District 41 Staff Gives Low Marks to School Board on Recent Survey

GLEN ELLYN, IL - Staff members working within District 41 have become increasingly dissatisfied with the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school board in recent years, according to recent results from the 2016 District 41 School Perceptions Survey.

In the survey, which was completed by 75 percent of teachers and is meant to gauge overall satisfaction within the district, only 32 percent of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that the school board presents a positive image of the school district to the school community, according to the survey results.

In the survey, "staff members expressed concerns regarding the school board’s behavior and would like them to work together to make positive changes for the district," according to the survey results, which are posted on the District 41 website.

The survey used rankings of 1 to 5 with 1 showing the respondent strongly disagreed with a topic while five showed they strongly agreed. A ranking of 2 means the respondent disagreed and 4 means they agreed. During the recent 2015-16 survey, staff members gave the board of education a ranking of 2.1, which is down from the 2014 survey when they gave the school board a 2.76 ranking.

Here is more from the rankings given by staff members to the Board of Education in the 2015-16 survey:

• The board presents a positive image to the school community: 2.41 (in 2015-16) and 3.95 (in 2014)
  
• The board is doing what it takes to make our district successful: 2.78 (in 2015-16) and 3.84 (in 2014)
• I trust that the board will make decisions in the best interest of the students: 2.73 (in 2015-16) and 3.68 (in 2014)
• The board appropriately balances the mission of the district with fiscal responsibility: 3.25 (in 2015-16) and 3.82 (in 2014)

Bill Foster, president of School Perceptions, the firm that completed the survey, said the drop in overall satisfaction for the board was probably one of the steepest drops he's ever seen, according to the Daily Herald.

Board member Dean Elger pointed to board members Kurt Buchholz and Stephanie Clark as troublemakers on the board and Buchholz did say some of his decisions may be unpopular but did refer to other board members as "rubber stamps for administration," according to the article.

The survey also included a portion for parents to sound off on their opinions of the school district. The comments collected suggested parents would like "the school board to respect their/the community’s ideas and concerns when making decisions," according to the survey results.

Staff members in the survey said board meetings have taken on a confrontational tone and have made it uncomfortable for them to express their opinions -- whether they are good or bad, according to the Daily Herald.

• More via the Daily Herald
• You can view the full survey results on the District 41 website