Earlier today I posted the “Notice of Vacancy” sent out by Huntley School District 158.  I noticed that it did not seem to mesh with school board policy.

Now the district has sent out a revised version of its original notice, which is below.

The difference seems to be that three reference letters are now not required, but may still be submitted with one’s resume.

Maybe you can find other differences.  The original requirements are found here.

Notice of Board Member Vacancy – revised
03.05.10 p.m.

At the Committee of the Whole March 4, 2010 meeting, the Board of Education of Consolidated School District 158 of McHenry and Kane Counties, Illinois received the resignation of Mr. Shawn Green, Board President. Mr. Green has served the District as a Board Member since April 2005.

Interested parties in becoming a board member and applying for the vacancy, please submit your information as follows:

• A letter of interest
• Resume and up to three references

Submit to: Naomi Fettes, Executive Assistant and Board Operations, Consolidated School District 158, 650 Academic Drive, Algonquin, Illinois 60102.

Applicants are also required to provide proof of the following:

• A United States Citizen
• At least 18 years of age
• A resident of the State of Illinois and CSD158 and Illinois for at least one year
• A registered voter in the State of Illinois and McHenry or Kane Counties, Illinois

Deadline for submission by close of business day before 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 18, 2010

Contact the Superintendent’s office at (847) 659-6103 or via email at nfettes@district158.org for further information.
The Board will review the resumes, that will be made public, and discuss the next step at the March 18, 2010 regular Board meeting.
Policy 2:40

A Board of Education member must be, on the date of election or appointment, a United States citizen at least 18 years of age, a resident of Illinois and the District for at least one year immediately preceding the election, and a registered voter.

Reasons making an individual ineligible for Board of Education membership include holding an incompatible office and certain types of State or federal employment. A child sex offender, as defined in State law, is ineligible for School Board membership.

LEGAL REF.: Ill. Constitution, Art. 2, ¶ 1; Art 4, ¶ 2(e); Art 6, ¶ 13(b).
105 ILCS 5/10-3 and 5/10-10.

With the resignation of Huntley School District 158 Board President Shawn Green, the remaining members are seeking applicants to replace him.Applications are due by March 18th.  Below is the notice that has been distributed:

Notice of Board Member Vacancy

03.05.10

Shawn Green chairing a board meeting.

At the Committee of the Whole March 4, 2010 meeting, the Board of Education of Consolidated School District 158 of McHenry and Kane Counties, Illinois received the resignation of Mr. Shawn Green, Board President. Mr. Green has served the District as a Board Member since April 2005.

Interested parties of becoming a board member, should submit their resume and letter of interest to: Naomi Fettes, Executive Assistant and Board Operations, Consolidated School District 158, 650 Academic Drive, Algonquin, Illinois 60102.

Deadline for submission by close of business day before 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 18, 2010 Requirements (as per Policy 2:40) in the volunteer position are listed below:

• Letter of Interest addressed to: Naomi Fettes, Executive Assistant and Board Operations
• Proof of Citizenship
• Proof of Residency as resident of CSD158 and Illinois for at least a year
• Proof of Voter’s Registration, for either McHenry or Kane Counties, Illinois
• Resume and three Letters of Reference
• Verification of at least 18 years of age

Contact the Superintendent’s office at (847) 659-6103 or via email at nfettes@district158.org for further information.

The Board will review the resumes, that will be made public, and discuss the next step at the March 18, 2010 regular Board meeting.

Policy 2:40

A Board of Education member must be, on the date of election or appointment, a United States citizen at least 18 years of age, a resident of Illinois and the District for at least one year immediately preceding the election, and a registered voter.

Reasons making an individual ineligible for Board of Education membership include holding an incompatible office and certain types of State or federal employment. A child sex offender, as defined in State law, is ineligible for School Board membership.

LEGAL REF.: Ill. Constitution, Art. 2, ¶ 1; Art 4, ¶ 2(e); Art 6, ¶ 13(b).
105 ILCS 5/10-3 and 5/10-10.

