North Cook News

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the East Prairie School District 73 in Illinois on January 28, 2025. The request, issued by North Cook News, sought access to all emails and memos from the past year containing the keywords "Lucy Calkins" and "Units of Study".

As a media organization dedicated to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs, we at North Cook News believe that access to these records is crucial for fulfilling our professional responsibilities. These include holding public institutions accountable and ensuring transparency for the public.

In the request, we asked for the documents preferably in electronic format and cited our eligibility for a fee waiver as media professionals involved in gathering and reporting news to the public.

East Prairie School District 73 Principal Dr. Paul Goldberg (2023) | East Prairie School District 73

This FOIA request comes amidst ongoing discussions about education standards and resources in Illinois. According to the Illinois Report Card, the average state teacher salary in 2023 was $73,916, while the state average administrative salary stood at $116,908. Furthermore, it showed that the average student-to-administrative ratio is 141:1, with an average student-to-teacher ratio of 17:1. Interestingly, it was also noted that 58% of teachers in Illinois have a master's degree or higher.

As we continue our work towards providing transparency in local government affairs, we await a response from East Prairie School District 73 regarding this FOIA request.