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Schools

Setting Goals Proves Difficult for District 86 Board

Two members had problems with the process initiated by Jennifer Planson and the board will seek help from an impartial mediator.

 board member Jennifer Planson’s plan to get the divided board to at least move forward together on a few simple goals ran into opposition at Monday night’s board meeting at .

Board members could not agree even on a process for formulating goals and ultimately decided to seek assistance from an impartial mediator.

at the board’s Aug. 1 meeting: upgrading facilities, improving communication, and enhancing academics. Board members agreed to submit their own ideas for goals to Planson prior to Monday’s meeting.

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The goals Planson suggested Monday again focused on the areas of facilities, communication, and academics. She said they came out of the Vision and Strategic Planning Initiative the district conducted three years ago.

“I took what was already there,” she said. “I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel.”

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Planson said she thought the vision plan was overarching in its focus.

“I just wanted to get a little more specific in each of these goals,” she said. “These are starting off points. They’re not set in stone.”

Criticism from Barrett

Board member Dianne Barrett pointed out that Planson was not on the school board three years ago when the strategic planning initiative was begun.

“I’m just curious as to whether or not this process should start over again,” Barrett said. “I think the board should go back and brainchild individually.”

“That’s what we discussed at the last meeting and unfortunately you weren’t there,” board member Kay Gallo said.

Barrett said no one had notified here that she should submit goal ideas to Planson.

“I think the board should be looking at more analysis,” Barrett said. “I’d like to see more academic reports.”

“Is that a goal?” Board President Dennis Brennan asked Barrett. “I’m lost. What’s your goal?”

“My goal is more information,” Barrett said, “and have the board have more oversight over what goes on.”

“To me, that’s more of a practice versus a goal,” Planson said. “It’s not a goal or a way to direct the district to move forward.”

“I believe it is,” Barrett said. “I’m looking for more data, more information, more reports.”

Noting that students with disabilities at Hinsdale South had failed to make adequate yearly progress in 2009 as defined by the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Barrett said she would like to see the board develop a strategy for improving the special education department.

“The board approved the restructuring plan for Hinsdale South,” Superintendent Dr. Nicholas Wahl said. “It’s in year two of three.”

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“You can’t just have a goal that says we’d like more data on a specific thing,” board member DeeDee Gorgol said. “The goal’s never going to be met unless you refine it. … You’ve got to be able to narrow it down.”

Barrett said her goal was “more oversight and accountability.”

Criticism from Skoda

Board member Dr. Richard Skoda also took exception to the goal-setting process, claiming he had sent a list of ideas for goals to Planson.

“I sent in 15 goals,” he said. “None of them are reflected here.”

Skoda said he had received an email response from Planson that his goals were not what the board wanted.

“That is incorrect," Planson said. 

Planson said she had told Skoda that she felt the ideas he submitted were more practices or policies, “not lofty goals that we can drive our district towards. To say that I dismissed them is incorrect.”

“I did not think one board member would be determining which goals were appropriate and which were not,” Skoda said. “There was never even an attempt to have some of my ideas funneled into this.”

He cited improving fiscal transparency as an example, noting that the district had received a grade of F from the Illinois Policy Institute last fall.

“The process is flawed,” Skoda said. “I played by the rules, sent the stuff in, and I might as well have missed the meeting.”

Agree to goal-setting meeting

Board members finally did agree on something: that they needed help from a third party.

“I do think we need an impartial mediator,” Gallo said.

Brennan said he would get back to the board with some possible meeting dates.

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