Strangely enough, the board policy, seen below, does not require letters of recommendations:

Consolidated School District 158 2:70
Page 1 of 1

Board of Education
Vacancies on Board of Education – Filling Vacancies
Vacancy

Elective office of a Board of Education member becomes vacant before the term’s expiration when any of the following occurs:

1. Death of the incumbent;
2. Resignation in writing filed with the Secretary of the Board of Education;
3. Legal disability of the incumbent;
4. Conviction of a felony, bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime or of any offense involving a violation of official oath or of a violent crime against a child;
5. Removal from office;
6. The decision of a competent tribunal declaring his or her election void;
7. Ceasing to meet the residential requirements contained in The School Code;
8. An illegal conflict of interest; or
9. Acceptance of a second public office that is incompatible with Board of Education membership.

Filling Vacancies

Whenever a vacancy occurs, the remaining members shall notify the Regional Superintendent of Schools of that vacancy within 5 days after its occurrence and shall fill the vacancy until the next regular Board of Education election, at which election a successor shall be elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. However, if the vacancy occurs with less than 868 days remaining in the term, the person so appointed shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term, and no election to fill the vacancy shall be held. Members appointed by the remaining members of the Board to fill vacancies shall meet any residential requirements as specified in The School Code. The Board shall fill the vacancy within 45 days after it occurred by a public vote at a meeting of the Board.

Immediately following a vacancy on the Board of Education, the Board will publicize it and accept résumés from District residents who are interested in filling the vacancy. After reviewing the applications, the Board may invite the prospective candidates for personal interviews (emphasis added).

LEGAL REF.: 105 ILCS 5/10-10 and 5/10-11.
CROSS REF.: 2:40 (Board Member Qualifications), 2:60 (Board Member Removal From Office)
ADOPTED: May 17, 2001

Although neither Public Information Officer Lorie Woods nor Huntley School District Superintendent John Burkey was willing to verify that Human Resources Director Loren Smith has resigned, the Journal of Oak Park and River Forest makes such a reply redundant.

The paper announced Tuesday that Smith has taken the same post she held in Huntley at Oak Park and River Forest District 200.

The salary for her one year contract is $140,000.

Tonight was Huntley School Board President Shawn Green’s last meeting. He resigned to pursue policy concerns in a different arena, perhaps even another elective office. (He was elected a Republican Precinct Committeeman February 2nd.)

Green warns against using the schools for “social indoctrination” and decries the possibility of any future education fund tax increase.

Below are his remarks:

School District 158 has made tremendous strides in the last five years, and no rational argument could be made against that statement. By no means do I take personal credit for our achievements; it has been a real collaborative effort between the Board of Education, administration, staff members, the students, and the community as a whole. Still, we should never let our success get in the way of continuous improvement. As the saying goes, “good enough is the enemy of great.”

We still have many hills to climb and many things we need to do better, but there is no denying the fact that in terms of academic achievement, fiscal accountability, transparency, and overall district effectiveness, we are much better off now than we were five years ago. It has been truly rewarding to have played a part, however small, in making that happen.

There are a few personal accomplishments that I am most proud of, such as authoring a resolution in opposition to HB2354, and another calling for a legislative ban on public school employee strikes. Both resolutions received unanimous support from my fellow board members.

I am also proud to have been instrumental in exposing the destructive agendas of certain self-proclaimed “community watchdogs”. (Watchdogs serve a vital purpose, and their efforts are usually worthy of praise. But when the watchdog destroys the furniture, ruins the carpeting, and bites your kids, it becomes a liability rather than an asset.)

Perhaps the most gratifying aspect of my tenure on the Board is the knowledge that I never played politics in my role as a board member. One of my reasons for stepping down is to devote more time to local political issues, and it is not out of the realm of possibility that I will seek another elected office in the near future. But every decision I made as a board member was based on my belief that it was the right thing for the district, not because I was looking to score points with one group or another.

I encourage the Board and administration to remain on the current path, and continuously look for ways to improve.

I urge you to always be mindful that leadership and authority are not automatically synonymous. I also ask the community to be involved.

This is OUR school district-it doesn’t belong to the Department of Education, or bureaucrats in Springfield, or the IEA–it belongs to us; as residents of the community we have a duty to be informed and hold our decision-makers accountable. The same is true for all levels of government.

