School districts must be accountable to public

Consolidated High School District 230, which includes Andrew in Tinley Park, Sandburg in Orland Park, and Stagg in Palos Hills, ranks among the top 10 largest based on the number of students and spending.

With 7,700 students and a $180 million budget, District 230 trails Rockford’s 28,000 students ($350 million), and Naperville’s 16,000 students ($250 million).

Schools are important. But school administrators don’t have the same sense of accountability to taxpayers that other governments like villages have. They don’t see themselves as being “political governments,” but they are being elected by the voters.

Responsive governments are rigid in adherence to fundamental tools of public accountability with the Open Meetings Act, Robert’s Rules of Order, and the Freedom of Information Act. 

Many schools and administrators don’t believe they need to be, seeing those responsibilities as burdens. Their education and the structure of their bureaucracies move some school officials to an arrogant sense of entitlement. They feel they are above government and politics, and therefore can be less accountable to the public.

They hide behind the incongruous reality of schools, which account for more than 60 percent of our taxes, while serving the students of only 35 percent of the population.

District 230 has more than 92,000 residents living in more than 20,000 homes. Those homeowners are taxpayers who pay school bills, even if most don’t have children attending the high schools. 

School district boards are elected by taxpayers and are political in every sense of the word.

They are responsible for the same requirements as are all governments. They must be responsive.

Last Thursday, I watched the District 230 board meeting and was shocked at how loose they are with Robert’s Rules of Order, which defines meeting procedures.

Board President Lynn Zeder complained about wasting time on FOIA requests, angrily denouncing in her privileged remarks one taxpayer, researcher Mike Henry, who angrily accused the board of failing to meet state responsibilities. 

Zeder was offended by Henry’s multiple FOIAs, but never addressed any of the concerns he raised. Zeder also attacked another former employee by name.

Most governments have a FOIA officer assigned to respond to all FOIA requests. It’s the law!

You want to hold public office? Grow a thick skin! Be open and accountable. Take the concerns of taxpayers more seriously, although I know how hard it is for arrogant school officials and administrators to do that from their holy-than-thou PhD perches.

A motion to expand the World Language Curriculum, introduced by Trustee Mohammed Jaber, was mishandled by Zeder in violation of Robert’s Rules of Order.

Jaber should have been able not only to motion his proposal, but to also speak to the motion and explain it. He wasn’t given that chance. She has in the past berated him for speaking to the public through the media.

I blame board bullying for their cowardly reaction. Neither Zeder nor any of the trustees would second it.

Zeder asserted she can’t talk about the issue because of Open Meetings Act restrictions. She wants to bring it up next month, she claimed.

She could have done that had Jaber’s motion received a second. It has been discussed five times already, while most other issues are discussed only twice. They could send it to committee for more public hearings and discussion.

State and federal governments consider the Arabic language critical.

To excel in international business, a graduate would need Arabic. The Middle East is a major source for oil, imports and exports, military sales, investment and tourism.

Arab students make up some 34 percent of District 230’s students. I was one of the first Arab Americans to move into the district in 1981, in Tinley Park, and later in 1985 in Orland Park.

You can see the bigotry against Arabs who live in the district on Facebook. 

I am used to it. It stems from ignorance and lack of education. The majority of Arabs in the Chicagoland region are Christian. My mother is from Bethlehem, and my cousin is the pastor of the Church of the Nativity. I often say, “Jesus is my cousin.”

Why wouldn’t you want all our students who might pursue international business to learn Arabic? 

District 230 students already are taught Latin, Spanish, French, and German. Teach Arabic. Teach Polish, too.

District 230 officials should show more respect, not just to Arab Americans, but to all taxpayers. Be open, accountable, and responsive to controversies. Unless there is something to hide.

The board’s conduct January 29 was unprofessional.

Read more on this at my website at CourageousThought.com