tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post2447320696675951621..comments2023-05-05T03:15:17.710-05:00Comments on D181 Parents for Accountability and Transparency: The Public Has a Right to Expect the BOE to Respect and Comply With Open Governance LawsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-75612503348569476492014-06-26T07:00:11.809-05:002014-06-26T07:00:11.809-05:00I wanted to share this article I came across, as i...I wanted to share this article I came across, as it is how I feel about public education right now. Too many changes, too much testing.<br /><br />http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/why-im-pulling-my-kids-out-of-public-school/2183493<br /><br />Lets stop talking about a water bottle and get back to what is really important...the kids and their education! We are losing focus here! <br /><br />Will 181 get it together in time for these new standards? Should Illinois join the many other states who are dropping out of Common Core.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-52629927382937551142014-06-24T23:40:40.609-05:002014-06-24T23:40:40.609-05:0010:36, you summarized the happenings over the last...10:36, you summarized the happenings over the last couple years perfectly. 10:59 and 11:09 are also spot on. But let's stop this back and forth. If board members could please start apologizing, just as Yvonne immediatley did, you could really turn this around. Your rallying around Jill might have made her feel better at the meeting last night, but I wish you would have shown Yvonne support like that last year. I wish our administrators could have simply apologized for their errors, too. <br /><br />Perhaps if the Board had shown Yvonne (and others) 1/10 the amount of sympathy or remorse over the multiple errors that have been made, the atmosphere in 181 would be less toxic. Start showing some kindness and respect towards others, and I am sure the community will respond in like.<br /><br />Please, let's learn from our mistakes and move on.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-9151756323142419582014-06-24T23:09:02.186-05:002014-06-24T23:09:02.186-05:0010:35: "Things are finally going well?"...10:35: "Things are finally going well?" <br /><br />Are you kidding? Respected parents who have been long time volunteers in this district have been labeled bullies and screened out of a committee applicant pool with no evidence to back up the allegations. The curriculum is a mess, parents are very concerned about the emotional toll many parts of the L4A plan have had on their kids, and data hasn't been presented to justify continuing down the L4A path. The budget year ended in deficit spending because 20 years of mold (and all the health issues teachers brought forward) that resulted in an entire school being shut down were ignored. None of these destructive issues were caused by ANY of the outspoken parents who have exercised their freedom of speech rights this year. No, things are not going well, but HOPEFULLY now that Dr. White has arrived, things will improve. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-81626965310422449422014-06-24T22:59:12.586-05:002014-06-24T22:59:12.586-05:00How about if everyone takes a deep breath and stop...How about if everyone takes a deep breath and stops this tennis match. Obviously, the two sides that have been commenting back and forth are not going to agree. So can we agree on 3 things?<br />1. Mrs. Mayer apologized for hurting a board member's feelings and for that she should be commended, especially since the board members haven't reciprocated for all the crap they have thrown (hah!) her way.<br />2. The AG's office ruled the board violated the OMA. Time for the BOE to actually admit it and do something about it, not just grudgingly take one week before they complied with the ruling.<br />3. The BOE needs to get back to the curriculum issues and make sure that in the process they don't violate any more rules.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-88291534485447601342014-06-24T22:45:35.401-05:002014-06-24T22:45:35.401-05:0010:35: Wow. You obviously didn't read Mr. Ma...10:35: Wow. You obviously didn't read Mr. Mayer's comment or understand it. Nice personal attack on a husband for defending his wife. That is different than a board member defending another board member, which apparently only happens when it doesn't involve Mrs. Mayer.... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-50922499470752042452014-06-24T22:43:07.304-05:002014-06-24T22:43:07.304-05:0010:38: Apparently not! He can add this to the li...10:38: Apparently not! He can add this to the list of rights that he has already concluded need to be stifled.....i.e. the freedom of information act.