Empty Lakeview YWCA vandalized

The building has been empty since the YWCA left last fall, after encountering financial problems. It is not known how vandals entered the building or where they set off several fire extinguishers that triggered fire alarms, but according to a police report a back door was found unlocked and there were no signs of forced entry.

Peoria Notre Dame High School had been renting the building from the Heartland Partnerships but had been "barred" from using it after damage had been done, according to the report. Officials from Heartland said they would not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Notre Dame Athletic Director, Matt Blackford said the high school used the building for basketball practice - as it had when it was occupied by the YWCA - for between $1,500 and $3,000 per month from October through February.

Blackford said he did not have any knowledge of the school not being allowed to use the facilities at Lakeview.

Real skin in the D150 game

When reading Pam Adams' editorial of today, it struck me that apparently very few of the people charged with making decisions about public education in Peoria, have children of school age attending D150 schools (i.e., "real skin in the D150 game").

Apparently when the new Superintendent gets to Peoria, she will be looking for a school for her child. On her recent visit to Peoria, all of the people the new Superintendent met with (the movers and shakers in and around City Hall), either didn’t have children in D150 schools and/or when their children were of school age, they mainly went to private schools. What advice do you think they would give a person relocating to Peoria and looking for a new school?

Adams also mentioned that while at the Heartland Partnership/Chamber of Commerce office, the new Superintendent just so happened upon a group meeting on the Charter School Initiative. What advice do you think they would give a person relocating to Peoria and looking for a new school? (The Charter School has one person listed as "Parent" on their Advisory Committee of 34; with zero parents listed on their Steering Committee of seven.)

With all of the talk about parents not being involved in schools, do you think it would help the situation if parents actually saw people with “real skin in the D150 game” helping to make decisions about the schools their children attend?
Is it fair to expect the new Superintendent to put her "real skin in the D150 game" when none of these other people do and/or have?