The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Parents of students react to enforcement actions

By Seth Hancock
  School District U-46 is defending its actions, which could be viewed by some as child endangerment, while some concerned parents feel unheard.
  Former Board of Education member Jeanette Ward posted on social media that her daughter, Cheyenne, “refused to wear a face mask at the door of South Elgin High School” on the first day of school, on Aug. 16, and school staff not only denied her an opportunity to learn but also did nothing to assure her safety when she walked away. Ultimately, Cheyenne was safe, but South Elgin staff did not make sure of it and Ward and her husband Bill did not get a call from Principal Kurt Johansen at “about 11:30 am.”
  On the second day, South Elgin staff “ushered her to the Dean Jamie Becker’s office” and threatened an out-of-school suspension and she was not allowed to play with her golf team because Cheyenne showed her face. On the third day, Ward’s daughter withdrew from the school district and the family is moving out of state.
  Such actions contradict Superintendent Tony Sanders’ own Aug. 9 memo which stated the district’s own allowable discipline in the Student Code of Conduct “may not suffice for continued or intentional non-compliance,” and there’s little the district can do. Furthermore, the code states the district doesn’t “use seclusion” measures, which is exactly what not allowing a child go to school is.
  The Examiner asked Johansen what his staff did to make sure the minor who was denied access was safe and if the school immediately called the parents. He did not respond but rather Sanders did, defending the action using the same code he publicly stated does not likely give authority for the actions taken.
  Another South Elgin parent, Michael Reid, addressed the board at the Monday, Aug. 23 meeting. His son, a varsity football player, was forced to quarantine for sitting close to someone who tested positive.
  Reid said he tried to contact the school multiple times before getting a response and received “conflicting information” and non-answers from the school. Furthermore, the district said he’s not allowed to get his son, who is not sick, a COVID-19 test from a family doctor to prove he doesn’t need to be quarantined.
  “I may not be a genius but I’m smart enough to realize the fact this contact tracing system’s flawed because for two days, the individual my son was a close contact with still walked the halls, ate lunch with others and may have participated in extracurricular activities outside the classroom,” Reid said.
  Others spoke as well stating Sanders and board members are not responding to their emails and are ignoring the public.