Lake County Gazette

Students in Colorado will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch at school following the approval of propositions LL and MM by voters on November 4. The measures were previously supported by the Westminster Public Schools Board of Education, which passed a resolution endorsing the proposals to maintain meal access for all students.

Proposition LL permits the state to keep about $12.4 million in excess tax revenue under the existing school funding plan. Proposition MM is expected to raise $95 million in new revenue by reducing state income tax deductions for individuals earning more than $300,000 annually.

The original statewide funding plan was approved by voters in 2022 but quickly exhausted its resources due to high demand for the program.

WPS Board Treasurer Mary Beth Murphy introduced the board’s resolution and said, “very near and dear to my heart.” Murphy, who is a former teacher, described how she and colleagues would bring extra food to classrooms for hungry students.

She and other board members noted that research shows students who are hungry struggle to concentrate on their studies.

The Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 represents numerous schools in Lake County, including Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School, Carman-Buckner Elementary School, Clearview Elementary School, Daniel Webster Middle School, Early Learning Center, Glen Flora Elementary School, Glenwood Elementary School, Greenwood Elementary School, H.R. McCall Elementary School, Hyde Park Elementary School, Jack Benny Middle School, John S. Clark Elementary School, Little Fort Elementary School, Lyon Magnet Elementary School, Miguel Juarez Middle School, North Elementary School, Oakdale Elementary School, Robert E. Abbott Middle School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Washington Elementary School, Waukegan High School and Whittier Elementary School (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

According to data from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 has a student population that is 3.2 percent White, 13.2 percent Black, 79.5 percent Hispanic and 1.3 percent Asian (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). The district employs 1,014 teachers with an average salary of $63,524 before pension contributions; women make up 71.1 percent of teachers while men comprise 28.9 percent; no teachers have recorded more than ten absences in a school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, per-student spending was $23,429 with total expenditures reaching $359 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).