Did you know you need to be approved by a school board’s candidate steering committee? You didn’t? Neither did former Marine, Masters Degree educated teaching professional Alex Strobl. He learned this very quickly when he decided to run for Barrington District 220 School Board last December. To be fair, there isn’t an actual steering committee, just a bunch of local partisan, woke “agendists”, pulling strings behind the scenes, making sure that anyone who runs for the Board shares their leftist ideals and philosophies. Alex Strobl surely wasn’t aware of this when he accepted an invitation from what he thought was a group of interested parents who might get behind his candidacy. He thought the Zoom call he was invited to would be informal, cordial, informative and helpful in assessing his chances to win election to the school board.
He was surprised that there were about 30 people on the call, including:
- Penny Kazmier – current D220 Board President
- Sandra Bradford-Fike – incumbent Board Member running for re-election
- Maria Peterson – former Democratic candidate for Lake County Board
- Members of the Illinois Education Association, local Barrington teachers’ union and other official and non-official local organizations
(It should be noted that the two D220 Board members, Kazmier and Fike-Bradford, never notified the other five D220 school board members about this meeting, and thus, they possibly broke several Open Meetings Act laws, not to mention violated ethics policies and standards of practice for any public board member.)
As you will read from Mr. Strobl himself, this was not a “get to know you …how can we help you” call. This was a full interview and a formal vetting. And it was evident from the start, if the candidate didn’t share the “woke” agenda of the panel, he was not welcome. By the end of the interview, Alex was confused and disappointed in the questions and responses from the unofficial tribunal. He decided that this was NOT for him and this whole vetting process did not make sense. Who were these people? Who gave them authority? How could his candidacy succeed after this inquisition. He withdrew from the ballot shortly thereafter.
He decided to chalk it up to experience, and put the whole incident behind him until an article showed up on March 27th https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20210326/league-of-women-voters-decries-party-politics-in-barrington-local-elections in the Daily Herald from Elena Ferrarin and then another https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20210330/party-support-appearing-in-district-211-other-local-races?cid=search by Eric Petersen on March 30th.
In the articles, co-President of the League of Women Voters (LWV) of the Palatine Area, Vicki Martin and others criticized a group of local Barrington moms who had assembled to run for the D220 school board and other offices, accusing them of infusing party politics into non-partisan local elections. The LWV claims of partisan organization were unfounded and frankly stung Alex as quite ironic, based on his experience.
This is what prompted him to submit his letter attached:
It is with heavy heart that I write this but I could not remain silent. My name is Alex Strobl. I am a resident of Lake Barrington, a parent of three elementary aged students, and a former teacher and coach at Barrington High School (2005-2015). Recently I was a candidate running for the Barrington Area Unit School District 220. I am writing to share my experience in running for the school board and why I ultimately dropped my candidacy due to the partisan nature of some of the members on the school board.
I write now in response to (and to further expand on) a Daily Herald article titled “League of Women Voters decries party politics in Barrington local elections.” This article struck a chord with me as I agree that transparency is key. My purpose is to inform my community members and to shed additional light on the process as I experienced it. Specifically to inform you that currently two members of the school board are working hand in hand with partisan groups to select, vet, and sponsor candidates of their choosing. While I believe in robust political engagement of citizens across the spectrum, I believe it is a conflict of interest for school board members – who are in non-partisan positions – to actively be working with groups who select and vet candidates along partisan/ideological lines.
In December I was contacted by a current board member to run. I had previously expressed interest in running for a school board position to that board member and appreciated them reaching out. I am passionate about education, well versed on how things operate within the district, and I thought I could make a positive impact. Like many others, I want what is best for the children of Barrington.
