As children, how many times did our teachers (and our parents) tell us that we can learn from our mistakes? As parents ourselves, how many times have we passed this nugget of wisdom along to our own children?
Henry Ford once said:
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
Hopefully, the controversy around building a new elementary school can be one of those teachable moments.
With more and more details coming to light, it is clear that this entire exercise has been fraught with failure from the start. The DPS Chalkboard has already stated our reasoning as to why we think a new, unified facility for Dennis Lab school is not a good use of the remaining cares money nor a good idea for the district in general. This is also a huge failure in leadership and there is enough blame to go around.
Simply put, we think there has been a violation of the Open Meetings Act on behalf of the board of education. The law is very specific as to what can and can’t be discussed in a closed session.
For example, from http://www.co.champaign.il.us/FOIA/OMA_Reference_Guide.pdf:
To go into closed session to discuss land acquisition, a board must be discussing formulating the terms of an offer to purchase specific real estate, discussing the seller’s terms, or considering a strategy for obtaining specific real estate. People v. ex. rel. Ryan v. Village of Villa Park, 212 Ill.App.3d 187 (2d Dist. 1991).
Discussion of a land purchase from the park district might be allowed in closed session but the rest of the conversation about building a new Dennis School should have been held in open meetings. While we are not lawyers, we do believe that just because they were purchasing land, it does not absolve them of the responsibility to discuss the remainder of the Dennis School Building project in open sessions.
Ultimately, we here at The DPS Chalkboard are on the side of the students, the teachers, the administration and the board, but we do not understand why the board feels the need to be secretive about doing the business of DPS61. It makes zero sense. The more flow of information there is, the better-informed decisions we will have!
The events of the past few weeks have also, in our opinion, amplified the case we made for reorganizing central administration at the Keil Building. In that piece we questioned the need for having a Chief Communications Officer and a Director of Community Engagement and then paying them $142,484 and $110,673, respectively. This debacle surrounding the new school confirms the need for those positions to be eliminated as soon as possible and those dollars reallocated more effectively somewhere else. Seriously, DPS61 pays two individuals over 250K dollars per year and they’re incapable of managing the narrative? When it’s all said & done, we are simply left with mea culpas, statements devoid of any compassion and a poorly written digital FAQ.
Also, where was the sense of urgency on the part of district staff and elected board members when it came to effectively allocating the $79.6 million in Covid-19 relief from the get go? When looking at highlights from finance committee reports (as a result of FOIA requests), there was plenty of discussion about building updates. Beyond allocating pay rates for summer school staff in 2021, there appeared to be little, if any, discussion of how these funds could be used to fill teaching vacancies to shore up staff attrition and to attack head-on the loss of student learning resulting from nearly a full year of ‘virtual classroom’ instruction.
Further, where were the school board members demanding a “CARES Fund Update” at each and every scheduled school board meeting? These resources were allocated in the summer of 2021 and represents the largest “monetary gift” the school district has ever, or will ever, receive. As elected officials, board members could have insisted on regular updates. Financial responsibility & use of public funds is their number one priority – ALWAYS. Board Discussion appears on every agenda, at every meeting, always between Public Participation and Reports from Administration. The topic could have been broached at that time and the superintendent would have been obligated to respond to the request!
Another glaring failure falls squarely at the feet of the board members. They are elected officials and serve at the behest of the voters. In February 2022, DPS Chalkboard shared the roles of the school board as outlined by the Illinois Association of School Board (IASB). Number Two on that list reads as follows:
The board connects with the community. A school board engages in an on-going two-way conversation with the entire community. It must be aggressive in reaching out to the community – the district’s owners – to engage people in conversation about education and the public good.
The IASB also states the following on their website:
“Outside of regularly convened meetings, effective board members engage in an ongoing two-way conversation through the use of public forums, surveys, citizen communities, and other engagement tools to determine the community’s aspirations for its schools and students.”
Where were these conversations? As more information dribbles out, it is clear that the board members were well aware of this proposal months ago! It is their obligation and duty to have been open about this issue with their constituency. We understand that hard numbers could not have been discussed, but intent, purpose & summary details at “30,000 feet” surely could have. And, whenever possible, these conversations should have occurred face-to-face & in-person, not behind a keyboard on a Facebook post. The most recent slate of board candidates ran on the fact that prior boards have not been transparent about key issues facing the school district and you would change that. The community gave you that chance, yet you are struggling mightily with it.
Our last issue with the BOE is more general in nature but we feel it is indicative of the problems currently at hand. There are board members (we’re not going to name names but you, the reader, can easily ascertain those details) who have a habit of voting “No” on a motion yet fail to offer any reasoning for that vote during the discussion phase for that specific motion (Abstentions are just as bad if not worse). That is wrong! You have been elected to advocate for the public and if you choose to vote against an issue, you owe it to the them to explain yourself. In our opinion, not doing so is a disservice to those who voted for you and is a cowardly attempt at keeping your opinion off the public record.
Many individuals and citizens groups have gone to great lengths to FOIA information and then subsequently share the findings on social media platforms. It would seem that a good deal of effort has been put forward here, however a simple violation of the Illinois Open Meeting Act (5 ILCS 120) will not directly prevent this project from moving forward. The provisions of this act state that a confirmed violation is a Class C Misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,500. We highly doubt that the risk involved is adequate enough for anyone to change course.
At the end of the day, the school board will have to vote on a new building for Dennis in an open session – the general provisions of 5 ILCS 120 makes that absolutely clear. While it sounds like the window of opportunity here is small, there is still time to make a difference. We believe though, that the best chance these folks have is by pleading their case using sound arguments that focus on fiduciary responsibilities and educational outcomes for the entire community - not the inane “gotcha” mentality that runs rampant today in our civil discourse!
Since the term transparent has been used, we too want to be open & totally forthcoming with our readers. Open and honest discussion is paramount at DPS Chalkboard. We strive to be positive and are always looking for ways to make things better in DPS61. When need be, we will be critical of those in charge but will do everything we can to remain civil and constructive in doing so.
Serving on the school board carries a great deal of responsibility and requires hard work. We here at DPS Chalkboard want you – the entire board & district leadership - to succeed. To do that, however, you simply must do better! The students, the staff and the entire community deserve it.