District 209 BOE meeting, September 21, 2009

On Monday, September 21, the Proviso Township High Schools (District 209) board of education held its regular (monthly) meeting at Proviso East High School.

This was the first meeting I've attended in a significant period of time, and to me the meeting seemed different.

There were fewer people attending, but this may have been due to no parents or students being invited for the student and staff recognition portion of the meeting. Things seemed more sedate. No members of the community asked questions. The BOE has stopped hiring a cop to intimidate people who would criticize the BOE.

Board member Theresa Kelly made the comment to me after the meeting that between the district being financially strapped and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Financial Oversight Panel (FOP) there is less opportunity for the D209 BOE to engage in financial shenanigans.

In the past most board meetings had relatively low participation by board members. In the extreme, board president Emanuel “Chris” Welch would dutifully proceed through the agenda and Kelly would ask questions and the rest of the board members limited their participation to making motions to implement the agenda and voting.

At times the board seemed to be holding an actual conversation. Board member Kevin McDermott grilled Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Nikita Johnson on the monthly financial report. And then Board member Brian Cross also asked a question. When Kelly asked about the Alternate School Facility, she made a point and board member Robin Foreman supported her on the point.

Targeting Achievement through Governance (TAG)

Prior to the 7 PM board meeting, the school board held a committee of the whole presentation (minus board member Dan Adams who arrived fifteen minutes late to the regular meeting, missing the committee meeting entirely) by Steve Clark of the Illinois Association of School Boards. Clark was pitching a program called Targeting Achievement through Governance (TAG) (pdf) that would train D209 board members and work with the district to make the BOE more effective.

Clark made two claims that I noted. One, he claimed that at least one district that had done TAG had moved off the financial watch list before completing TAG.

Clark also claimed that an Iowa study correlated board effectiveness and school achievement. I'm curious how one measures the effectiveness of a BOE. Communities with their act together probably have effective school boards and effective schools. Proviso does not have its act together. And maybe the dysfunctional school results from the larger community being dysfunctional. Maybe District 209 can't be substantially improved without dealing with Proviso's issues.

Attendance

D209 claims to have increased the attendance rate to 88%. Credit was given the new busing program and generally making an effort to illicit better behavior in the hallways.

I have not checked with any independent sources if the discipline is better in the school.

Busing students seems to be a solid idea.

I did get annoyed at Welch's claim that, “We've all received phone calls [praising improved discipline at the schools].” There are two board members I seriously doubt get calls from any Proviso residents who aren't personally connected to them. My experience calling Foreman was that she said, “Don't call me at this number” and hung up without giving me another number to call her at. In years of watching D209 board meetings, I have yet to see any evidence Adams cares a whit about the students, taxpayers, staff or anything else.

Computer Science II

D209 has cut the computer science curriculum drastically as part of budget cuts. If I understood the situation correctly, Proviso East and Proviso West have cut all computer science classes and PMSA cut computer science II, leaving the magnet school with just one computer science class.

During her presentation to the BOE, McDermott asked Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction Cheryl Pruitt if there was plans to restore computer science II. Pruitt responded, “Yes,” and there was a long pause. After it became clear that was all the response Pruitt intended to give McDermott asked what those plans were. Pruitt responded that when the budget increased computer science II will be restored.

The exchange made Pruitt look unprofessional. And Pruitt is clueless if she thinks Proviso taxpayers are going to open their wallets for a tax increase. The school district spends plenty of money and delivers horrid results. That's reality. Taxpayers who are pinched because of the tight economy aren't going to vote D209 more money.

What to do with the leftover $1.2 million for PMSA?

McDermott grilled Assistant Superintendent Johnson on $1.2 million leftover from the construction of PMSA. After some ugly attempts to deflect the issue, the district's attorney Michael DeBartolo and board president Welch threw Johnson lifelines.

Johnson was briefing the district's monthly cash flow situation when McDermott asked about transfering the $1.2 million from the construction fund to operations and maintenance. McDermott pointed out this was not allowed.

(The transfer was suspended by the FOP pending review. I surmise McDermott learned that the move was illegal at that point.)

DeBartolo informed McDermott he had made a legal ruling that excess money could be moved this way. (I surmise he reasoned the money shouldn't just sit there.)

McDermott raised the issue that using the money for something other than the construction of PMSA required D209 to provide a tax abatement to Proviso taxpayers.

Johnson explained that the abatement would be in the future (two years) and that moving the money would allow it to be used now.

McDermott told Johnson that if she was recommending the BOE move money in a way that violated Illinois law that she should have explained the ramifications of her recommendation.

Johnson said she didn't discuss the tax abatement with the BOE because it “doesn't affect the current year.”