I was told that I would be put in touch with a group that was initially described to me as a “group of community parents that could help get out the vote” and one that has helped to “elect other candidates.” Days later, someone else reached out to me to set up a meeting. The next day I signed into a Zoom call with about thirty members of the community. On the call were two current school board members: Penny Kazmier (current president) and Sandra Ficke-Bradford. I was told at the time that the group was a sort of steering committee and that the group was looking to diversify the school board in Barrington. The discussion we had and the questions that were asked seemed to be at one end of the spectrum. I mentioned to the group that I was not only a social studies teacher but was also an executive coach and a former Marine. In each instance, when I responded, my answers were analyzed and a member of the committee would “encourage” me to fine-tune it or at times to reframe it in another way. It was not at all what I expected. I had expected more of a dialogue in my first interaction. More importantly, I was taken aback that I was speaking to a group which I felt represented the school board and was left feeling that I did not fit their desired mold. Again, citizen groups can align to whomever they choose. The difficulty comes with the addition of school board members and the feeling that I needed to change to be welcomed on the board. I felt this interaction represented the board at large because I had been put in touch with the group by a current member coupled with the visible presence and participation of another two board members on the call. In short, in the weeks after the call I was disheartened by what I perceived to be the partisan nature of the group and a directive around what could and could not be said. It is ultimately why I withdrew from the race.
I have genuine desire to help unite this community and serve the students in another capacity. Perhaps I was a little naïve in believing that a non-partisan position such as the school board could ultimately be non-partisan. That said, I feel compelled to surface the hypocrisy of groups and articles pointing to “party politics” while other groups are quietly doing it themselves. I want to ensure that my friends, neighbors, and fellow community members know the machinery behind the scenes of the school board election.
Alex Strobl
Why does Alex’s letter not match the statements made in the lead-in? I’m sure this will attract some of the more irate readers but it’s not a good look here.
In his letter Alex sounds disappointed and maybe disenfranchised, which is understandable given how his experience didn’t line up with his expectations. But the lead-in sounds angry and antagonistic, and introduces statements not present in the letter.
Alex doesn’t mention a “woke” or “leftist” agenda or characterize his interaction as an inquisition. If the BHO interviewed Alex and he made additional statements, please say so. Otherwise this just looks like it’s pumping up his letter for shock value.
From what was said during a recent meet and greet for school board candidates, Erin Chan Ding was part of the Ficke Bradford and Kazmier meetings and a resultant team member.
This is Erin Chan Ding. I was NOT present at the Zoom meeting written about by Alex Strobl, so I do not know what took place. My decision to run for the District 220 Board of Education was mine and mine alone. It has been an honor to run and to listen to every part of our community.
Erin, are you saying you weren’t involved with the group referenced in the article in preparing for your BEA interview and responses to their questionnaire?
Sounds like there wasn’t a lot of equity (in the process), diversity (of thought/agenda) or inclusion(of the other board members). Does the new CUSD diversity czar know about this?
The CUSD Administration has worked hand in hand with Barrington Education Association and have since the District’s formation in1973. Springfield was offering $1 Million to schools that consolidated and the legal fight was tumultuous with the pros and cons in the community..
In recent decades, the District has been taken over by those consider that the “educators know best” and the heavy hand of the BEA has been tipping the scales and fairness of school board elections. This trend in the 1990’s brought on “caucuses” which resulted in an elderly gentleman actually being elected who fell asleep during Board Meetings.
I am sorry and saddened to see how bad it is today with the shenanigans of those that feel empowered and now have the light of day on them.
In these woke days we now live in, the BEA decides what happens to your kids, your community and MOST importantly your tax bill. If this past year hasn’t proved it so and you can’t admit it, you need to wake up!
The entire “white privilege/critical race/systemic racism/implicit bias” argument can be easily dismissed with a quick examination of the facts. While the statistics are growing more difficult to find and the media refuses to cover the truth, the metrics clearly show that darker skin toned racial groups, e.g. Asians, East Indians, Nigerians, Ghanaians and others have enjoyed great success in America. These racial groups perform at the top, near the top or above average in almost every metric. Somehow these racial groups are immune to the pernicious racism that we’re told by our elites prevents some other darker skin toned people from socioeconomically performing at even average rates.
