Nine former Elgin School District U46 board members joined together during the public comment time at Monday’s board meeting to condemn the political slant they say a newly elected faction of the board has brought to recent meetings.
The former members did not name who is disappointing them.
Normally, public comments at board meetings are made by one person at a time, with a time limit of three minutes on each person’s comment. But the nine former board members, who had registered individually to speak, all stepped up to the speakers’ table at once and issued a joint statement by handing the microphone from one person to another.
The comments began with Amy Kerber, who was on the board for eight years but decided not to run for re-election last April. She said the speakers cumulatively account for more than 50 years of service on the school board, and several also had put in years of leadership in the U46 Citizens Advisory Council.
Then seven other ex-board members talked about positive things that the district achieved during their times in office, which for some dated back to the 1980s, and they spoke about good things District U46 is known for now. These comments came from Glen Murphy, E.C. “Bud” Wilson, Dave Mathews, Jennifer Shroder, Ken Kaczynski, Dale Spencer and Maria Bidelman.
Shroder and Bidelman had been on the board until the last April election. Bidelman chose not to run again and Shroder was defeated at the polls after asking her supporters not to vote for her lest the split of their votes ensure the victory of Jeanette Ward, Cody Holt and Phil Costello and candidates aligned with them. Ward, Holt and Costello were elected to the board in April.
Finally, former board member and former advisory council chairman Karen Carney explained why the group was there.
“When we served, we came from different religious and political backgrounds,” Carney said. “However, we knew little about that because we recognized our responsibilities in a nonpartisan office.”
But now, Carney said, “It has become painfully apparent that there are two distinct agendas present on the current board. The first is those who are volunteering their time and effort to do what’s best for kids, work toward defined goals, strive for steady improvement and be ambassadors and liaisons for the district. This is a difficult and complex task. It requires learning, listening and building relationships.
“The second agenda, newly represented on the board, comes from a political position narrow in its scope that only views the responsibilities of the board through that narrow lens. The consequences are distraction and obstruction.”
“Contrary positions are expected in any governing body,” Carney said. “However, it should not be the mission to have a ‘gotcha’ moment at every public meeting and grandstand to your political audience. The reputation of the district is heavily influenced by what is reported coming from the board table. If you open the paper in the morning and the behavior of the board or individual board members is the story, then you have done a tremendous disservice to students and staff.
“We are here tonight because we cared enough to serve and continue to care,” Carney said. “We are dismayed. We are letting you know that we intend to be very attentive and we are not going away.
“We are uniquely qualified to make this statement because we have sat in your seats.”
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