Johnson was clearly foundering at this point. DeBartolo threw the first lifeline. DeBartolo explained that currently school districts can only increase taxes at the rate of inflation. In the future they will be able to increase taxes at 5%. So, D209 can provide an abatement in the future, but it won't hurt the district because the district will be able to raise taxes sufficiently to cover the abatement. To me it sounded like DeBartolo was advocating the district ignore the law requiring the abatement, but I'm not an attorney.

DeBartolo also mentioned that he recommended completing the audit of the PMSA construction so D209 can certify the project really is complete.

At this point McDermott asked about the audit. Johnson said there was a draft audit from 1 ½ year ago. It was incomplete and that she doesn't intend to circulate it until it's complete. To me Johnson sounded like she was hiding something. D209 has changed accounting firms. This would account for the audit being incomplete, but not Johnson's reluctance to share the incomplete audit with the board.

Welch then threw Johnson her next lifeline. Welch noted that the board had already acted to move the money to the operations and maintenance fund. The FOP tabled the issue, so it was out of the purview of the BOE.

Welch's reasoning sounded persuasive at the time. But it's flawed. Johnson asked the BOE to do something illegal so she would have an extra $1.2 million to make her budget work. The BOE voted to move the money, but did so without full information. The BOE has the power to undo the illegal decision.

I would recommend that at the next board meeting the BOE take whatever action is necessary to bring D209 into compliance with Illinois law on this matter. I would further recommend that the BOE have a conversation with Superintendent Nettie Collins-Hart about Johnson. Senior staff recommending the BOE violate the law and withholding the fact that the recommended action violates the law is a bad thing. In fact, I imagine many organizations would fire a staff member for doing this.

Did Johnson make the recommendation because she doesn't know the law? Did Johnson and Collins-Hart conspire to dupe the BOE? Or was Johnson's illegal recommendation unauthorized?

Cross then asked how long D209 can go without issuing tax anticipation warrants? Apparently the Cook County Treasurer is behind on paying local taxing bodies. Johnson responded D209 has money to operate through late November, early December.

Employees terminated

Kelly asked if any of the employees terminated were asked to resign or were fired. The superintendent replied they weren't. (By tradition D209 BOE votes to approve employees that have quit. This has always seemed odd to me because the BOE has no power to “disapprove”.)


[More to be added later]

RIP Tom Dix

The meeting started with the acknowledgment that PMSA instructor Thomas Dix recently died. He was the faculty rep for the robotics team.

Welch gets sensitive over questions posed to asst supt/girlfriend

On February 25 at Proviso Math and Science Academy the Proviso Township High Schools (District 209) board of education held its regular meeting. The meeting included discussions of various items like standardized tests, attendance and graduation details. Also, Board president Emanuel “Chris” Welch treated former board president Theresa Kelly rudely. And the unpleasantness escalated when Kelly asked questions about Assistant Superintendent Nikita Johnson.

The first tiff between Kelly and Welch in open session was over approving the January minutes. Kelly thought there were enough abstentions to keep the minutes from being approved. Welch rudely told her that she didn't know Roberts Rules of Order. Since the incident happened first thing after executive session it is possible the bad blood was carry over from the closed session.

Welch really lost his cool when Kelly raised the issue of whether Assistant Superintendent Nikita Johnson was going to be working at District 99 (Cicero Elementary Schools) next year. Johnson confirmed that she had interviewed for the position. She issued a non-denial, saying that she hadn't signed a contract with District 99. Johnson said, “I have not been offered the position... I have not received an offer.... I'm employed at this district. I work hard every day.”

Johnson was on the agenda as “Authorize Asst. Superintendentto begin FY09 Budget process”. Kelly claimed this was properly the purview of the superintendent. Welch responded that the board could delegate it to someone else under Illinois law.

A fairly widely discussed rumor holds that Welch and Johnson have been dating since at least summer, 2006, shortly after Johnson was hired.

Johnson explained with she was a highly sought after “young professional” and claimed to be frequently recruited for positions. This may be true. But if she was so highly recruited, why isn't she taking a position at a school district without financial and political connections to her boyfriend? Welch is primarily connected to Cicero through District 209's law firm, the DelGaldo Group.

Welch got quite angry with Kelly over asking whether Johnson would actually be implementing the budget she'd be writing. I was taking notes, not videotaping, so below is a partial transcript of Welch's response to Kelly's questions.

“All you do is grandstand and do things that are inappropriate.... Shame on Mrs. Kelly.... [Johnson] is qualified.... You're questioning her professionalism. Why don't you become a professional?” At one point Welch called Kelly “ignorant.”

