Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Breaking News: Christine Igoe, Director of Learning (Pupil Sevices) Resigns Effective June 30. Time for the BOE to Answer Tuition Reimbursement Questions. Time to Evaluate Whether All Administrative Vacancies Should be Filled.

Last night, Dr. Schuster sent an email to D181 parents announcing that " this evening, Director of Learning (Pupil Services) Christine Igoe accepted a position as Assistant Superintendent for Student Services with Naperville Community Unit School District 203, effective July 1, 2014."

With her departure, D181's new Superintendent, Dr. White, will have three positions to fill over the summer:

1.  Assistant Superintendent of Learning (Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction)
2.  Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources
3.  Director of Learning (Pupil Services).

As with the first two administrators who recently announced their resignations -- Dr. Russell and Mr. Eccarius -- Ms. Igoe currently has a Tuition Reimbursement Contract with D181. (Click to open 3/19/2012 Personnel Consent Agenda approving Ms. Igoe's tuition reimbursement contract.) She is enrolled in a  graduate program and is reimbursed with taxpayer dollars for the tuition she is charged.  If the tuition reimbursement contract language is the same as that in Dr. Russell and Mr. Eccarius' contracts, its provisions state that she is required to repay D181 100% of tuition expenses she was reimbursed if she leaves within one year of the most recent reimbursement payment.

It is time that the BOE address the following questions during the next board meeting -- scheduled for May 27, 2014:

1.  Will the BOE enforce the 100% repayment contractual obligation that these three administrators agreed to when they signed their current employment contracts?
2.  If not, why not?   More importantly, if the provisions as written are not enforced by the BOE, how much tax payer money is being left uncollected as these administrators are allowed to unilaterally resign and leave D181 in the midst of  or less than one year after completing their graduate programs?

In addition, we hope that Dr. White will use Ms. Igoe's resignation as an opportunity to evaluate whether or not the administrative vacancy her departure will create should even be filled.  Let's not forget that originally, Ms. Igoe was promoted to Interim Director when D181 withdrew from LADSE, and it was necessary to have an administrator oversee the withdrawal who had an Illinois license.  (Click to open 4/26/2011 Personnel Consent Agenda.) At the time of the LADSE withdrawal, the Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Personnel Services did not have an Illinois license and therefore. one of the building level PPS administrators was promoted to the "interim" position. (Click to open 3/14/2011 Personnel Consent Agenda.)  Yet less than one year later, on the very date that the BOE approved Dr. Schneider's hire to replace the previous Assistant Superintendent of PPS, it made the interim position permanent, despite the fact that Dr. Schneider was hired with the necessary credentials to fill this role, and despite the fact that building level PPS administrator positions were left intact. (Click to open 4/9/2012 Personnel Consent Agenda hiring Dr. Schneider, Click to open 4/9/2012 Addendum to Personnel Consent Agenda making interim position permanent, Click to open and search ISBE Educator Licensure Information System.)

Perhaps now is the time for the new superintendent to evaluate whether or not the administration has become top heavy.  It may be the appropriate time to scale back and require the Assistant Superintendents in each department to assume more responsibilities, rather than add multiple layers of lower level administrators to handle day to day tasks.  Dr. Schneider was originally hired as the Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Personnel Services.  He is licensed in Illinois and therefore, perhaps rather than oversee general curriculum programs -- such as the Learning for All Plan -- he should be tasked with focusing only on the services offered by the PPS department, including overseeing the in-house special education services previously provided by LADSE.  

Dr. White certainly has his work cut out for him this summer in filling these vacancies and evaluating D181's administrative needs, but we are confident that he is up to the tasks at hand. We look forward to seeing how he will address these important issues.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloggers: the points you raise are valid. At a time when the district is considering a referendum to raise money for a new Hinsdale middle school, no money "should be left on the table." Unnecessary administrative staff should be eliminated and $ that is contractually required to be repaid should be. What is the Board of Education thinking when they don't enforce their own contract provisions?

