The District 220 Board of Education’s (BOE) ‘Policy Committee,’ made up of Members Wilcox and Chan Ding meets tomorrow, February 14, at 8:00 AM at the District Office, 515 W. Main St. The meeting is open to the public, and we think presents a good opportunity to address some major policy concerns that have come out in the last several months. A copy of the agenda can be found here.
First, as we reported previously, BOE Member and incumbent candidate Leah Collister-Lazzari took a three week vacation/business trip(?) to New Zealand and is being investigated for violations of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by calling into the December 20th BOE meeting and remotely voting on the District’s levy.
The OMA only allows a member to vote remotely on an action item if not physically present due to illness or traveling for Board business or traveling for one’s occupation. There is no doubt in most people’s minds that it is inconceivable that Collister-Lazzari was in New Zealand for three weeks on business, particularly where all evidence shows she is not even employed.
Second, the date of the Policy Committee meeting is rather opportune given that Member and incumbent candidate Barry Altshuler intends to violate District Policy 2:105 and participate in a live Q&A & V-Day donuts with the BHS Democrats at the high school at that same time.
Chapter 2 of the Barrington 220 School District Policy Manual specifically governs the actions of the BOE. Policy 2:105 prohibits political activity:
No Board member … shall intentionally use any District property or resources in connection with any political activity.
Altshuler is actively running for a second term on the school board in the upcoming April 4 election. In the four years he has been on the BOE, has he bothered to read the policies that govern his actions as a BOE Member?
If he gave it the same attention he gave to his oath to protect the doctor/patient relationship under HIPAA that precludes him from publicly discussing a patient’s care during a BOE meeting, we’d guess not. Did Altshuler ever apologize to Alex Strobl for that HIPAA violation?
Third, this would also be an opportune time for the Policy Committee to discuss the infringement on the property of the District’s logo (see below) for political purposes by incumbent candidates Collister-Lazzari and Altshuler.
The D220 logos are the property of the District and are being utilized by Collister-Lazzari and Altshuler on their campaign websites, social media, flyers and signs. Again, this use is a clear violation of Policy 2:105.
Additionally, we believe the use violates policies 5:125(7) and 8:90 which hold that personnel:
…Refrain from using the District’s logos without permission and follow Board policy 5:170, Copyright, and all District copyright compliance procedures, and
Parent organizations and booster clubs are recognized by the Board and permitted to use … any logo attributable to the District provided they first receive the Superintendent or designee’s express written consent.
So, are Altshuler and Collister-Lazzari superior to the employees and parents of the District such that they can ignore the requirements the BOE they are Members of places on those groups for the Superintendent’s written consent and appropriate District property in their own political campaign without it? We find it hard to believe the District would have provided such written consent.
But, if in fact permission was asked for and given, the public can then assume the District is explicitly endorsing candidates and engaging in electioneering. Perhaps an enterprising community member would like to ask these questions, as well as others, at the February 14th BOE Policy meeting.
Given Wilcox’s legal background and her unfortunate imminent departure from the BOE, we look forward to her position on these matters. Stay tuned…
Related: “Who’s minding Leah and Barry’s campaign finances,” “What 220 voters need to know continued, including our recommendations,” “What 220 voters need to know,” “220 Parents call BS!”