After the meeting I exchanged some friendly words with Welch. He asked if I thought Kelly's questions should have been raised. I responded that it was fair to ask if the person writing the budget would be around to implement the budget. Welch said it should have been raised in closed session. I sorta shrugged. After thinking about it, I'm pretty sure Kelly raised the issue in the right place.

From one perspective it's kinda a personnel issue. But it's definitely a budget issue. The district is already stretching Illinois law to delegate the budget away from the superintendent and to an assistant. This unusual practice is compounded by the irregularities that the board is delegating the budget to the board president's girlfriend (who happens to be the neice of board member Robin Foreman) and that Johnson's leaving before the budget is implemented. These are both issues that raise concerns about if the budget will be legitimate, or just some gobbledygook to appease the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Because of ongoing poor management District 209 has to provide its budget to the ISBE.

So, holding a discussion of the budget in executive session (closed session) would violate the Open Meetings Act. While Welch and Johnson may have preferred not to discuss Johnson leaving to work at a smaller elementary school district in open session, it seems to me Illinois law prohibits discussing it as a budget issue in closed session.

Welch & Johnson should come clean

Yahoo (David Crary, AP):

NEW YORK - The American Red Cross ousted its president, Mark Everson, on Tuesday after learning that he had engaged in a "personal relationship" with a subordinate employee.

The woman was not identified, but I expect if she was the one in charge of the Red Cross' money that would have been part of the story.

When I asked Emanuel "Chris" Welch, president of Proviso Township High Schools (District 209) board of education if he was dating Nikita Johnson, who was then the business manager and has since been promoted, Welch responded with, "I don't discuss my personal life with the media."

It's time for the board of education and Superintendent Robert Libka to ask the question of both of them. "Are you two dating?"

District 209 is a district with a history of crony politics in both jobs and contracting. The FBI is investigating the district for something.

Five of the seven board members are quite passive, letting themselves be bossed by Welch and political boss Eugene Moore (Brian Cross and Reatha "Sue" Henry work for Moore at the Cook County Recorder of Deeds). One of the passive board members, Robin Foreman, is Johnson's aunt. Foreman has been pushing for D209 to hire Johnson for years, going back to when Foreman was active with the boosters.

On top of that the district the superintendent, Libka, is very much a "go along, get along" kinda guy who avoids confrontation.

Libka and the board need to ask Welch and Johnson what's the story. There are rumors they are engaged. And they have been dating since summer 2006.

If they are involved, one of them should resign to remove the conflict of interest. Remember, being a school board member is an unpaid position that is supposed to be about serving the community.

If the president of the Red Cross had to resign because of a relationship with a Red Cross employee, it seems like Welch should resign if he's involved with the person overseeing all the money at the district.

This is especially true since it's likely that there are serious questions about how Johnson spent some of the money.

Proviso wants unions to accept furloughs

Proviso Township High Schools (District 209) business manager Nikita Johnson has asked the unions to consider taking two-week furloughs. The threat to the unions is that if the employees [UPDATE: don't] accept the furloughs then employees will need to be cut.

The teachers union thought it was doing pretty well to negotiated a 19.5% pay increase over four years.

And all the unions have either tacitly supported the board majority controlled by Eugene Moore and Emanuel "Chris" Welch or actively campaigned for them.

What's two weeks out of 52? 3.8%. So if the teachers got a 5% pay raise this year they'll lose most of it to the furloughs.

Maybe the unions should start electing representation that advocates for the interests of the members, not the interests of the political bosses.

D209 has a regular and special meeting on the same night

Proviso Township High Schools (District 209) board of education had a regular and special meeting last night.

The most significant points:

1. The district will borrow from its reserves to meet payroll on Friday. This is necessitated by Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoing the property tax legislation last week. This delayed the county sending out bills. And the delay sending bills will cause the county to delay paying school districts.
2. During public comment a freshman at Proviso East said she does not feel safe in school. Another woman raised the issue of class sizes.
3. Bill Kirchner of Forest Park pointed to a number of non-educational areas where D209 spends lavishly compared to Morton and New Trier. And then he pointed out that on educational salaries and expenses D209 spends less than these districts.
4. Kevin McDermott of Westchester raised a number of questions about the budget. He pointed to discrepancies between the budget online and the one briefed to the board at the meeting. He pointed-out that the budget has grown 13% a year for the last two years while former superintendent Stan Fields and business manager Nikita Johnson have been crowing about deficit cutting. McDermott also criticized the budget for having large amounts of money under "other".
5. Barbara Cole of Maywood questioned the move to dismiss the foundation. She alleged the board ended the foundation project b/c the people working on it were insufficiently loyal (in a political sense) to the board of education. Cole also expressed a preference that the district conduct a nation-wide search for a new superintendent.
6. Robert Libka was given a one-year contract for $160,000 to be superintendent.
7. I raised the issue of the president of the board of education, Emanuel "Chris" Welch, dating the business manager, Nikita Johnson. I said this was relevant to the budget because Welch is approving his girlfriends (fiance's?) budget.

