Here is the state from Crystal Lake High School District 155 Board President Ted Wagner on the loss in the suit challenging their right to build the South High School bleachers:
Regarding Illinois Supreme Court Ruling on Crystal Lake South High School Bleachers
Attributable to Community High School District 155
Board of Education President Ted Wagner
Ted Wagner
We are disappointed with today’s Illinois Supreme Court ruling.
Community High School District 155 followed the required Illinois School Code process, and obtained all required permits from the Regional County Superintendent in planning and constructing the bleachers at Crystal Lake South High School.
District 155 will fully comply with all Court orders regarding the demolition of the bleachers.
At the direction of the Board of Education, in December 2014, the district issued a request for proposals seeking bids for this work demolition.
We are committed to working with our residential neighbors, and we will continue to work with the City of Crystal Lake to move forward in a cooperative and respectful manner.
We will now work to finalize a demolition process and timeline that will minimize disruption to our students and community.
Crystal Lake South High School has two upcoming events—
- our annual “Pink Out” home football game, which raises funds for breast cancer awareness this Friday, September 25, and
- our charity fundraiser walk to benefit mental health awareness on Saturday, September 26.
We anticipate these events to continue as planned while the district assesses alternate options regarding future scheduled events at the stadium.
= = = = =
The same message was emailed to parents with the following addition:
In Community High School District 155 our students have always been and will continue to be our focus as we ensure they are college and career ready. Our teachers, administrators, and staff are dedicated to inspiring, empowering, and nurturing them every day.
The reaction of the City of Crystal Lake can be found here.
The guts of the case and a link to the Illinois Supreme Court decision can be found here.
They’d better NOT Demolish them.
Can’t they can be sold, removed and transferred to a new location?
Or they can be shortened to match the height of the old bleachers.
Cal, are they really going to destroy these???
If I recall correctly, it is massively more expensive from a labor cost perspective (at inflated Prevailing Wage rates) to painstakingly dismantle the existing bleachers and then reassemble it on the other side of the field than just demolishing them and building new bleachers on the other side of the field.
Of course, that assumes that Shepley ever allows D155 build anything ever again in Crystal Lake.
Just piss away more of our TAX $$ that we won’t ever recoup as Tax Payers….
I hope you are all proud of this mess of wastefulness…you created!
another reason to remove Home Rule!!!
It just never stops!
the pickpocketing of Taxpayers!…
There are alternatives available to all of the parties that may be negotiated.
In the past, Dist 155 has refused to negotiate, maybe now they will.
The bleachers were erected in August 2013.
A McHenry County Blog article in August 2013 referenced the following article by Franzek Radelet, which is a very well known law firm that represents school districts.
Franzek Radelet
Municipal Zoning Laws May Apply to School Districts According to New Illinois Attorney General Opinion
February 6, 2012
By Brian Crowley and Scott Metcalf
http://www.franczek.com/frontcenter-Municipal_Zoning_Laws_School_Districts_IL_Attorney_General_Opinion.html
The franzek Radelet article referenced an Illinois Attorney General opinion about how municipal zoning laws apply to school districts.
Illinois Attorney General
Lisa Madigan
December 23, 2011
File number 11-005
Zoning: Applicability of Municipal and County Zoning Ordinances to School Districts
12 pages
http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/2011/11-005.pdf
There is absolutely no justifiable reason for the Crystal Lake High School District 155 to erect those bleachers without more fully involving both the city of Crystal Lake and neighbors bordering the bleachers.
The CHSD 155 board, administration, and their lawyers ignored or chose not to adequately utilize publicly available information about the very zoning ordinances the Illinois Supreme Court has decided that CHSD 155 broke.
A simple Google search would have revealed the above documents.
A Google search requires no expertise, yet the school district purports to be experts.
In the process CHSD 155 has wasted taxpayer money for legal defense, construction, demolition, and subsequent reconstruction.
And what about re-use, is prevailing wage so high no one can figure out how to reuse any of the bleachers?
Surely they called the company that erected the bleachers and maybe a few other companies to explore re-use?
And CHSD 155 has caused taxpayers to waste time trying figure out what transpired.
And another problem with CHSD 155 is that they have lousy transparency.
They do not have nearly the types and number of documents on their website that is necessary for adequate taxpayer transparency.
For instance CHSD 155 has only the current collective bargaining agreement on their website, not past agreements.
CHSD 155 requires one to request from CHSD 155 a copy of the IMRF compensation report for employees in the IMRF pension fund earning over $75,000….highly unusual….most school districts, and all of the supposed “caliber” of CHSD 155 post that report on their website.
http://ww3.d155.org/Pages/SalaryInformation.aspx
CHSD 155 only has the current year Administrator and Teacher Salary & Benefit report on their website, not previous years.
CHSD 155 has a collective bargaining agreement on its website (TJA contract) with the transportation union that expired in 2012. And as is typical, no previous agreements with that union on the CHSD 155 website.
http://ww3.d155.org/pages/humanresources.aspx
There is only the current support staff collective bargaining agreement on the website, no previous agreements.
http://ww3.d155.org/pages/humanresources.aspx
http://ww3.d155.org/pages/humanresources.aspx
http://ww3.d155.org/Pages/SalaryInformation.aspx
CHSD is not adequately transparent despite their claims and have not been for a long time.
Hopefully people dismiss the tired school district argument “we follow all applicable laws.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CHSD 155 has 3 new members as of the April 7, 2015 election:
Rosemary Kurtz
Amy Blazier
Adam Guss
The only incumbent running for re-election was Karen Whitman, and she was not re-elected.
The other 4 current board members are:
Ted Wagner
Gary Oberg
Dave Secrest
Ann Somers
Heads should roll, from Wagner’s to the superintendent.
I noticed that the release only makes mention of the plans to demolish the bleachers.
There was no mention of any plans to construct new ones.
D-155 taxpayers already paid once to construct new bleachers, they shouldn’t have to pay twice.
If the boosters want new bleachers, let them raise the appropriate funds for construction.
I find it hard to believe the present bleachers can’t be cut down in height which will move them farther from the property lines and meet code.
No structural engineer’s can do that safely?
Ya right.
I bet a crew of carnival workers could do it!