Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave . . .

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!" --Sir Walter Scott, Marmion

Click here to read an interesting series of emails that were obtained from Minooka CCSD 201 through a simple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.  These emails pertain, of course, to the recent board meetings on October 15th and October 22nd and the controversy surrounding the proposed parent survey (see previous posts here, here and here; click here to see the proposed survey).  What jumps out at me from the emails, which are emails to and from Superintendent Al Gegenheimer, is the sheer duplicity of the messages (showing one face to the board and another to the administration and his confidants).

For example, in an email to one of the school board attorneys, Barb Erickson, in which he attaches the first draft of the survey, Mr. Gegenheimer writes "If it was funny, it would be laughable."  However, the very next day (Friday, October 17) when forwarding the board of education a revised draft of the survey, Mr. Gegenheimer has nothing more to say than "Attached you will find the survey.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions for revision."  Barely a minute later, Mr. Gegenheimer forwards the same email to a Richard Dombrowski (who, to my knowledge, has no connection to Minooka CCSD 201) with this to say: "Here it is.  It would be laughable if it was funny."

A little later that same day, there was an email exchange with Mrs. Kathleen Cheshareck (Principal of Walnut Trails Elementary School) that went like this:

"Hi Al, Did Kristan [referring to board member Kristan Crouch] develop the survey or is it a published one?  thanks, Kathy" (Kathleen Cheshareck)

"Kristin [sic] did.  It is pitiful.  It would be laughable if it was funny." (Al Gegenheimer)

"Validity and reliability???" (Kathleen Cheshareck)

"None at all!  It's a joke (that isn't funny)." (Al Gegenheimer)


Two days later (Sunday, October 19), Mr. Al Skwarczynski (board member) sent an email to Mr. Gegenheimer which stated "I would like to see the last three open ended questions separated.  Since there is room on the page, each question needs to have space directly under it for a response."  In response to Mr. Skwarczynski's email, Mr. Gegenheimer merely stated "Thanks Al!"  The next day (Monday, October 20), I emailed Mr. Gegenheimer regarding the agenda for the meeting on October 22 stating "It seems that two items are missing from the meeting agenda: (1) the adoption of the strategic plan; and (2) approval of the parent survey."  The response from Mr. Gegenheimer was: "I will get it revised and posted.  Thanks!"  Again, at no point when he was emailing either of the two board members regarding the survey did Mr. Gegenheimer state or even imply that he had concerns about the survey or that he thought the survey was laughable, a joke, pitiful, or that it had absolutely no validity or reliability.

On the morning of October 22 (the day of the regular board meeting), Mr. Gegenheimer sent the proposed parent survey by email to Don McKinney (a former Minooka CCSD 201 board member who resigned from the school board earlier this year and is the current superintendent at Nettle Creek) with this to say: "Sorry that I didn't get this to you sooner.  Please look it over and let me know your thoughts.  Please call me today, if possible.  Thanks!"  Mr. McKinney's response stated: "I would agree that this survey is filled with bias.  On top of that, everything the board needs to know can already be found in the 5 Essentials Survey data.  This think [sic] is ridiculous."

At the very least, this is a rather interesting series of emails.  As I have stated in my previous blog posts, I believe that Mr. Gegenheimer was insubordinate and unprofessional in the manner in which he conducted himself regarding this entire incident.  For me, these emails just further that impression.  You can, of course, draw your own conclusions.

Government Transparency and the Illinois Open Meetings Act

A recent law passed in Illinois requires that all school board members complete training on the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

The problem with the Illinois Open Meetings Act is that it is woefully outdated.  Given the current state of technology (internet, free PDF readers, camcorders, YouTube, etc.), if the politicians in the State of Illinois were serious about government transparency, each entity of state and local government would be required to do the following (at a minimum):

1.  Post information (including board packets or the like - minus the information that is subject to privacy protection or the subject of executive session) online at least two days prior to public meetings.  This would be in addition to the agenda that is required to be posted pursuant to the Open Meetings Act.
2.  Post video recordings of meetings to their websites or to a service like YouTube.  This would be in addition to the minutes that are required to be posted pursuant to the Open Meetings Act.
3.  Post all financial information to their website and update such information at least monthly.

Given the technology available today, there is no reason that each and every citizen shouldn't have this information available to them at their fingertips.  A person should not have to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for anything but the most esoteric information.  If we really want openness in government, we need to bring our Open Meetings Act into the 21st century.

Lists of Bills and Treasurer's Reports

For those who are interested, here is a link to the most recent Minooka CCSD 201 lists of bills and treasurer's reports by month.

Minooka 201 FOIA Request Information

Minooka CCSD 201 now has its FOIA request information posted on the District website. Click here to be taken to the FOIA request information.

Government Transparency

In a democratic Republic, government is the servant of the people, not their master. As such, government entities must operate in such a way to enable the people to hold their public servants accountable. Transparency is the key to enabling people to hold their public servants accountable.

In the words of a couple of important Illinois statutes:

"It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business."
- Illinois Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/1.

"Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of this Act. Such access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest."
- Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1.

As one of your elected public servants, I would like to see Minooka CCSD 201 run in the most transparent manner possible (consistent with applicable privacy laws).

To further transparency in Minooka CCSD 201, I am recommending the following steps be taken:

1. Posting of board packets (prior to school board meetings) to the District website. Any information for executive sessions should be removed and distributed to school board members separately.
2. Posting of District financial information (including the long form budgets, audits, Treasurer's reports, and monthly lists of bills) to the District website.
3. Posting of contact information (phone number and email address) of current school board members to the District website.
4. Posting of salary & benefit information to the District website.
5. Posting of all contracts (including vendor contracts and collective bargaining agreements) to the District website.
6. Posting of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) officer contact information (as well instructions regarding how to submit FOIA requests) to the District website.

I believe these steps are fairly easy given the current state of District technology. I also believe these steps will go a long way to ensuring that Minooka CCSD 201 is run in a manner that is transparent to the public. If anyone has any additional ideas regarding transparency, please feel free to post a comment.