[UPDATE: Forest Park Review (Josh Adams) has his coverage.]

ED, Stan Fields scheduled to be on "Viewpoints" [D209]

Proviso Township High Schools superintendent Stan Fields, PhD, is scheduled to appear on "Viewpoints From the Other Side" on WJJG, 1530 AM, Saturday, March 17, 2-3 PM.

My understanding is that Fields will take questions from guests that call the show.

I drafted some questions that I hope get asked. I'm not satisfied with the list, so if you can improve the wording, please make suggestions. Also, feel free to suggest new questions and comment which questions you think are more important.

What's the best policy you've implemented at Proviso Township High Schools?

You advocate reducing the number of classes--all but eliminating electives--and concentrating on subjects covered by standardized tests. Would you choose to
attend school or send your children to high school in a district that implemented this policy?

Critics have said that eliminating electives is a cost-cutting policy disguised as an education policy. How many teachers could be cut if you succeed in reducing the number of classes?

When you were superintendent of Mundelein High School you implemented various cost-cutting policies and revenue enhancement policies. What services or
functions did you outsource or privatize? Did you recommend other services or functions be privatized only to have members of the board of education stop
you?

Is it true that board member Theresa Kelly sent you email requesting an issue be put on the agenda five times before you responded? And did you wait to respond until after the deadline for putting new action items on the agenda? And did you tell Kelly
that it was impossible to fulfill her request because the deadline had passed? Did you realize that Kelly's requested agenda item was not an action item? Were you deliberately working against the desires of board member Kelly? Or did you erroneously apply Illinois law by neglecting the difference between an action item and discussion?

During the superintendent's report of you first Proviso school board meeting (September, 2006) you opened the door to attacks on board members Charles
Flowers and Theresa Kelly. You gave board president Chris Welch a list of computer hardware that was "missing". Welch read one name from the list: Charles Flowers. Your list claimed Flowers had custody of a District 209 computer. Where was that computer? Did you ever apologize to Flowers?

During that meeting you accused board member Theresa Kelly of maintaining the funds for the Proviso East Wall of Fame in an illegal manner. Where does the bank
send the statements for that account? Have you changed how that fund is managed? Do you still think it is managed in an illegal manner?

You have alleged that board members have received cash advances for board travel but not reconciled the travel claims upon returning. What are the dates of these unrecognized travel claims? Which board members have unrecognized travel claims? What have you done to reconcile these travel claims? Have these board members traveled at District 209 expense since you became superintendent? Why didn't you require them to reconcile the past travel claims before allowing them to travel again? How much money do you expect to recover when these travel claims are reconciled?

You have referred to the "nonsense of the past" as if you are a break with past practices, even though Chris Welch remains president of the school board.
Specifically, what bad behavior was part of the "nonsense of the past"? What have you done to reduce or eliminate the "nonsense of the past"? Did your predecessor, Robert Libka, engage in the "nonsense of the past"? Why is he still on payroll?

The Daily Southtown has run a number of articles that insinuate that Kyle Hastings is a career ghost-payroll government worker. How many hours per week does Hastings spend at the PMSA building?

The issue of political patronage hiring is now openly acknowledged. In the past board member Theresa Kelly would ask if the political bosses had lobbied the superintendent or HR director on behalf of any applicants. If you assume that the superintendent and
HR director were answering questions truthfully then it seems likely that the politicians were working directly with department heads and staff members below
the superintendent to parcel the patronage. Would you be surprised if Chris Welch, Eugene Moore, Claude Porter, Ron Serpico, Dan Coglianese or their representatives were lobbying members of your staff to get "their people" jobs at District 209? Have you taken any action to stop or discourage this meddlingin hiring?

There are rumors that school board president Chris Welch and your business manager, Nikita Johnson, are dating. If this is true would it violate any laws or school district policies? Does it violate any of your policies? If it was true, would you fire Nikita Johnson?

How do you measure the level of violence at Proviso Township High Schools? What policies have you implemented to reduce violence against students and staff? Have your policies reduced violence?

These are some other subjects for which I haven't drafted specific questions:

• Open Meetings Act
• website
• EMM, unnecessary insurance payments to Eugene Moore
• why is Eugene Moore "in the loop" on district decision making
• nominating petitions

"Viewpoints From the Other Side" is a weekly radio program hosted by Arnie Bryant.