When presented with this irrefutable evidence, the Left then blames these successes on miming whiteness That is, these darker skinned racial groups do the things necessary to succeed in a white based society. This basically means: they work hard, promote education and strive for excellence, keep their families together with fathers morally and financially responsible for their offspring, start businesses, don’t have children out of wedlock, are law abiding, are good neighbors and friends. Yes…the Left is clearly at war with Western Civilization itself.
Asserting that systemic racism is everywhere but unable to actually prove it exists anywhere, the frustrated Left then switches to ad hominem attacks. They set about labeling anyone who disputes their narrative as “racist”. They suppress free speech and diversity of thought with threats of economic vengeance or even street violence by their modern day brown shirt equivalents called BLM and Antifa. The Left will stop at nothing to divide America and continue their power grab. In Washington, they are right now attempting to destroy the Constitution, placing the value of our currency at great risk, and centralizing power into a permanent regime with a series of legislative, policy and procedural moves.
The indoctrination of children is at the core of every communist dictatorship.
Poisoning the minds of our children with imaginary claims of racial hatred, teaching self-loathing and pitting groups against each other whether it is based upon class or skin color is straight out of the communist playbook.
This is now at the doorstep of Barrington D220. Elections have consequences. Vote wisely.
I want to comment here to reiterate that I stand by my words – and my words alone. I believe in a marketplace of ideas and civic engagement of all stripes. I, of course, have my own values and beliefs but I would have defended all others to have that same right if called to (during my time in the Marines). I took an oath to defend the constitution and as cheesy as it may sound and as hard it is to do at times, I stand by that oath to this day. Ideas and perspectives are not dangerous in the light – where the merits can be debated about in a logical fashion. It becomes dangerous when there is a lack of transparency and even more so when people attempt to shut one side of a conversation down.
What is at issue here is board members, working with community groups that have strict agendas, are working to select candidates for a non-partisan position. More importantly all of this in “secret” – as all now claim that I was the only one on any such call apparently?
Truthfully I am sad to admit that, while I was disheartened by the process, I would have kept my mouth shut still because making these waves gets you attacked and I don’t want my children to be alienated because of something I said. Yet, after hearing of people who were on that call attack others for what I know they themselves were doing, I just couldn’t keep quiet. All voters have a right to transparency and to be educated about what groups candidates are working with and where money is coming from. That alone is my message.
Alex, my daughter was in your Living Law class and it ignited such a spark and passion in her that she carries to this day (about to graduate college). It was the first class I’ve ever seen her get truly excited about. It’s where she absolutely learned the importance of conversation, gathering facts, debate of ideas…A huge part of that was because of you. So many kids told her to take that class because they said it, and you, was one of the best BHS had to offer. We are also a wrestling family and there is much character and integrity that is found in that sport. Lastly thank you for your service to this country. So disappointed that this all has taken place as you tried to narrow your service directly to our community. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
@KarenT I can’t thank you enough for sharing this with me. It brings much needed perspective. I am humbled that I had an impact and that you took the time to share it. It’s really why you get into teaching and the part I miss every day. Again thank you!
Unbelievable.
Current President Kazmier and former President Battle who have ignored your voice for years. They have been wasting your time on surveys and citizen committees ignoring the determinations from the taxpaying residents. Have now panicked and are sending out an endorsement letter! No not inappropriate at all? Please and thank you for drawing a distinct line between the union supported candidates and those that actually represent our families.
Vote :
Karam
Wang
McGonigal
Shackleton
And stick it to these behind the scene manipulators Kazmier and Fike- Bradford exposed for their manipulation of the process. Shame on you Brian we thought you we better than this 🙁
Under the Barrington 220 Policy Manual:
Sec. 2:20 Powers and Duties of the Board of Education
The major powers and duties of the Board of Education include…
1. Organizing the Board after each consolidated election by electing officers and establishing its regular meeting schedule …
2. Formulating, adopting, and modifying District policies, at its sole discretion, subject only to mandatory collective bargaining agreements and State and federal law…
Well in this instance it is abundantly clear that Pres Kazmier and VP Ficke-Bradford took duty #1 to heart and started to organize the BoE several months in advance of tomorrow’s consolidated election. I guess they had nothing better to do while the school remained in lockdown?
