantly, she said, “This isn’t a financial decision. This should be about, is this better for the children?”

This is exactly why she said she wants to hear from school officials as well as parents and members of the community at the education forum to assess their concerns.

Sente said in a letter to her constituents that she also plans to use the forum to speak about education legislation that she has recently supported including house bill 2890, which directs 85 percent of state education funds to go directly to classroom related expenses. Also, she voted in favor on a bill requiring schools to teach students the responsible use of the Internet and mobile devices.

To RSVP to the forum, call 847-478-9909 or e-mail repsente@gmail.com.