There’s an essay, commonly attributed to 18th century British professor Alexander Tyler, which outlines the stages of democracy: from Bondage to Spiritual Faith, to Great Courage, to Liberty, to Abundance, to Complacency, to Apathy, to Dependence, and back into Bondage.

I’m afraid our society currently rests somewhere between Apathy and Dependence, and it’s time we get our acts together before it’s too late.

I will personally remain involved, albeit in a much different capacity now, in school district affairs.

I expect the district to spend within its means, never find itself in a situation where another Education Fund referendum is necessary, and refrain from the social indoctrination practices so common in many school districts across the country. Keep moving forward, and I will be a vocal advocate; start moving backward, and I will become a determined adversary. I am confident the Board, administration, and staff will continue to do the right things for District 158, and it has been an honor to work with you and serve the community these last five years.

I officially tender my resignation from the Consolidated School District Board of Education, effective immediately.

Respectfully,

Shawn Green

Yesterday I showed you the terse resignation letter of Huntley School District 158’s Special Education Director Cheryl Kalkirtz.

As you can see from this article, District 158 seems to have a difficult time keeping such employees.

But, back to the question:

Does the Huntley School District need a full-time “certified” Special Ed Director?

My research says it doesn’t.

It doesn’t even need the part-time one it recently hired.

The reason is because Huntley School District 158 is a member of SEDOM, the Special Education District of McHenry County, and its Superintendent, Kathy Wilhoit, has the necessary “endorsement.”

Superintendent Wilhoit wrote,

“Regarding requirements, if a district has a full time special education administrator, that person must have a state director of special education endorsement.  If the position only works with special education part time, the endorsement is not required.“All districts who are members of a special education cooperative operate under the director of the cooperative as the state approved special education director.”

Indeed, Wilhoit told me she signs all the state grant applications.

So, it appears that Kalkirtz’ leadership abilities could have been utilized with no problem from Springfield by just changing her title.

That still leaves the question of why there was a parting of the ways.

The rationale used to appoint a part-time Special Ed Director was that she had the proper “endorsement.”

As you can see from Superintendent Wilhoit’s statement, that was not necessary.

Even though Karen Aylward’s appointment as Interim Director seemed to run into problems when it was discovered she did not have the endorsement, Wilhoit’s endorsement would cover for her with only a title change.

A May 2009 memo to Huntley District 158 from the State Board of Education should have made that clear. In part, it reads:

The above regulatory citation at 23 IAC 226.800(g)(3) also requires that “Each school district, or the cooperative entity of which it is a member, shall employ a full-time director of special education…” (emphasis added)

I did notice that all of Huntley’s “Assistant Director” of Special Ed job titles were changed to “Coordinator” after I pointed out the day of the meeting, citing state law, that all Directors and Assistant Directors have to have an endorsement for Director of Special Education.

This wasn’t the original plan, as evidenced by the planned personnel changes that were in the original board packet.

What did come out was Supt. John Burkey’s having to admit the lengthy amount of time that it takes for the State of Illinois to review and approve a Director’s endorsement.

This pretty much debunks any implication or cover that Cheryl Kalkirtz had to be let go or had to resign from the district because she didn’t officially have a director’s endorsement yet.

Maybe the real reason will come out later.

Kalkirtz’ on the job performance was well respected and Burkey publicly pretty much ruled out any inappropriate behavior on Kalkirtz’ part.

It is entirely possible and looking more and more likely every day that Kalkirtz did everything right, disclosed everything up front about not officially having a Director’s endorsement and was performing admirably in her job every day. For whatever reason, parents were told she had that endorsement.

So what’s left?

Is it possible Burkey got more than a little irritated that Kalkirtz was a professional who was good at advocating for her special services students.

If that’s not how a superintendent really wanted someone to perform in that position, it might be like having two tectonic plates awaiting a breaking rupture.

So far, there has been no tsunami bigger than the one that hit Hawaii. But you can bet similar swift underground waves are still bouncing around the District 158 basin.

It is so unusual for a middle level school administrator in Illinois to leave in the middle of a school year contract, that barring death, indictment or felony arrest.  It’s safe to describe what is now publicized as a resignation was apparently the result of an an internal power struggle, which Burkey won.