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-59370702069770727002014-06-24T22:38:29.081-05:002014-06-24T22:38:29.081-05:00Freedom of speech Mr. Turek. Ever heard of it? Freedom of speech Mr. Turek. Ever heard of it? Disgusted D181 Parentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-40126096216787966352014-06-24T22:36:28.149-05:002014-06-24T22:36:28.149-05:00Here's my perspective and I don't know any...Here's my perspective and I don't know any of the board members personally, but I've attended lots of board meetings. I've always thought Mrs. Mayer was fully invested in doing what is best for our kids. Even after her board term ended, she continued attending meetings and pushed for data driven decisions on the curriculum changes. She continued to advocate for our kids, along with some new parents who have stepped forward over the last two years. She didn't just complain about the bottle throwing incident, as some of you want to call it. (In fact, it was a physical assault and I bet if she had thrown the bottle, the board members would have called the police and had her arrested. But, back to the real issues.... )The current board made mistakes. They made the mistakes because it is clear they don't fully understand open governance laws and how to comply with them. The onus is on them to recognize this and act on their own to address their non-compliance. They have chosen not to do this, which is a shame, because I am sure they are all highly intelligent, well meaning individuals who probably want to also do what is best for our kids. But it is also clear that there are a couple, maybe three board members who dislike Mrs. Mayer so much that it has completely clouded their judgement on any issue she speaks out on. They have been openly nasty towards her, in fact toward other parents who have also spoken out on various issues this year. This happened when she was on the board, as well as since then. It is time the nastiness stop and the board get back to the real work at hand, which should include additional training on compliance with ANY law or policy that they are subject to. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-24352715570294060592014-06-24T22:35:13.995-05:002014-06-24T22:35:13.995-05:00Mr. Mayer:
It seems ironic for you to criticize a ...Mr. Mayer:<br />It seems ironic for you to criticize a board member when a man defends her when you are doing the same for your wife. <br />Mr. and Mrs. Mayer, what you are doing is so destructive when things are finally going well. <br />Jill V has been a great asset to the Board and the Board members have done a lot this year.<br />Please move forwardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-42111981788728632542014-06-24T21:54:29.921-05:002014-06-24T21:54:29.921-05:00While I don't know Ms. Mayer personally, I thi...While I don't know Ms. Mayer personally, I think this community is lucky to have her. As a board member, she took her position seriously, did her homework and provided thoughtful and intelligent comments. Her continued involvement in the district will, in my opinion, only make it better. <br /><br />Thank you, Ms. Mayer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-67305873651036740232014-06-24T21:34:38.238-05:002014-06-24T21:34:38.238-05:00Mrs Mayer - should have walked away from all this!...Mrs Mayer - should have walked away from all this!! <br />This kind of behavior is unacceptable in a board meeting!! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-6800449594593131832014-06-24T21:31:34.355-05:002014-06-24T21:31:34.355-05:00Mrs Mayer needs to stop her ranting! it is unfortu...Mrs Mayer needs to stop her ranting! it is unfortunate what happened to her regarding the water bottle incident - she needs to move on!! The district has larger and more pressing issues that affect the WHOLE student body. Mrs Mayer is going to loose whatever support she has if she does not pick her battles carefully. I have been on her side all this while.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-35675867704373149062014-06-24T21:03:20.119-05:002014-06-24T21:03:20.119-05:00Dear Jeff and Yvonne,
I don't know either one...Dear Jeff and Yvonne,<br /><br />I don't know either one of you personally, but I think you have many, many supporters in D181. Thank you for your principles, and dedication to our district. Yvonne could have easily walked away from all this craziness, but she chose not to. <br /><br />Thank you<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-75428301062583519932014-06-24T20:21:50.691-05:002014-06-24T20:21:50.691-05:00Dear 7:31 poster, I didnt make fun of anybody. I...Dear 7:31 poster, I didnt make fun of anybody. I noted that my wife was assaulted, you dont care about that apparently, verbally attacked, again, you dont care, bulleou dont care, that the person who attacked her was supported by the board, you don't care yet again, that the reports dealing with that were coverd up, again you don't care, that tax payer money was spent to defend the cover up, again you do't care, that the board refused to acknowledge of those items, again you don't care, but you do care that one of the people who covered it up cried (someone I did not make fun of)? So, in your world, the highest level of offense is when public officials called to account for covering up physical assaults cry, and that is far more important than when another female public official is assulted doing the same job (which doesn't offend you), or the same public official is bullied (again you are mysteriously not offended) or when some of the record of the assault are covered up (again you feel no level of offense) or that than tax money is spent to defend the cover up (again not even a hint of an offense from you). <br /><br />That is why I wrote the post and identified myself. Some people, including you dear 7:31 poster, have lost sight of basic American values, equality before the law, freedom of expression and freedom of association. My wife was an elected official. She had a right to her opinons and efforts to silence her were wrongful, in my view. And the conduct that I considered wrongul continued and resulted in a ruling of the attorney general finding the board in violation of law designed to promote core American values.