The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Not all supportive of U-46’s pandemic actions

By Seth Hancock
  Does the Board of Education in School District U-46 deserve praise for shutting down schools and following the dictates from the governor’s office during COVID?
  State Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin) thinks so, but the public may not.
  Moeller presented a certificate from the General Assembly to the board at its Sept. 26 meeting.
  “I’m here simply to say thank you,” Moeller said. “We’ve just come out of a difficult couple of years… and I wanted to just take a moment to thank you.”
  Moeller added: “All of you worked very hard to make the best decisions on behalf of our students and our teachers and the community, and I don’t think you get thanked often enough for the hard work that you do.”
  Sue Kerr, the board’s president, said: “These last years have not been easy, and we’ve had to make decisions where there was often no good choice. And we knew we were going to make some group happy or some group unhappy, or everyone unhappy.”
  The board patting itself on the back may seem a disconnect with the public with many opposed to remote learning.
  At the same Aug. 26 meeting, the board approved a deficit budget that hiked spending by $35.6 million ($660.8 million to $696.4 million) and revenue by $28.2 million ($662.3 million to $690.5 million) while the trend of spending increases and enrollment declines reached eight straight years.
  Seven public comments were made against that budget, including Tracy Smodilla who noted the Moeller presentation.
  “I take exception to the praise being heaped upon the board by Representative Moeller…. You’re elected officials with a very specific fiduciary responsibility to the constituency,” Smodilla said.
  Smodilla noted that proficiency scores continue to drop year after a year, a trend that has been ongoing long before COVID.
  “This is just a trend that has many scratching their heads asking not just why but for how much longer they’ll put up with the profound lack of accountability from this board,” Smodilla said. “You’ve abdicated your duty and authority to the superintendent which has harkened calls for your resignation. This is the time for you to tell the administration to go back and sharpen their pencils. Taxpayers are no longer going to be held ransom for your lack of duty.”