Whether the students will end up on the winning side remains to be seen.

When I filed a Freedom of Information request for board emails, I saw no indication that Burkey had informed board members prior to the resignation.

Based on people talking about how Burkey begged Kalkirtz to stay in January and then, weeks later, he accepted her resignation, you may want to wager an abrupt turn occurred.

Coincidentally this apparently happened after Burkey got his new three-year contract.

Here is the February 1, 2010, resignation from Huntley School District 158’s Special Education Director Cheryl Kalkirtz.

It is short and to the point:

I, Cheryl Kalkirtz, resign from CSD158 immediately.

I have cited Huntley School District 158 as a model of transparency. I did so most recently for all to see at a Crystal Lake City Council meeting when I was perturbed that I could not find the council packet on the internet on the city’s brand-new web site.

I thought I got a favorable response, but last weekend I went looking for the information that the council folks had already received and there was nothing to be found.

Asking City Manager Gary Mayerhofer about when it might happen, I was told that staff was ready, but waiting for direction from the council. Based on that representation, I didn’t ask again during the public comment section. If by the next meeting I attend it is not up, I shall, as you would expect, make mention of it again.

In any event, the Huntley School District was the web site I pointed to as what I hoped Crystal Lake would emulate.

But outside of the board packet’s posting, the Huntley School District is no model of transparency, even though outgoing School Board President Shawn Green represented as such.

Why would I say that?

While McHenry County government has been known to reply to a Freedom of Information request in less than 24 hours, the Huntley School District tends to take the pretty much the maximum amount of time allowed by law.

And, in the instance of my search for anyone employed by District 158 with a Special Education Director qualification, as defined by the Illinois State Board of Education, the term “dragging of the heels” is too mild to use.

On Monday, February 8th, I asked for the following:

“One document for each person having a special education director endorsement on their administrator’s certificate, as verified on the State Board of Education web site.”

The same day, FOI Officer Lori Woods replied,

“Are you requesting a copy of their certificate?

“If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.”

My reply:

“I really don’t care if it the certificate or something referring to the certificate. “

Woods:

“Okay, thanks.  I’ll get working on that ASAP for you.”

My reply:

“The basic question is whether anyone in the district has a certification to be a special ed director.

“I can’t find one.”

On Friday, February 12th, I received this reply from Woods:

“The response to your FOIA regarding documentation of Special Education Director endorsement is attached.

“If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.”

That certainly is within the five-workday returned turnaround time, but consider the answer from Human Resources Director Lauren Smith that was attached:

Huntley School District Human Relations Director Lauren Smith

“I am not clear how to move forward on this request. Based solely on the question, I cannot provide a document for all persons with an endorsement as a special education director.”

Smith’s parsing of my words reminds me of President Bill Clinton’s:

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

Being the persistent type, I filed a new Freedom of Information request on Friday, February 12th, saying,

“It seems to me that my Special Ed certification request was pretty clear, clear enough to ask the IL AG’s office in an appeal and get a letter sent to District 158 the way one was recently sent to Grafton Township officials.  Instead, for a very brief time (I do not promise to wait 5 days, just to delay until the thought of an appeal enters my head again), let me give you another chance with the re-wording of the question you see below:

“I request all documentation provided by the Regional Superintendents Office or State Board of Education that evidences each district employee who holds or has held a Special Education Director endorsement during the 2009 – 2010 fiscal year, including any employee who was employed by the district in FY 2009 – 2010, and any certificate or copy thereof of in possession of the district that evidences the referenced employees’ holding or having held the referenced endorsement.

“A simple ‘We have no record of any such evidence that a Special Ed Director Endorsement has been held by any of our employees during Fiscal Year 2009-2010′ will suffice, if that is the situation.” (Emphasis added.)

Seven days later, I received this reply:

“The response to your FOIA for Special Education Director endorsement is attached.

“If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.”

Now, Human Resources Director Smith has discovered,

“Upon review of certified staff members, including administrators, there is not an employee as of this date with a Director of Special Education endorsement.”

