Monday, June 26, 2006
Northwest Herald Explores Huntley School District 158’s Board’s Selection of One of Their Own for $101,000 Job
Had to chuckle when I read the comment of incoming Huntley School District 158 Superintendent John Burkey in Sunday’s front page Northwest Herald article. He said
The easy way out would have been to go with a guy that might have sailed through easier.Of course, the sailing could not have been much easier in the board room...unless the lone minority board member Larry Snow had not won election or had been intimidated into silence by the iron-fisted rule of the 6-member majority.
Glen Stewart, the man who got the $101,000 job, was elected the same time Snow was—last spring. Stewart was supported by the other five members of the board, all of whom were associated with the fraudulently promoted rate referendum which was grossly mis-described by the ruling board faction’s political action committee B.E.S.T.
Was it on purpose that the Northwest Herald’s headline contained the word “best”?
D-158: We got best fitIf so, what irony.
As I reported last Thursday in the very early morning hours, Snow was not officially informed that Glen Stewart was to be hired. He didn’t even get an agenda of the secret meeting at which the employment decision was discussed—with Stewart himself being behind the closed meeting’s doors.
When Snow tried to comment in the public comment period before the Executive Session, he got precious little time.
Snow got cut off in mid-sentence while discussing how he thought it had been “inappropriate for Stewart to be voting on the qualifications for Chief Operating Officer” by Board President Mike Skala.
The job description contained a requirement that the person selected have what I consider some irrelevant educational certification.
And, after the secret meeting, the 6-member majority was ready to vote without public discussion.
“There needs to be discussion,” Snow interjected.
Right after he delivered his quotable:
I think this is a political patronage decision in a Daley-style hiring sham,Board President Skala said,
I find it hard to believe that you could make that comment.The Herald, which did not have a reporter at the meeting, wrote Sunday,
Yet questions lingered over how fairly administrators could evaluate Stewart's candidacy while he remained on the board. District officials said they consulted their lawyer to make sure interviewing and hiring Stewart was legal.The Daily Herald and I asked some similar questions about ethics.
The story points out that two weeks before Stewart was hired, he voted to raise his future boss’s salary 5.6 percent to $113,500. I wonder what his benefit package is.
The Northwest Herald article did not point out that Stewart was not working when he applied for the job.
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Re: "Huntley no longer qualifies as rural. The only evidence of the milk cows...." (from an earlier piece about this hiring situation)
There may not be many cows left in Huntley anymore, however, many people think the Eau d' Manure is much more prevalent.
The D158 monthly newsletter carries its warm, fuzzy Public Relations message wrapped inside the actual child subject matter to all or almost all District residences. The PR is cozily nested inside the happy wrapper and delivered to a captive audience of sorts.
It's doubtful the Newsletter will address this hiring by saying:
"An unemployed board member was allowed to retain his board seat and stay involved in negotiations, decisions, votes, or "whatever" including those that involved people who he might soon be working with or reporting to while his resume' was on the table....etc."
And the definition of "appearance of impropriety" will not be a phrase of the month selection.
Nor will the Newsletter shout out the many accounting procedure "oopsies" that have apparently been in effect for years - on the watch of long term board members who keep praising themselves. "Oopsies" that the District's past and current outside Auditor ? just noticed THIS year? (I wonder why they're just coming out now?)
There won't be a cartoon of the board members with six of the seven in the "Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil." positions and the 7th member repeatedly reminding them that even the BIG numbers don't add up......
Instead, there will probably be the usual "Going forward into a brave new future, leaving the past behind......lighthouse district, yada, yada " stuff. And messengers who wonder what happened to the contents in the empty half of the District's "glass" will be scolded and treated in a dismissive manner. (Messengers often get no respect. Even though without them, we'd all still be living in caves.)
Developers will continue to "sell" their $400,000 to $600,000 housing products referring to D158 as "Excellent". The criteria the literature creator used for that promotional selling point will, of course, not be defined. The hundreds of news articles about the District's financial and management "surprises" will not be in the Developer handouts.
"For the Children" sounds pretty hollow right now. As does the idea that a school board truly represents the whole community instead of School Industry Interests and Personal Agendas.
And residents will search for pennies off gas, put less money in their kids piggy banks or college funds, use coupons and rebates, put off dentist visits, and find many more uses for duct tape.....trying to save a dollar here or there - instead of climbing all over the board members and administrators demanding "Show me the money!"
There may not be many cows left in Huntley anymore, however, many people think the Eau d' Manure is much more prevalent.
The D158 monthly newsletter carries its warm, fuzzy Public Relations message wrapped inside the actual child subject matter to all or almost all District residences. The PR is cozily nested inside the happy wrapper and delivered to a captive audience of sorts.
It's doubtful the Newsletter will address this hiring by saying:
"An unemployed board member was allowed to retain his board seat and stay involved in negotiations, decisions, votes, or "whatever" including those that involved people who he might soon be working with or reporting to while his resume' was on the table....etc."
And the definition of "appearance of impropriety" will not be a phrase of the month selection.
Nor will the Newsletter shout out the many accounting procedure "oopsies" that have apparently been in effect for years - on the watch of long term board members who keep praising themselves. "Oopsies" that the District's past and current outside Auditor ? just noticed THIS year? (I wonder why they're just coming out now?)
There won't be a cartoon of the board members with six of the seven in the "Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil." positions and the 7th member repeatedly reminding them that even the BIG numbers don't add up......
Instead, there will probably be the usual "Going forward into a brave new future, leaving the past behind......lighthouse district, yada, yada " stuff. And messengers who wonder what happened to the contents in the empty half of the District's "glass" will be scolded and treated in a dismissive manner. (Messengers often get no respect. Even though without them, we'd all still be living in caves.)
Developers will continue to "sell" their $400,000 to $600,000 housing products referring to D158 as "Excellent". The criteria the literature creator used for that promotional selling point will, of course, not be defined. The hundreds of news articles about the District's financial and management "surprises" will not be in the Developer handouts.
"For the Children" sounds pretty hollow right now. As does the idea that a school board truly represents the whole community instead of School Industry Interests and Personal Agendas.
And residents will search for pennies off gas, put less money in their kids piggy banks or college funds, use coupons and rebates, put off dentist visits, and find many more uses for duct tape.....trying to save a dollar here or there - instead of climbing all over the board members and administrators demanding "Show me the money!"
Well, whadda ya know! One night I'm blog typing about the absence of cows but presence of manure in Huntley District 158 and the next I'm reading the upper left corner place of honor editorial/opinion in the Northwest Herald about this hiring.
And,although it doesn't hit all points, it brings home quite a few.
(D-158 hire raises questions, published on Mon, Jun 26, 2006] I had many favorite comments to choose from - the opening line "Residents in school District 158 have to be shaking their heads." is what I "heard" and saw among family and friends who almost got whiplash over recent events.
Another one of my free of charge personal suveys for District 158?
Condensed results:
"District 158's board majority and administrators - you went too far on this..... and so many other things.
We no longer believe a word you say."
Of course some versions of this were far more street slang "colorful".
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And,although it doesn't hit all points, it brings home quite a few.
(D-158 hire raises questions, published on Mon, Jun 26, 2006] I had many favorite comments to choose from - the opening line "Residents in school District 158 have to be shaking their heads." is what I "heard" and saw among family and friends who almost got whiplash over recent events.
Another one of my free of charge personal suveys for District 158?
Condensed results:
"District 158's board majority and administrators - you went too far on this..... and so many other things.
We no longer believe a word you say."
Of course some versions of this were far more street slang "colorful".
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