Anonymous said...

The public was told this problem was fixed after the Heidi Fitch tuition debacle. Another lie.

Anonymous said...

Here is another lie: Kurt Schneider was originally hired to oversee
Special Education, then he morphed himself into a curriculum and L4 A expert while being paid $140,000 plus per year. We taxpayers paid for Schneider and Russell to have the same job titles. Total waste of money. If Schneider sticks around, he should actually have to do his original job in Spec Ed and show up to IEP meetings and return phone calls. Imagine that. I speak from experience - I only saw Igoe, never Schneider. Disgraceful.

Anonymous said...

As a parent who dealt with Ms. Igoe on a fairly regular basis, I say "good riddance." D181 deserves better.

I hope the Dr. White takes this opportunity to completely clean house and rid us of the (i) scourge of Schneider and the (ii) embarrassment of Dawn Benaitis.

The BOE should be ashamed for not enforcing contracts.

HMS Parent said...

There is micromanagement and then there is mismanagement. For years now, the majority of the BOE has used the "it is not our job to micromanage" as the excuse for not stepping in and stopping administrative mis-hires and abuses. The board has repeatedly said it is their job to approve the recommendations of the superintendent. While the board has called this avoidance of micromanagement, in my opinion, their conduct is better described as mismanagement. Mismanagement of tax payer dollars, mismanagement of a rogue superintendent and a refusal by the majority of the board members to perform their oversight duties and responsibilities set out in board policies. Tax payers need to step up and demand corrective actions be taken if not by this board, then by the new superintendent. Dr. White is starting full time before June 30. The administrator contracts of those who will be leaving will in force during his first month on the job. He can direct the BOE to enforce the contract provisions on tuition reimbursement repayment as written. And the board should seek guidance and further training from the Illinois School Board Association to better understand their roles and responsibilities to the tax payers who elected them. It is not ok to rubber stamp hires of administrators who are not the most qualified for a district like D181 and it is not ok to give those administrators lucrative benefit packages that are so one sided that they do not benefit the students of D181 in the short or long run. Next Spring the D181 community should not reelect Nelson, Turek, Yaeger or Heneghan. The D181 community should fill the four board seats vacancies with people who will protect our tax $'s, not turn their backs on their board responsibilities and will require the administration's priority to be the education of OUR children, not the education of the Central Office Staff.

Anonymous said...

I just looked at the profile for Naperville District 203. It is a K 12 district, much larger than ours with two high schools. It shocks the conscience how administrators move from district to district, are promoted into positions with much greater responsibilities without ever having proven themselves in the district from which they left. Where is the data that shows that anything that was implemented under Igoe's watch worked here? As a prior commenter said, good riddance.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps now that Igoe is leaving, the math committee can be headed up by someone who actually has a math background.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree that an elementary school math specialist should replace her. Better yet - hire a consultant so we won't get stuck with a salaried, pensioned person indefinitely. Perhaps someone free from the ISBE?

Anonymous said...

According to the Hinsdalean the MAP data analysis is not on the agenda for Tuesday. At the last BOE meeting it was stated in Schuster's report that it would be presented on May 28. Last year this data had already been presented by this time. Tuesday is the last BOE meeting of the school year. Parents have been asking for data all year. IF the Hinsdalean is correct about the agenda, I can hardly contain my anger.

Anonymous said...

The newspapers usually get the "agenda" from the D181 central office. Let's hope the agenda they were given was just a draft and that when board docs is published for the community on Saturday morning, that it will include the MAP data presentation. Have any parents received the MAP scores yet for the Spring tests their children took, or is the administration going to wait until report cards to send them the scores home?

Anonymous said...

How can they be presenting for approval a new math pilot without analyzing the data on the existing pilot!????

Anonymous said...

Answer to last commentor: Great question. Don't hold your breath waiting for an answer from the Schuster administration.

HMS Parent said...