Ver-r-r-r-y in-ter-r-r-r-r-es-s-s-t-ing, as the Laugh-In Nazi would say.

Not that I think Green had any knowledge of the games his staff was playing, but I would point out this answer was received the day after Green praised the district’s transparency.

It was not received before I got fed up at not having receiving a timely answer to my question of February 8th, though.

I would suggest the kiddie games evident above are unworthy of a local government aspiring to be known as a “model of transparency.”

= = = = =

The 800 number of the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access folks is 877-299-3642, by the way.  Complaints may be filed by email.  The email address is PublicAccess@AtG.State.IL.US.

The interview process for hiring a new Special Ed Director in Huntley District 158 included parents. They got to interview the final three candidates. This was after administrators conducted initial interviews, checked out candidates’ credentials and recommended three final candidates.

Lauren Smith, Chief Human Resources Officer, emailed parents who were in on the interviewing, the document at the bottom of this article.

As you can see to the left, the District represented to parents that Cheryl Kalkirtz already had her endorsement for Special Education Director.

This was the administration’s document and the district’s representation.

There was no footnote of “pending,” “applied for” or “based on applicant’s application.”  (See bottom of this article for the all the information supplied parents.)

Administrators were telling parents before hiring Kalkirtz that Kalkirtz had the Director endorsement.

Karen Aylward apparently also made such a representation to parents for herself at the August Parent Advisory Committee meeting.

What is more interesting is how the job description that was used to hire for the position omitted any requirement for an endorsement for Special Ed Director.

Reprinted below  is the job description that was used last year.

You have to wonder

• Why parents were told in writing that Kalkirtz had her endorsement
• Administrators apparently omitted the requirement from the Director job description.
• Why Supt. Burkey and top administrators thought it was acceptable to show parents that Aylward had a Director’s endorsement when it turns out she doesn’t.

Meanwhile knowing this, Burkey is quoted in the Daily Herald today,

“The director of special education does have to have the director endorsement,” Burkey said. “We would only hire someone if we believed they had those qualifications.”

Really?

Shouldn’t the law be quoted correctly in a newspaper?

You can go to the applicable state law

ISBE 23 ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 25.300 SUBTITLE A SUBCHAPTER b SUBPART E: REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CERTIFICATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY STAFF

and read

g) Nothing in this Section is intended to preclude the issuance of a provisional certificate under Section 21-10 of the School Code.

(Source: Amended at 34 Ill. Reg. 1582, effective January 12, 2010.)

So when the Daily Herald quotes in a February 18th article,

“”The district cannot lawfully employ someone in this position who does not have this certificate,” state board spokeswoman Mary Fergus said.”

Fergus apparently forgets about provisional certificates.

The newspaper could have been fairer to Kalkirtz and its readers by pointing this out.

The allowance of a provisional certificate could hardly be more plain.

When she was selected last year, administrators and parents thought Kalkirtz was the best overall candidate and the board gave her a one year contract. They hired her.

Mere mortals cannot put themselves into Supt. Burkey’s mind, of course.

We do know that District 158 told parents that Kalkirtz had the endorsement in question and we know that there is an exception under the law for a “provisional certificate.”

And we know that the requirement for the “endorsement,” now being trotted out as the reason Kalkirtz is no longer with the district, was not important enough to include in the job description when she was hired.

We do not, however, know the motivations for Kalkirtz’ leaving the district.

Neither do we know the motivations for Burkey’s current behavior.

Maybe she was getting too close to the parents’ negative point of view of the Huntley School District’s Special Education services.

I had heard that she submitted a resignation letter which Burkey refused to accept. That was two weeks before she left. Maybe she was fed up with the lack of support from the administration.

By the way, Assistant Directors also have to have their Director’s endorsement under the same law:

“Section 25.365 Director of Special Education.  This endorsement shall be required for directors and assistant directors of special education beginning July 1, 2005.”

This is at least the second year that Assistant Director Aylward doesn’t have this endorsement as an Assistant Director.

For some reason, the Daily Herald reporter did not mention the exception in the law or the other documents in this article.

