Public Comment at the 11/14/17 Board Meeting

Dear Patch Editor:

I am writing to you as one of several parents who attended the District 205 Board of Education meeting Tuesday night. Though I am not sure whether you were in attendance, the speeches made during public comment are now available via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LUDjADyTSQ&feature=share). Public comments start at about 2:33:16. Each and every one was, in its own way, compelling--and reflective of a community that has been trying for the past two years to reestablish its voice.

While we fully respect scheduling both the distribution of awards/honors and speeches by the Churchville middle-school presenters toward the beginning of the meeting (as students undoubtedly needed to get home and head to bed), there was no excuse for the other presentations to precede public comment. Quite honestly, none of us would have cast judgment if those parents and educators on the list of speakers had instead opted to leave. They had work and school the next day. They had spouses and children they hadn't seen and ultimately wouldn't see much of Tuesday night because voicing their thoughts was important to them--and to us.

Yet the minutes passed, and we sat in a hot, crowded room, listening to a presentation about the middle-school "recommendations" and acceleration (which many of us still have multiple lingering concerns/questions about). We also heard about the phone survey related to topics concerning the upcoming referendum. It was a survey that--to speak plainly--some of us are not especially impressed by and that could have either been summed up with greater brevity and/or that we could have perused further at our own leisure.

Perhaps the assumption was that the additional knowledge gained via the aforementioned presentations would inspire the community to speak differently (or not at all). Perhaps it was merely unorthodox planning. However, the result was somewhat astounding. The community didn't leave. They were tired, and they were hot. They wanted to be home with their families. All the same, the community remained, and their commitment to having a voice invigorated the room well into the final hours of November 14, 2017. Topics covered ranged from changes at the middle-school level to prospective dual language programming to transparency (or the lack thereof) to how a later start time would impact band/orchestra/choir students to inequity to extremely legitimate concerns about reducing the amount of PE that students (and especially younger students) have on a weekly basis. A resounding and powerful theme was one that has rung out repetitively since 2015: Please slow down.

We were worn out when we left--but we were not worn down, as we have perhaps felt in the past. In fact, some people were cheering when they strode out of the District 205 Center. It wasn't because they thought they had beaten anyone or conquered anything. That's not who the majority of people in this district are. Nevertheless, they had regained something . . . a sense of identity as a community that asks questions, respectfully objects when necessary, and has its own well-established moral imperatives. We welcome change; we need it to grow in District 205. We simply want it done the right way and facilitated in a manner that represents all of us, from students and parents to teachers and taxpayers. You see, we get "all means all" here. We always have.

Please, as you cover this meeting (or any events in 205) know we are eager and grateful for your balanced and fair representation of our concerns--and, of course, celebrations--as a community.

Best,

Katie Marsico

Co-Administrator of the Parents Advocacy Group for Elmhurst (PAGE)