LW 210 (Again) Overcharged Students for Driver's Ed Fees

NEW LENOX, IL — Lincoln-Way District 210 overcharged students for driver's ed in the 2010-2011 school year, mandating that the district now issue refunds—the latest in a web of financial woes.

The district this spring refunded $377,411 to students overcharged for the same in this current school year. The district had missed the deadline to renew a state waiver allowing it to charge students more than $50 per student for driver's ed. Despite not obtaining the waiver, the district charged each student $350.

Officials acknowledged Monday that they charged students $350 in 2010—before the waiver was ever even approved in January of 2011. Without that waiver, the fees should never have exceeded the approved $125 for the fall semester.

Now the district will have to issue refunds to those students impacted by the blunder. An application and instructions will be available at www.lw210.org on Friday, July 1, 2016.

The news is the latest in a series of blows to the district's financial practices, which landed it on the state's financial watch list in 2015. Its position led to officials voting to close 8-year old Lincoln-Way North HIgh School, which graduated its last class June 1.

The feds are digging into issues surrounding the district's finances and former Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie, as well as the SuperDog training facility.

Drama surrounding the district's financial malfeasance has led to the resignation of four Board of Education members this year.