School board shuts out one of its own in Community High School District 99
From Sunshine Review
July 22, 2009 The Community High School District 99 School Board is blocking a school board member from participating in board meetings and decision-making.[1]
[edit] Deborah Boyle
Deborah Boyle sued the school district and in April won a seat on the school board. Since joining the board, she has not been allowed to vote on a benefit package for district employees, she has not been assigned to a committee, and she has been banned from some of the board's closed, executive sessions.
The Community High School District 99 board members say they are trying to enforce the nepotism policy because Boyle's brother is a history teacher and head football coach at Downers Grove North High School. The members say they are trying to avoid conflicts of interest for Boyle, spending more than $7,000 on an attorney drafting guidelines.
Some citizens say the board members are behaving young-minded.
"This isn't high school," said Elaine Johnson. "School board members don't get to choose whether or not to accept a duly elected member as part of their group."
Johnson's Downers Grove blog has filled with posts and residents' comments about the issue for weeks.
Several board members tend to be parents so there are questions about the differences in conflicts of interests.
At a board meeting this week, Boyle asked whether District 99 board members who have children in the band should also stay out of voting sessions on band uniforms and whether members with a child in the special education program should not vote on issues related to that program.
She also pointed out that her fellow members accepted campaign donations from teachers unions, but then voted on teachers' contracts. Boyle said it is obvious the measures are directed at her.
"You don't need to like me, but we have to respect each other," said Boyle.
Members responded, saying the district has had an anti-nepotism policy since 1976.
"She has a right to run, but there are issues she can't vote on," said school board president Julia Beckman. "You can't have a brother, sister or husband employed by the district and then vote on how much they make."
[edit] Anti-nepotism policy
On Monday, the district approved the guideline that states, "in applying the policy {that a board member abstain}, the item in question must have a reasonably direct, identifiable monetary benefit to the relative."
Additionally, when the board is to vote on matters that improve the working conditions of board members' relatives, like a change in class size, that member should refrain from voting. It states, "if the adjustment was unique to the employee or a relatively small segment of the department that included the employee."
Boyle debates that union issues do not only concern her brother, but all 500 employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Some residents have shown they did not have a problem with Boyle voting on a contract for the teachers union or attending closed-door meetings about the issue through blog posts and in Monday's meeting.
"It's the single biggest outlay that they vote on," said frequent school board critic Gregory Boltz.
[edit] Inconsistencies
Michael Johnson, Illinois Association of School Boards executive director emeritus, says many school districts have nepotism policies, yet they're often directed at board members who have spouses or children employed by the district.
"When you're talking about siblings who live on their own and the board member wouldn't be gaining financially from a decision, I don't think you'd have to exclude yourself, but it would be better if you do," he said. "It's like voting on a contract involving your best friend, you'd want to avoid that appearance."
In 2006, Boyle took District 99 to court, trying to obtain a boundary exemption so her son could attend Downers Grove North, the school his family had attended and supported for generations. Her suit was unsuccessful.
During the spring board campaign, Boyle's opponents reminded voters of the suit, predicting she would bring "contention" to the board. On Monday, when Boyle was addressing the board, fellow board members interrupted her often to point out perceived misstatements.
Critic Boltz questioned board members about their alleged conflicts of interest, causing the meeting to enter into chaos.
For example, Boltz said two board members belong to a political organization that rents a meeting room in the district. This may be a conflict of interest, Boltz pointed out, because they vote on rental rates. Board members tried to quiet him as he spoke.
Boltz and board member Megan Schroeder then got into shouting match after he questioned how her daughter was chosen to give a graduation speech at Downers Grove South two years ago.
Beckman then cut the meeting short by hitting her gavel, calling for a quick motion to adjourn.
Beckman and Schroeder sit on the Downers Grove Township Democratic Organization, which rents a community room once a month, but they said they get no special treatment.
In defense of her daughter's graduation speech, Schroeder said her daughter ranked within the top 2 percent of her class all four years at South. She said faculty members selected her based on the strength of her graduation speech.[1]
[edit] External links
- Community High School District 99
- "Downers Grove school board and new member clash," Chicago Tribune, 23 July 2009
[edit] References
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