It would have been nice if the article had included

• a more complete picture of the applicable law,
• how Huntley made an exception for Kalkirtz and is
• is now making an exception for Aylward, not to mention
• what went on when Kalkirtz was hired.

Burkey appears to be treating former Special Ed Director Kalkirtz and eventually-to-be Interim Special Ed Director Aylward very differently when it comes to not having a Director’s endorsement.

One can only wonder.

= = = = =
Qualifications of three candidates for Special Ed Director emailed to parents before last year’s selection of Cheryl Kalkirtz:

Candidate #1

Positions Held

• Social Worker
• Assistant Principal
• Principal
• Experiences in both K-12 Districts and Special Education Organization

Certifications

• General Administrative
• Director of Special Education
• School Service Personnel – Social Work
• Non-violent Crisis Intervention

Candidate was responsible for the introduction and implementation of informal reading and spelling assessments for baseline instructional planning and progress monitoring of students. Other strengths/achievements include the introduction of scope and sequence documentation for grades K-12, integration of PBIS, worked on curriculum committees, participation on Transdisciplinary [SIC] Special Education/Regular Education initiative team, and the recruitment of related service personnel (speech pathologist, social workers, psychologist, and physical/occupational therapist), and on-going professional development.

Basic experience includes social work, compliance, staff evaluation, professional development and budget responsibilities.

17 years experience in the field of education, more specifically in relation to special education. Highly-qualified, candidate has earned an M.S.W. degree from University of Illinois at Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin. Administrative degree from Northeastern Illinois University.

Languages – French (Polite)

Candidate #2

Positions Held

• Teacher
• Principal
• Coordinator of Special Services
• Special Education Director

Certifications

• Teaching 09/10
• General Administrative
• Director of Special Education

Strengths include implementing district run special education programs addressing all levels of disabilities. Other strengths/achievements include the development curriculum, implemented regular education teams for pre-referrals, the recruitment of related service personnel (speech pathologist, social workers, psychologist, and physical/occupational therapist), and on-going professional development. Developed an active parent advisory organization.

Basic experience includes design of service delivery and curriculum, grant writing and maintenance, compliance, staff evaluation, special education identification process (from pre-identification to IEP) and budget responsibilities.

Over 20 years experience in the field of education, more specifically in relation to special education. Highly-qualified, candidate has earned an M.S.E.D. degree from Northern Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree from the Drake University.

Candidate #3

Positions Held

• Teacher
• Parent Advocate (official position assisting families during IEP conferences)
• Special Education Consultant
• Principal
• Coordinator of Special Services
• Special Education Director

Certifications

• Teaching 09/10
• General Administrative
• Director of Special Education

Strengths include educational leader for school wide curriculum. Candidate has had responsibility for the management of education and operations of educational facility and the implementation of IEP and Medicare software and management. Other strengths/achievements include the development, team, and development of RtI in multiple schools, development curriculum, providing parent support through the experience of parent advocate and special ed consultant, the recruitment of related service personnel (speech pathologist, social workers, psychologist, and physical/occupational therapist), and on-going professional development.

Basic experience includes service delivery and coordination of Special education, ESL, Gifted, TPI, and ESY. Grant writing and maintenance for IDEIA, extracurricular and community based programs, compliance, professional development, parent and community partnerships, staff evaluation, special education identification process (from pre-identification to IEP) and budget responsibilities.

Over 15 years experience in the field of education, more specifically in relation to special education. Highly-qualified, candidate has earned masters degree from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree from the Northeastern University.

Literate in Spanish

NCLB Highly Qualified in 23 subject areas

Last Thursday night the Huntley School District’s Parents Special Education Advisory Committee met.

It was under the shadow of Huntley’s Special Education Director’s Cheryl Kalkirtz’ recent unexplained parting of the ways with District 158.

Now, the district has its 3rd (albeit interim) Director in seven months, Karen Aylward.

Although Special Ed parents invest a lot of time communicating with special ed administrators, there was no explanation of Kalkritz’ absence from the man she reports to, Associate Superintendent Terry Awrey, who attended the meeting.

“Our resolve to inspire, challenge and empower has never been stronger,” he told those gathered.

The meeting was evidently something for the administrators to “get through,” as more than one mentioned goal of ending it by 7:30 so they could get home.