So Igoe is leaving right after presenting for approval the Math Pilot that will be implemented next year. Does anyone else think this is WRONG??????? Hoe convenient for her that she won't be around to be held accountable, not that that's been happening at all these days in D181 with any of the central office administrators. Better to start from scratch with Dr. White hiring a true math expert who will first look at what the current math data shows about the current math program, before rushing through the approval of pilots for next year. There is something VERY WRONG with the way things are run in D181 these days. Why doesn't the BOE see this?

Anonymous said...

Why isn't Schuster leaving effective May 27? Why should taxpayers be paying for 2 superintendents? This is outrageous!

Also, are Igoe, Russell and Eccarius leaving to start their jobs in their new districts before May 31 so they can also take advantage of the new pension laws? Are they possible going to be working in BOTH districts through June 30 and collecting double salaries? That would be even more outrageous and would it be fraud on the taxpayers in both districts? Is anyone on the BOE going address these questions?

Anonymous said...

Fourth grade parents don't forget to go to the math meeting today -1:00 and 6:00 at elm. They better have some true fixes to present. Two years of this nonsense is enough!

The Parents said...

Can the author of the last comment please explain to all our readers what math meeting you are talking about? Is it open to all D181 parents? What is the purpose of the meeting? Who is hosting it? Will it be videotaped so parents who cannot attend it will be able to see it later?

Anonymous said...

This email was sent to fourth grade parents last week:

Dear Fourth Grade Parents,

The Department of Learning, building administrators, and classroom teachers continually engage in discussion around curriculum, instruction, assessment, and revisions we should consider for the next school year. Most recently, we have been looking at some revisions for fifth grade math in 2014-15. A plan for 2014-15 fifth grade math will be presented at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, May 27. However, the Department of Learning would like to first invite you to review the plan and provide your feedback.

There will be two opportunities to join in this discussion on Thursday, May 22 at Elm School, from 1:00–2:00 p.m. or from 6:00–7:00 p.m. All fourth grade parents are invited to attend; no RSVP is needed. The one-hour sessions will include both small group and large discussion, with opportunities for question and answer. If you cannot attend either session on May 22, please note that we will present our findings at the Board meeting on May 27.

We hope to see you next week!


Sincerely,

The Department of Learning

The Parents said...

Thank you for providing us with the letter that fourth grade parents received. Does anyone know if Dr. White will be attending one or both of these meetings? It seems like the perfect opportunity for him to actually hear what parents have to say.

Anonymous said...

Last year the MAP data was presented at the BOE meeting prior to the math pilot BOE meeting. The MAP data was poor - understatement - and parents stormed Elm at the next meeting demanding that the pilot be voted down (which it was). The cynic in me - hardened by the Schuster years - think that the MAP data is not good, so they are hiding it until after the new math pilot passes - and presumably until after the current administration has ran away to their new jobs. Turek sets the agenda with Schuster. Why does he continue to allow these games to continue? Why does he protect the administration over the students and taxpayers?

Anonymous said...

Here are my thoughts: I think they are hiding the MAP data until summer so that the first official Dr. White BOE meeting is rosy and sanitized, and so that everyone has left on summer vacation and no one is paying attention when the MAP results are finally revealed.

They tried to pull something similar last year. Tons of parents attended the last BOE meeting of the school year to protest the math pilot. Once at the meeting Turek announced that the pilot would be presented at the next BOE meeting (after school was all said and done) because of a "heavy agenda." Due to an angry mob protest, they did present the pilot at that meeting, but only under undue pressure. Now they are doing the same exact thing.

HMS Staff Member said...

AT HMS at least, MAP reports as well as Common Writing Assessment data will be sent home today (Thursday, May 22nd) with the students. Dr. Henrikson should be sending an e-mail out to parents 2:30 from what I've been told.

The Parents said...

Can parents who attend the 4th grade math meetings today send us a summary of what is presented?

Walker 4th grade parent said...

I cannot make the 4th grade math meeting. Can parents who did attend please post a summary of one or both meetings? Thank you.