<br /><br />So I am offended. I am offended that in this whole sorry saga dear 7:31 poster you have lost sight of these basic American values. You did exactly what the board did (perhaps you are unable to see that). In order to divert attention from their bullying they alleged that Yvonne was a bully here and focused on everything but the acteual sequence of events. Here, in this situation, where the wrongful treatment is apparent, all you you can do is make yet another sorry diversion. <br /><br />If you want to call me, please do. However, I am not willing to engage in any more back and forth.<br /><br />Jeff Mayer<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-44434446788624102782014-06-24T19:31:37.466-05:002014-06-24T19:31:37.466-05:00Mr. Meyer: I am offended that you made fun of the ...Mr. Meyer: I am offended that you made fun of the fact that a board member was reduced to tears after your wife's public comments last night.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-91412088111170884362014-06-24T17:28:20.830-05:002014-06-24T17:28:20.830-05:00I am writing in support of my wife, Yvonne Mayer. ...I am writing in support of my wife, Yvonne Mayer. I read some of the comments attacking her and those people should be ashamed of themselves.<br /><br />She was physically attacked at an executive meeting. Marty Turek did not comfort her, express his condolences or otherwise support her. GlennYeager did not offer condolences or offer apologies. Dr. Schuster did not offer an apology. Instead, the board supported appointing her attacker to a committee. This was the culmination of years of other board members mistreating her and doing everything they could to bully and intimidate her if they did not follow their lead. Not once, not a single time, did they ever express any concern regarding her welfare, her feelings, or anything else. Not once did anyone even treat her, frankly, as a colleague or fellow human being with excellent ideas. She was a Professor of Law at University of Michigan, assisting abused children. She negotiated, as lead negotiator, our current d 181 contract. She was active with the Pillars a local charity, again, raising funds and helping children. She has volunteered for eight years as costume chair for musicals at HMS. We have both served as volunteers for not only d 181, but also d 86. She never complained, or ran out of the room boo hooing, or needed a man to tell her there there its ok in the face of the bullying, And so, after fighting for children, for teachers, for taxpayers, and the community, and being physically attacked, and trying to find out what happened, and learning that the attacker was appointed to a board, the board violated the open meetings act and spent tax payer money on attorneys to keep that information secret, she asks the board to acknowledge their error, their waste of tax payer money, their secrecy, Marty Turek claims that act of asking the board to obey the law is bullying. Even he can't believe that--it is one more act of bullying against Yvonne. Being subjected to years of invective is bullying. Being physically attacked is abusive. Even being subject to eye rolling and smirks is inconsistent with such values of the district. But at all times, she fought for your tax money and your children. Being asked to obey the law, thats not bullying, that is your fiduciary obligation.<br /><br />Through all of that, she took the high road, and did not engage in parallel conduct but was direct and open with her views. If anyone thinks that she is bully, give me a call.<br /><br />Jeff Mayer<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-36504441582802232082014-06-24T16:56:56.621-05:002014-06-24T16:56:56.621-05:00Geez! Just because someone's blog doesn't...Geez! Just because someone's blog doesn't agree with the majority of the bloggers, a few of you don't have to get on your soap box about it. Much info can be gained from this blog but that doesn't mean that everyone agrees with the personal opinions of some. Its interesting to read the different opinions. Sometimes things are said that I never even considered.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-70382538961254613392014-06-24T16:42:02.879-05:002014-06-24T16:42:02.879-05:004:16: when and where did the board make such an ad...4:16: when and where did the board make such an admission? Certainly not to the press, in fact Turek refused to give a comment after the ruling. Not during last nights meeting Mayer's comment, which was made because no discussion was posted on the agenda. And to characterize Mayer's public comment as a vicious attack is laughable in light of the actual physical attack she was subjected to that initiated this entire spiral down by the Board of Education.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-91807155490982852032014-06-24T16:16:38.169-05:002014-06-24T16:16:38.169-05:00The BOE admitted they made a mistake. By smoking g...The BOE admitted they made a mistake. By smoking gun I meant there was nothing to warrant Ms. Meyer's vicious attack on Jill V. Or the slanderous mischaracterizatoons by others of a remark Jill made is closed session.