One parent specifically asked,

“What’s the rush to get out of here at 7:30?”

She then said,

“We’re here, you’re here.”

Parents started asking polite questions after Aylward introduced herself as the Special Ed Director pending board approval. She repeated it three times in two brief paragraphs as if the roomful of staff and parents were unaware. Aylward when asked, confirmed she did not have an endorsement for Special Education Director.

Aylward now makes $65,383.93 as Assistant Director of Special Education for working 215 days. I haven’t figured out how much her salary will increase in the new interim directorship position.

At the meeting, a parent asked about accounting for the (Federal Stimulus) ARRA funds.  Parents bristled when Aylward pronounced,

“All of that can be FOIA’d.”

Aylward said,

“My goal is to spend it the way it is supposed to.”

A parent in the audience then asked,

“Isn’t it your duty?

Parents started asking polite questions after Aylward introduced herself as the new Special Ed Director, pending board approval. She repeated it three times in two brief paragraphs as if the roomful of staff and parents were unaware.

After another question Associate Supt. Awrey gave Aylward a gesture to move on with the agenda. That’s when Aylward said she has to stick to the agenda and questions and answers are not on the agenda.

One parent sitting near Awrey asked Awrey why he signaled Aylward to not take questions.

Awrey denied he did this, but insisted they had to stick to the agenda.

Parents Linda Betzold and Sara DiFucci made a joint presentation on autism. One person attending described is as “an incredible performance, rich in content, holding the audience’s interest and at times making the entire room laugh.”

A loud round of applause followed their talks.

After the rendition, parents began asking questions and making comments. Parents who were new to publicly speaking out asked questions and commented.

One of the first parents commenting said how there was a “huge lack of information and communication.”

Another asked if items and notices of meetings could be included in the newsletter.  One parent pointed out how the district uses the Honeywell Emergency Alert system to notify parents how their student’s lunch card money balance is low, so why not use it to notify parents with IEP’s about the PAC meeting?

A parent described how administrators don’t want to be responsive to sensible suggestions even when they are repeated again and again. She pointed out how administrators have special ed staff members on their web site who haven’t been employed in one instance for two years and one of more instances not employed for 18 months.

A parent said,

“With all due respect (Supt.) Dr.(John) Burkey never comes to our meetings.

“It’s become a joke among parents how he runs and hides after board meetings.

“Can you find out if he will be here for our next meeting?”

Another parent talked about the staff members’ workload – caseload and said,

“Lauren Smith was driving it, but this doesn’t mean she knows what she’s talking about.”

Lauren Smith presented recommendations on Special Ed staffing to the board from a committee of administrators and teachers. Parents found out the committee members did not meet before Smith presented the committee’s recommendation to the board.

Plenty of parents talked to Awrey after the meeting for quite some time. Some parents wonder what will be passed onto the Superintendent.

Meanwhile Kalkirtz is no longer employed, even though the board has taken no action on her departure.

I’m not an expert in personnel policy.

Maybe it is customary in school districts for contractual certified administrators to leave without board action.

After months of bleak, bleak and more bleak announcements by Huntley School District 158’s Superintendent John Burkey and Controller Mark Altmayer, I couldn’t help but notice Altmayer is in line to get a large salary increase to $130,000.

It’s shown on page 58 of this month’s board packet.

Things might be bleak for other employees or programs in the district, but as I recall from reading somewhere his salary was $105,000 when he started.

Not bleak.

$25,000’s a hefty increase in base salary. Not too many readers would turn their nose up at a $25,000 increase in base salary. Altmayer was hired at a special meeting in January 2009.

The salary increase references “+ admin benefits” which can be interpreted as this is going to also cost the district more money.

Meanwhile in a “way to create busywork” in the fiscal department, Burkey’s administration is asking to have the board approve a policy change to start charging 50 cents for the first CD on Freedom of Information Act requests.

The first CD used to be free.

It used to cost state government about $12 to process a voucher. More now, I suppose.

So, how much will it cost to process and do the accounting for all of those checks for fifty cents?

Or, does the district accept credit cards?

You can find this recommendation on page 267 of the board packet.