McHenry County Blog

The staff of the Voice, Huntley High School’s student newspaper, wrote an extraordinary editorial letter to the new superintendent Dr. John Burkley, who will take over July 1st.

I have never read such sage political analysis and advice from high school students.

The editorial talks about how “…District 158 is picking up the pieces...,” noting, “…the controversy and fallout between district and the community in the last two years…”

The “bitter feelings” against the administration and school board are acknowledged as resulting from the campaign which advertised a tax rate hike of 55 cents, which turned out to be really $1.22. And, to top it off, because the voters narrowly approved the tax hike, the state withdrew $14 million in state aid to education, the students explain.

The theme is “You need to listen."

If the board of education had listened to concerns and criticisms from community members instead of writing them off as suddenly as they had, some problems may have been avoided. It turns out that community members were right about money problems and it was men as current board member Larry Snow who pointed out problems early on…

If you ever wish to pass a referendum again in this district, it will be a hard task, because there is no trust left (in) many members of the community for your administration.