PEORIA -- Peoria High School advocates attacked Supt. Grenita Lathan at the Peoria District 150 board meeting on April 11 for closing schools and moving principals around, and one called on her to resign, during the public comments.
But board members defended her. And Lathan commented "I inherited a school district that is dysfunctional. We have to right-size this district."
The public comments, recorded and posted below as soon as possible, show that people who bother to comment at the board meeting are unhappy with the recent changes. All except one. In order:
Activist Terry Knapp noted that the high school graduations this spring take place on the same day as the Illinois High School Association baseball tournament, which will provide conflicts for parents and students and a shortage of hotel rooms. (Great planning! Not.)
He also questioned why the district is spending $2 million a year on the Valeska Hinton preschool without ever evaulating its outcomes. He noted that 25 percent of the children there are not at risk, and are handpicked by school officials. "We need to do a better job with $2 million," he said.
Activist Sevino Sierra said the district has "raped" neighborhoods by closing schools, the latest victims being Garfield and Columbia. He noted that a community garden at Garfield, cultivated by volunteers, donations and grants, is now in limbo, as noted in a print edition story in the April 11 Journal Star. "Moving people around that were successful in schools" is a bad idea, he said.
Teachers union president Bob Darling was the one exception to the parade of critics. He praised the administration and its efforts to get a SIG or school improvement grant, and for the selection of Brett Elliott as principal of Peoria High School.(Was that a sucking sound heard in the room?)
But PHS parent Andrew Barnes called on Lathan to resign. He and other PHS advocates cited statistics showing that children's grades fall when they are moved around or subjected to instability. "You ignored the pleas of teachers and parents."
He accused Lathan of lying to the booster group and to himself, and said she has "grossly misrepresented things" about the SIG grant. "I request your resignation," he said.
Jeff Mosher said, "stop using the grant to throw grenades in the schools of Peoria." And he asked "On what basis and research did you use to justify" moving principals around?
The PHS validactorian of last year, Breighton Bardezbanian, told the audience, "The $6 million (grant) isn't worth it" and said he's in touch with the students who don't agree with the closing last year of Woodruff High School or moving the popular principal Randy Simmons to a middle school next year.
"What job security are you offering the faculty" with these moves, he asked. "No one is happy with how things are being done now."
Phil Rowans said the SIG grant is "bait and switch," since PHS isn't eligible for $6 million, as administrators have stated. "Who ordered the misinformation to be released to the public?" he asked.
"The board should resign" if they approve what the superintendent wants, he said. "This process of doing what (administrators) want" is costing the district $5 million in legal fees this year, he added, perhaps referring to lawsuits filed by those abruptly fired by Lathan. "Respect the customer? It's a joke," he said.
A woman, Jo Blickner, said there's no plan for closing schools, and the district is losing customers (students). "No amount of grant money can change that. Why are so many principals being moved? Where is the stability for our children?"
Lathan responded to the criticism: "just because a group feels I'm not listening because I don't agree with them doesn't mean I don't listen."
She blamed the news media for misrepresenting the SIG grant.
"We will meet with people," she said. "Yes people are leaving the district but we have to focus on those that are staying. We are broke and have to make decisions."
Board president Debbie Wolfmeyer said Lathan was told "this district is in trouble and we expect her to turn it around. She has the board's support."
Wolfmeyer said people support the decisions the board has made. Dissidents come to the meetings but many others have offered support, she said. "We make decisions in the best interests of the students. You can't satisfy everyone. We knew the changes would be unpopular These changes have to happen to move this district forward."
My take: there are a lot of unanswered questions here. Why move a well liked principal at PHS, whose test scores are going up, when it reportedly is not required unless the district gets the grant, which apparently won't be for $6 million as advertised?
Where is the research showing closing neighborhood schools will really save money and benefit the children, especially in the case of Garfield, which has been built up as a community school with a garden, and health clinic, and parent involvement?
Just how many people have expressed support for these drastic moves, except the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, most of whose members are not even district taxpayers?
As for Lathan, she get's an 'F' in public relations, as she has failed to sell the radical changes she and the board have made.
The public comments are covered on this blog because they often are ignored by the mainstream news media, and because the board last year decided to censor them from TV coverage of the meeting, then completely killed the cable TV coverage.
-- Elaine Hopkins
Great post Elaine!
Posted by: Susan | April 13, 2011 at 08:49 PM