My statement to the D113 Board on 3/3/2015

I made a statement to the D113 Board during the Citizens Comment period held prior to their Closed Session and I’ve had requests for it. I’m sharing it in it’s entirety below:

March 3, 2015

Madame̒ President, Members of the Board, I’d like to take a few moments to comment on the unfortunate situation involving Dr. Kimbrel, and HYA/ECRA.

As has been reported in the Chicago Tribune, Dr. Kimbrel has requested to resign and to be released from her contract with D113. I’m confident that you’re familiar with the appropriate clauses in the Contract and that we can easily invoke a release due to either Mutual Agreement or For Cause.

My concerns are thus:

1. What will it cost the District in terms of a termination fee with HYA? Given that we were apparently misled by HYA and Dr. Kimbrel, there ought to be no fees whatsoever.
2. How much has the District paid HYA to-date for this and any other searches conducted on our behalf?
3. Why was Dr. Kimbrel’s HYA connection and her spouse’s bullying missed? Were we misled by either Dr. Kimbrel, HYA, or both of them? What information did the members of the Search Committee review as part of the vetting process? If HYA obfuscated the details and the search committee was misled, will HYA refund the District the money they have been paid for the search (excluding the cost of the useful Leadership Characteristics survey, focus groups, and report)?
4. Have we engaged the services of the District’s outside legal counsel? If so, what’s the amount of those fees? If we have been misled by HYA or Dr. Kimbrel, when can we expect full reimbursement of our out-of-pocket costs?
5. Does anyone else on the Board or employed by the District have connections with HYA or ECRA?
6. The consideration of or actual engaging of HYA and/or ECRA for any current or future work in our District.

We can get entangled in time-consuming, distractive legal battles against Dr. Kimbrel and HYA/ECRA as we try to undo this Gordian Knot, or we can simply cut through it by:

1. Mutually agreeing with Dr. Kimbrel to rescind the contract and settle all claims.
2. Not paying Dr. Kimbrel anything more than she’s already received. No termination fee, no relocation costs, no additional reimbursements, nothing. Shake hands, part company, walk away quietly.
3. Mutually agreeing to release all claims against HYA/ECRA in exchange for a refund of the search portion of the fees related to Dr.Kimbrel.
4. Crafting and setting a Policy that all employment searches include a simple Google Search at a minimum, in addition to the usual background, credit, and criminal record checks. The search results and links found (if any) shall be part of the employee record, and made available to all members of the Search Committee. As a condition of consideration for employment, the candidate shall be required to waive any records privacy related to these publicly found links/records, as well as research done and notes made by the Search Committee.
5. Crafting and setting a strong vendor ethics policy such that all interactions are performed in an ethical manner under financial penalty to include complete refund of all fees paid by the District to the vendor, and all costs incurred by the District in investigating and mitigating any and all issues related to unethical behavior. The vendor should face a lifetime ban of any business or service involving the District or any entity therein.
6. HYA and ECRA should likewise be subjected to a lifetime ban.
7. Crafting and setting forth a policy whereby the District will not employ in any manner, whether by hiring in any fashion, consulting, or through honorarium any natural person or entity which has been employed or engaged by a vendor (regardless of level of remuneration) until a period of 24 months has elapsed since the natural person or entity was employed by the vendor. We ought never to be caught in a situation similar to the one HYA subjected us to with Dr. Kimbrel.
8. Holding two (2) student assemblies – one at HPHS, one at DHS, where the Board informs the students of what happened during this unfortunate incident, what it ended up costing in time and money, why you took the action you did, and that ethics matters. This is a teachable moment, and as unfortunate as it is, we ought not to let it escape, rather we ought to use it to demonstrate to our students that the rules apply to all, and that sometimes, even though something is difficult, we do it because it’s the right thing to do. We’re District 113, we expect, demand, and require a high standard in our dealings, with consequences for all.

Thank you for the opportunity to make these comments. I welcome any questions you may have.

Respectfully Submitted,

David S. Greenberg