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What took so long?
The office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sent a letter Nov. 10 to members of the Community High School District 99 Board of Education stating an investigation was under way into a potential violation of the Open Meetings Act. The letter, which requested that the School Board reply within 30 days, was prompted by a complaint filed by the Downers Grove Reporter.
Members of the School Board only recently answered the request for information from the attorney general’s office. District officials were more than a month late in submitting their reply to an accusation that they broke the law.
The board held a closed session last year to discuss how its nepotism policy could potentially affect newly elected member Deb Boyle, given that she has two relatives who work for the district. School Board members later devised guidelines about how they would deal with a situation in which Boyle faced a possible conflict of interest.
It’s entirely appropriate for the district to have a nepotism policy and for officials to discuss how it would affect a School Board member. But revising the policy or talking about how a board member would be affected are issues that must be worked out in public.
Boyle is an elected official, not a district employee. That’s why the personnel exception to the Open Meetings Act does not apply.
People who live within District 99 have a right to know what their public officials are doing. School Board members have an obligation to comply with the law and conduct public business in public.
Delaying a reply is disrespectful to the attorney general’s office, and the taxpayers of District 99 deserve better.
What took so long?
The office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sent a letter Nov. 10 to members of the Community High School District 99 Board of Education stating an investigation was under way into a potential violation of the Open Meetings Act. The letter, which requested that the School Board reply within 30 days, was prompted by a complaint filed by the Downers Grove Reporter.
Members of the School Board only recently answered the request for information from the attorney general’s office. District officials were more than a month late in submitting their reply to an accusation that they broke the law.
The board held a closed session last year to discuss how its nepotism policy could potentially affect newly elected member Deb Boyle, given that she has two relatives who work for the district. School Board members later devised guidelines about how they would deal with a situation in which Boyle faced a possible conflict of interest.
It’s entirely appropriate for the district to have a nepotism policy and for officials to discuss how it would affect a School Board member. But revising the policy or talking about how a board member would be affected are issues that must be worked out in public.
Boyle is an elected official, not a district employee. That’s why the personnel exception to the Open Meetings Act does not apply.
People who live within District 99 have a right to know what their public officials are doing. School Board members have an obligation to comply with the law and conduct public business in public.
Delaying a reply is disrespectful to the attorney general’s office, and the taxpayers of District 99 deserve better.
