Don't Email Willow Springs, LTHS Leader Told

LA GRANGE, IL – Even sending a quick email to update Willow Springs on a land controversy became the subject of a debate for the Lyons Township High School board this week.

Such a public discussion is a far cry from the board's practice earlier this year.

In January, the board spent the better part of two hours of closed meetings debating what to keep secret from Willow Springs and other public bodies about the effort to sell the school's land in Willow Sprngs.

The attorney general later found the closed sessions violated state law, compelling the board to release the recordings.

In early August, board members agreed to a new approach to selling the school's 70 acres in Willow Springs. Last year, the school secretly courted an industrial developer that was interested in buying the land, which is next to houses, a school, a park and a UPS facility.

After the effort became known, Willow Springs officials and residents rose up in opposition. At one point, the village president called for Superintendent Brian Waterman's ouster.

Now, the village is studying the zoning for the land. It recently hired a consultant for that effort.

At Monday's board meeting, Superintendent Waterman said he wanted to delay hiring the board's own consultant. He said it was important to first see the village consultant's report, which is expected in a month.

Board President Dawn Aubert suggested Waterman email the village about the delay.

But other board members objected to sending such a message.

"I don't know why it's necessary," said member Michael Thomas, who previously pushed in a closed meeting a conspiracy theory about the land sale's opposition.

Member Jill Beda Daniels agreed with Thomas.

"They can follow our meetings and attend if they had chosen," she said, adding she feared that such an email would set a precedent.

Aubert, however, said it would be a "transparent courtesy" to contact the village, noting the board agreed to take a new approach. She said village officials had attended previous board meetings, but the board's agenda for Monday included nothing about the land.

Members Kari Dillon and Elvia Nava also expressed concerns about sending an email.

Waterman, though, said it would take a couple of seconds to email his statement on the issue.

"I think we're probably overthinking this a little bit," he said.

Aubert and member Jill Grech also said the board was overthinking it.

Member Tim Albores initially wondered whether the board was overreaching its authority by involving itself in whether the superintendent should send the email.

By the end of the discussion, though, he said the board was offering an "olive branch" by delaying the hiring of a consultant. As such, he said he didn't think it was necessary to reach out.

Aubert concluded that no email would be sent.

"We'll leave it at the meeting and go from there," she said.