As to #2, apparently Pres Kazmier and VP Ficke-Bradford have gotten drunk with their power and are organizing a Board that fits a very specific and single purpose – Diversity.
However, Sec. 8:10 “Connections with the Community – Public Relations” required that they plan and implement a District public relations program that will: Seek the public’s good will, respect, and confidence; and promote a spirit of cooperation between the school and the community… When did they present this agenda to the community at large?
Finally, which candidates besides Alex and Erin Chan Ding got the invitation to the pre-election workshop hosted by Kazmier and Ficke-Bradford? The Manual under Sec. 2:120 states “The Superintendent or designee shall invite all current candidates for the office of Board member to attend: (1) Board meetings… and (2) pre-election workshops for candidates.” But Kazmier and Ficke-Bradford only invited Alex and Erin Chan Ding to their “steering committee” workshop? We know who didn’t get the invitation, Karam, Wang, McGonigal and Shackleton. They’ll be getting my vote!
https://boardpolicyonline.com/?b=barrington_220
I can hardly wait to give Kazmier and Bradford a piece of my mind tomorrow night after I vote for Karam, Wang McGonigal and Shackleton. I want to know who the hell do they think they are setting up secret committees and using their positions to influence candidates. Outrageous behavior.
Erin Chan Ding, come clean. Your constant backpedaling and deflecting on all of this makes it abundantly clear that you should not serve on the school board as you’re incapable of understanding a lie by omission. I’d have much more respect for you if you’d just admit: you were coached by Kazmier and Ficke-Bradford; you appropriated your attack crew (Shahnaz and Annette) through the group that orchestrated Strobl’s meeting, as well as your Committee Chair (Helen Handley) and Treasurer (Wanchalee Mui, a D220 teacher and BEA member); you accepted money from the union lobbyists; you accepted in kind donations from the BEA and union; and, you violated campaign disclosures by sending out mail pieces without disclosing who they were paid for by. Instead, you constantly show up acting as though you’re just running a positive campaign with righteous indignation when questioned on any of these matters. Honesty and integrity get my vote.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GzYkgvlKj0812JIMfu0jMmt4pRk4mAld/view?fbclid=IwAR0MruTK2Nue57lM3u-FPl5pW63jlvTK_Xp8r1u8y1THY9V9InGquvcA7fw
Alex Strobl
Thank you for having the guts to come forward with this…I am sure it was not an easy decision to withdraw or to come forward. Please rest assured it was NOT an entire BOE effort (or even known about) and obviously not representative of the diversity of our community. I believe you’re owed an apology from the BOE members and others involved. Shouldn’t such a “group” be reflective of the diversity they were coaching as important? When we consider letter that Penny’s April 4 letter recommending BOE candidates that were involved (including Sandra and all endorsed by the BEA) combined with your story (some 220 and other teachers, Ding campaign co-chairs), ….well, people will draw their own conclusions
You are all nasty people with too much time on your hands. Remember that these people on the board have served the community 12+ years- this is no way to treat them. Numerous people who also attended the meeting have come out with statements as well, I encourage you all to educate yourselves instead of believing one person’s side.
We all need to remember the basis of this election- what is best for the kids. Bashing candidates and their integrity is inappropriate and pathetic. I also encourage you all to watch the board meeting last night when this was discussed, there is CLEARLY lies being spread and facts being stretched. Be adults. Do research. None of this “give them a piece of my mind” attitude. I am absolutely disgusted to live in the same community as people who are so quick to turn on others, especially those who have been so dedicated to this community. Shame on all of you.