Elmhurst Officials Angered School District In 2019

ELMHURST, IL — It's no secret that the Elmhurst city government and the local school district had a rough patch a couple of years ago.

A recently released recording of an Elmhurst School District 205 closed meeting in April 2019 showed just how strong the feelings were — at least on the part of school officials.

In the half-hour meeting, then-Superintendent Dave Moyer called the city "a jerk" and accused it of "shenanigans." Board members could be heard agreeing.

The officials talked about getting a public relations advantage over the city. But they apparently did not expect their conversation to eventually become public.

That happened after watchdog Edgar Pal filed a complaint with the attorney general. He argued a meeting about an agreement between the city and schools should have been open.

The district's lawyer said the board closed the doors because it had threatened to sue the city. But the attorney general last month sided with Pal, saying officials did not meet the legal threshold for a closed meeting. Rather than continue to fight, the district decided to release the recording.

The closed session was held on April 23, 2019, the last meeting for three of the seven board members. Their replacements were set be sworn in later that evening.

At the time, the district contended the city owed it money under an agreement over tax increment financing. And the city wanted the district's cooperation on stormwater issues. It needed access to land at York High School and Jackson Elementary for stormwater storage.

Days before the meeting, the city had responded to the district's proposed agreement on the issues. School officials were frustrated it came three weeks after the district's offer, arriving just before 5 p.m. on Good Friday.

They discussed a statement that board President Kara Caforio would make in the open session.

Then-Superintendent Moyer recommended going public with the district's concerns.

"I think we need to take the upper hand PR-wise so that their shenanigans are revealed, so they don't make it look like we're not willing to work with the community on stormwater," he said.

Others agreed.

Moyer said the district already had a lot of things on its plate, including carrying out a $168 million referendum and all-day kindergarten.

"It almost makes me sick to be spending more time talking about this," the superintendent said. "What they're trying to do now is make it look like we're trying to get money from them. We're the greedy ones."

He added later, "If they really think we're going to take care of their stormwater detention after five years, that's ridiculous."

Board member Jim Collins said the district had plenty of facts to makes its case.

"We have a $168 million referendum to implement, and to do it right, we only get one try," he said. "We're too busy to be talking about your moving dirt and laying pipe."

He also criticized the idea of installing underground water tanks under a York athletic field.

"I still don't think storing stormwater in York's front yard is a good idea. Period," he said.

That project was completed this fall.

The board's attorney, Todd Faulkner, advised the district announce it would not engage in future negotiations and that it would explore other avenues.

Moyer quipped, "We'd just call them a jerk in private, not in public."

Other officials laughed.

Read by Caforio, the district's statement reflected the attorney's advice.

"After thousands of hours and significant expenses, it is time for the board and the administration to put aside efforts to reach agreement with the city and return to focus on our core mission of educating children, including providing facilities which are safe, welcoming and promote instruction, and without the burdens, risks and costs imposed by the city's major stormwater management projects," Caforio said.

The city and district ended up reaching an agreement eight months later.

After that happened, Caforio called the agreement a milestone.

"Our community expects us to work together," she said. "While it's been challenging at times, I think this is a community solution that serves the needs of the community. I believe it also starts a new chapter for Elmhurst. We can begin working together."

In an email to Patch on Wednesday, Caforio said she was grateful for the district's relationship with the city.

"We worked hard to repair the relationship, collaborate and approve an Intergovernmental Agreement in December 2019 that resulted in the completion of a stormwater project at York High School," she said. "The York project, which includes significant stormwater detention and the installation of a full-size soccer/lacrosse turf field to be used by both students and the community, is an excellent example of what is possible when we work together to wisely steward the resources entrusted to us by our community for the benefit of our entire community."

Later this month, city and school officials plan to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the York project.