Did LTHS Mislead The Public On Willow Springs?

LA GRANGE, IL – Frustrated with what she considered misinformation, a Lyons Township High School board member earlier this year implored her colleagues to "shut that sh-- down."

Then-member Julie Swinehart made the statement behind closed doors in January.

It turns out the board itself appeared to have spread misinformation.

On Jan. 23, the board met in two closed sessions about its plan to sell its 71 acres in Willow Springs to an industrial buyer, even though zoning barred industrial uses.

In the sessions, officials talked about how they avoided meetings with their counterparts from other public bodies. Those entities were opposed to selling to an industrial buyer.

Yet in a public statement three days later, the board said it was open with the other agencies. It said it had communicated with the village of Willow Springs, Pleasantdale School District 107 and Pleasant Dale Park District after it announced it was selling the land.

"The Board has not refused meetings with any of the parties, but rather offered alternative dates and times to discuss the current status of the sale," the statement read.

Officials from the other entities said that was not the case. And the official statement appeared to contradict what was said in the school board's closed meetings.

Behind closed doors, Superintendent Waterman told the board that he emailed the village of Willow Springs 10 days earlier. But he said the village had not responded.

He said he decided to exclude the school and park districts from the communication, which he added "really frustrated" the school district.

Waterman said the high school would not agree to a meeting until after the board decided Jan. 23 on how to handle the bids. (The board rejected the bids, saying they did not follow the school's terms and conditions. But the board promised to continue negotiations.)

Waterman opposed reaching out to the village again, saying that doing so would be "incredibly disingenuous because of the history of the last four months."

Officials said the high school had avoided a meeting with the other public bodies because a bidder, presumably Bridge Industrial, requested confidentiality.

However, the school's finance official, Brian Stachacz, disagreed.

"I don't necessarily know that there was anything that bound us to confidentiality," Stachacz said.

The board's attorney, Ares Dalianis, said, "It was (the bidder's) request that it would not be talked about."

"And ours as well," Waterman added.

Members Michael Thomas, Dawn Aubert and Alison Kelly, whose term expired in April, favored reaching out to the village again. But four others disagreed.

Kari Dillon, then the board president, said the school wouldn't make the first move.

"I'm inclined to leave it alone unless they request another meeting," she said.

In the closed meeting, member Swinehart said board members should interrupt speakers during public comments who spread misinformation. She said it was wrong to say the high school refused to meet with village officials.

"We should be encouraged to shut that sh-- down when it shows up," Swinehart said. "We need to correct misinformation when it's reputationally damaging and frankly untrue."

No one apparently took up Swinehart on her suggestion. Instead, board members continued their practice of sitting stone-faced while residents spoke up about the planned sale, among other topics.

The board abandoned the Willow Springs effort in March, a few weeks before the April election.

Last month, the attorney general found the board violated state law in closing the doors to the January meetings. The agency ordered the board to release the recordings, which it did.

Patch left a message for comment with the board.

See other stories based on the recordings of the closed-door meetings on Jan. 23:

• LTHS Official Alleges Conspiracy Against School
• Did Election Sway LTHS Board On Willow Springs?
• LTHS Admission: Sale Would Hurt Neighbors
• Official Calls LTHS Comments 'Ignorant'