Hearings Set for Electric Aggregation

Residents can ask questions about Plainfield's decision to join forces with 18 other towns to negotiate a new electric contract, which could net 10% to 15% in savings.

Plainfield's Management Services Director Traci Pleckham says she's been getting three or four calls a week about electrical aggregation since voters last month authorized the village to negotiate new electric rates. Some want to know what happens next, others want to know when the savings will kick in, Pleckham said. A few want to know how to opt out and stay with ComEd, she said. What's been decided so far is the village will join forces with the Will Electric Aggregation group, a consortium of 18 municipalities that will seek bids on behalf of 130,000 residential customers, Pleckham said. It's being overseen by the Will County Governmental League, of which Plainfield is a member. As that process begins, the village will hold two public …

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Neil

12:54 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012

Your current rates are already set with permission of your government at the state level. This is just an attempt by your local government to find a lower bidder. They may be able to do just that.   more ›

202 Board to Consider New Bus Contract

A switch in bus providers could result in significant savings.

Plainfield School District 202 will decide next month on a new bus contract, which may mean changing transportation providers. As required by law, the district sought bids for its bus services, and the board must accept the lowest and most qualified bidder. Bids were requested in January for both its regular and special education busing needs. When the board considers buses for the district's special education students, it can weigh such tangibles as safety, comfort, stability of service and ability to handle special needs or disabled students more than just the price of the service, said John Prince, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and operations. Bus provider Illinois Central, based in Channahon, offered the lowest …

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Brandon

1:00 pm on Friday, March 30, 2012

Septran IS a US-owned company. One of the main offices is in Aurora, but ALL the buses for the Plainfield Schools are based in Plainfield.   more ›

County Shaves Election Expense by Axing Precincts

County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots pushed for the change, approved by the board last week, eliminating 142 voting places.

Some Will County voters will get new polling places come election season, thanks to a unanimous county board vote that eliminates 142 precincts as part of a plan to save money. Approved Thursday, the new precinct map slices Will County into 303 precincts, compared with the old 445-precinct map. Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots said she proposed the new map in a bid to save money on elections and make the size of precincts more consistent throughout the county. “There were some precincts in the Joliet area that maybe had 400 or 500 registered voters,” she said Thursday. “My goal is to make it consistent throughout the county.” Now each precinct could have more than 1,200 voters. Voots estimates that the plan could save up to $200,000 …

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New School Start Times Go into Effect Next Fall, Board Says

High school hours will be 7:05 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.; middle school, 7:55 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.; and elementary school, 9:05 a.m. to 3:40 p.m.

The Plainfield School District 202 board has officially set new school times for the 2011-12 school year in an effort to save about $600,000 on busing costs. High school students will attend school from 7:05 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. Middle school students will attend school from 7:55 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. and elementary schools, except for Lakewood Falls Elementary School, will attend from 9:05 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. Students at Lakewood Falls, because of their close proximity to Creekside Elementary School, will attend school from 8:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This will allow traffic to flow better through the area, officials said. The new times, approved by the school board Monday, are slightly different than those announced in February, when the board …

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Michael Ciric

5:41 pm on Wednesday, June 29, 2011

It is true - but there is a balance to be struck too. Other districts that have gone this route has seen testing results tank consistently. High school students in our district will be affected, exactly how much? Hard to say. But Nick, you are right - it is a no win situation.   more ›

You Choose: Election 2011

School Board Election: William Dargan Jr. Answers Our Questions

Plainfield village and School District 202 candidates in the April 5 election answer questions posed by Plainfield Patch.

Editor's note: Candidates for Plainfield Village Board and Plainfield School District 202 have been asked to complete questionnaires about who they are, why they're running and their positions on some of the key issues. Plainfield Patch will run them as they are received and they will be available up through the April 5 election. These are the candidates' own words, written specifically for the benefit of those who are deciding how they will vote. PLAINFIELD DISTRICT 202  SCHOOL BOARD QUESTIONNAIRE Name: William P. Dargan Jr. Address: 16157 Burgundy Drive,  Plainfield  E-mail address: bdargan@att.net Age: 50 Marital status: Married Name of spouse: Lisa Names, ages of children: Jennifer  25,  Sarah  23,  Patrick  20 Education (please name …

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We Asked

Should Mail Service be Reduced to Five Days a Week?

We ask these Average Joes and Janes if they can live with a reduction in postal delivery days if it meant saving tax money.

Businesses are supposed to make money, not lose it. That's UPS and FedEx do, making a profit for its shareholders, but the U.S. Postal Service projects it will lose more than $238 billion over the next decade. NPR reported the post office plans to shutter or consolidate as many as 2,000 branches to help close the gap. Another solution being offered is to reduce the number of days of service from six to five, eliminating Saturday delivery. The suggestion was made last year, but Ruth Goldway, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, and Congress has yet to take action. Rose Parks, of Plainfield, doesn’t like the idea of less mail days, but believes it will happen. “When it comes to reducing anything, you don’t like it,” Parks said. “If …

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$5.7M Grant May Pay Down Building Debt, Dist. 202 Officials Say

The one-time source of money could end up saving the district more than $2 million in the long run.

A one-time federal grant worth $5.7 million has the potential to save about $2.1 million in land payments over the next 10 years, Plainfield School District 202 officials said Wednesday. Under the federal education jobs bill, the district can be reimbursed for $5.7 million for fiscal year 2011 salaries and benefits and can be reimbursed against future salaries and benefits in fiscal year 2012. The funds would be used for compensation and benefits necessary to retain existing employees, to recall or rehire former employees and to hire new employees. District administrators are recommending the grant money be used for salaries and the unbudgeted money that results from the grant go toward paying down debt on land the district bought to deal …

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Jay

3:12 pm on Wednesday, March 2, 2011

"If the district uses the surplus money from the federal grant, it can restructure the debt so that it only pays about $711,000 annually through 2020, resulting in a savings of about $2.1 million from its current land commitment" Using this money to resturcture the debt is the only responsible thing to do. Do it now, pay down the debt and save the district an additional $2.1 million. The taxpayer…   more ›

Board Endorses New School Start Times, Backs Off Some Job Cuts

While the plans are not final, the board gave direction to the district superintendent, who will return with a revised deficit reduction proposal.

The Plainfield School District 202 board agreed Tuesday that a triple-tier busing schedule, changing the schools’ start and end times, should be implemented in the fall to potentially save $600,000. The board also agreed that some of Supt. John Harper’s budget cuts should be reinstated, saying that eliminating them would be a disservice to the district. At a special session, the board went through each of Harper’s recommendations to erase the district’s $6.7 million budget deficit. Harper presented his proposal in December, which called for cutting of about 112 full-time jobs, restructuring bus and school schedules, eliminating effective, but expensive programs, consolidating courses and restructuring some administration departments. Last …

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