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-86474469485217993582014-06-24T15:21:56.804-05:002014-06-24T15:21:56.804-05:00Technically Illinois' Attorney General is not ...Technically Illinois' Attorney General is not a "he". In Lisa Madigan's office, the Public Access Counselor currently charged with investigating OMA violation is also not a "he" -- <a href="http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/" rel="nofollow"> Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor </a><br /><br />Although some of the rhetoric on the site listed below crosses the line from "watch dog" to advocating for certain educational practices, some of which of which I may not agree with, their guide nicely summarizes the narrow categories that the OMA does provide as exceptions that may legally be discussed in closed session -- <a href="http://www.illinoisloop.org/illinois.html#openmeetings" rel="nofollow"> Open Meetings | Illinois Loop </a><br /><br />All our elected officials really need to keep these things in mind whenever they are in any meeting and they should all FULLY UNDERSTAND the overarching principle -- "While the Act allows public bodies to convene in<br />closed session, public bodies are <b>not required</b> to go into closed session." There should <i>NEVER</i> be the sense that a closed session provides any kind of "cloak", the law requires a verbatim transcript / recording be retained. Anyone that believes a closed session affords carte blanche to to have discussion outside of public scrutiny certainly could not have arrived at such a belief from the required training materials the AG provides for all elected officials as well any interested person -- <a href="http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/Training.aspx" rel="nofollow"> On-line Training | Illinois Attorney General </a>jay_wickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13432309250544319696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-1640461931220166942014-06-24T14:02:08.011-05:002014-06-24T14:02:08.011-05:0012:12 & 1:39 - Y'all are missing the point...12:12 & 1:39 - Y'all are missing the point - there doesn't need to be a smoking gun to violate the Open Meetings Act. The fact that you could listen to the podcast at all to confirm there was no smoking gun is only because Mrs. Mayer challenged that things were being discussed in closed session that were LEGALLY not permitted to be discussed there. The "Wrong" was the BOE going into Closed Session for presumably valid reasons and then thinking while they are there they can discuss anything they want (either innocently or because they think no one will ever find out). This is what Open Meetings Act training teaches. The fact that something or somethings were discussed that were not valid Closed Session topics and NOT 1 BOE Member objected suggests more training is needed. <br /><br />The concern about a BOE member who is an attorney giving advice that other members are relying on is problematic and a real conflict. I'm sure the BOE member wasn't thinking about that at the time, but he/she should have been. Conflict - real and apparent is a big deal in the world of legal ethics. If the advice somehow led to litigation because it was incorrect it could inflict unwanted liability on the District. Jill Quinonesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-88332466504345875182014-06-24T13:54:41.640-05:002014-06-24T13:54:41.640-05:00Are you people serious? There was no smoking gun i...Are you people serious? There was no smoking gun in the executive session podcast? Let's get real here. The Attorney General obviously thought there was because he ruled the board was in violation. No amount of justifications or quarterbacking now will reverse the ruling. The discussions that were held should not have been. End of story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-66374192878202240162014-06-24T13:39:20.311-05:002014-06-24T13:39:20.311-05:00I agree with the last poster. There was no smokin...I agree with the last poster. There was no smoking gun in that closed session podcast.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-82400721042581230732014-06-24T12:12:52.594-05:002014-06-24T12:12:52.594-05:00I just listened to the closed session meeting. Al...I just listened to the closed session meeting. Although there are lessons to learn about the open meetings act, the allegations against Jill have been exagerated and taken out of context (especially in relation to a past case - by 2 yrs- about a kid being slapped at Madison that she brought up to draw parallels about how to proceed with the water throwing).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-29980368417951501242014-06-24T11:26:15.772-05:002014-06-24T11:26:15.772-05:00I couldn't agree more with the previous two co...I couldn't agree more with the previous two comments. i am grateful that this blog exists becuase the board has not been transparent for years, and the local newspapers do not do their diligence in reporting the true facts. We have editors of the local rag writing storeis that are very biased and based on personal friendshipts and associations with lunch buddies. Where are real facts supposed to provided to our community? The bloggers are also volunteers who are trying to open the eyes of parents. We need to keep a watchful eye on this dysfunctional board and whoever is left in the administration. No one else is going to do it for us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com