Where's That LTHS Drama? Nowhere To Be Seen

LA GRANGE, IL – What a difference a month makes.

Up until February, Lyons Township High School board meetings saw their share of outbursts, accusations, and jeers and cheers.

These days, if you are longing for drama, you'll have to see the school play. A school board meeting may no longer fit the bill – at least for the moment.

By no means has Lyons Township been alone. Across the country, school board meetings went out of control during the pandemic, so much so that "Saturday Night Live" lampooned the phenomenon.

Perhaps the biggest school issue for many disappeared. Last month, the board voted to do away with the mask mandate.

Since last fall, board members faced a lot of criticism for the mandate, which Gov. J.B . Pritzker handed down. Many urged the board to defy the state.

A poster on the stage of Lyons Township High School's Reber Center auditorium displays the rules for public comments during board meetings. (David Giuliani/Patch)

At one point, a mask opponent declared board members were "worse than pedophiles" for continuing the mandate. A woman accused the board of allowing Marxism and fascism by following the governor.

Such speakers enjoyed appreciative audiences, as measured by their applause.

At a meeting in mid-February, a woman demanded to speak after the public comment period ended. The board would not let her. Two men walked up to the podium, shouting at the board, "Let her speak!" One of them called board members "cowards."

As with school boards across the country, local school officials faced allegations they were pushing critical race theory in the curriculum.

Other culture war issues also surfaced. In one instance, a woman read dirty passages from two books that teachers recommended to students. She wanted the books removed from the school.

While the board still wore masks at its meeting Monday, not everyone in the audience did.

And that's another thing: Few attended the three-hour meeting – about 10 in all. They stayed quiet throughout.

The board drew a grand total of one speaker during public comments. Her name was Jeanette Quirk of La Grange Highlands. She praised the high school.

Because of boisterous meetings, the school board changed things. Late last year, members started meeting at the Reber Center auditorium, rather than their traditional board chambers. This accommodated the larger crowds and kept the board at a distance from the audience.

Before public comments these days, board President Kari Dillon reads a warning that police will deal with speakers who violate the rules.

That admonition may have seemed out of place at Monday's meeting, given the new peace.

But this week's quiet may be a lull.

In Illinois, school board members are unpaid.