Glen Ellyn School District 41 Board of Education members clashed for more than an hour May 12 about whether the two newest members should have access to closed session minutes. Ultimately, the board approved access.
“We absolutely have a right to this information,” new board member Kurt Buchholz said.
Before being sworn in May 4, the first order of business for Stephanie Clark and Buchholz was gaining access to the closed session minutes. They said they needed more information to effectively cast future votes on issues that might have been discussed by the previous board.
Clark and Buchholz argued they should not have to seek the board’s permission for access, although that was the opinion of the district’s attorney, Todd Faulkner. The duo agreed they would not request access until they completed new board member training that includes information on the state’s Open Meetings Act. That satisfied board members who expressed some concerns about access to those private sessions.
The contentious and sometimes combative debate, which outlined a clear division in the board, is likely a foreshadowing of the next two years The duo sought access in particular to closed session minutes from a meeting in April when board members discussed a $10,000 bonus and pay increase for Superintendent Paul Gordon.
Clark and Buchholz were informed that access to that information required a unanimous agreement from the board, a decision backed by the district’s legal counsel. The two took issue with that opinion, saying information contained in those minutes was necessary to effectively vote on board issues. They also said they could not find a clearly defined board policy among those published, which amounted to an obstructionist agenda.
“If I don’t understand the reasoning that went into making those decisions, then I can’t effectively vote on something that I will certainly be held accountable for,” Clark said.
Other board members, though, said some of those minutes contained sensitive information that is not germane to any future vote, including self evaluations of board members, some of whom are no longer serving. Clark and Buchholz pledged to skip those sessions.
Board member Dean Elger said he was not comfortable with the duo seeking access to those minutes because closed sessions are conducted confidentially with the people in the meeting. Elger said allowing access would “breech confidentiality with three members of the board who are no longer on the board.” He said what happens in those meetings should remain in those meetings.
“I would feel like I was breaking an oath with those members,” Elger said.
Board president Erica Nelson said she feels the burden of the executive session in the context of “that board in that moment in time.”
Nelson, who was sworn in to her third term on the board last week, said to the best of her knowledge the request made by Clark and Buchholz was a first of its kind.
The board typically maintains closed session minutes for 18 months.
During a period of public comment, several residents decried the stated policy that denied the two new board members access to those closed session minutes.
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Randolph Sailer, a 10-year member of the Glen Ellyn Public Library Board of Trustees, said the policy denying access to information is detrimental to the new board members and their ability to make good decisions
“They have these rights,” Glen Ellyn resident Bruce Currie said. “We as a public expect these rights to be enforced. It is their duty … to listen to these recordings.”
Keown is a freelance reporter for baiduhai.
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