Tinley Resident Calls Lincoln-Way 210 Finances a 'Ponzi Scheme' in November Speech

Lee R. Talley of Tinley Park was an educator and administrator for almost 30 years in Thornton Township High School District 205. He also served on the Board of Education in Blue Island.

Talley's July 2015 speech was published yesterday here:

http://patch.com/illinois/mokena/retired-educator-provides-money-saving-guidance-lincoln-way-210-board-education-august-13-2015

In November 2015, Talley spoke again at the Board of Education meeting, and had a simple request:

"Look at the faces out here tonight," Talley told Board members. " Look them in the eye and tell them you know for certain you're doing the absolute best for their children."

Likening the financial mismanagement of Lincoln-Way 210 to a "Ponzi scheme," Talley reminded the Board members that they are supposed to "be responsive to the needs of the people it represents," as stated on the welcome statement on the District website.

Talley said he hoped that four members of the Board would have the intelligence and courage to right the wrong that had been done to the people in the school district.

The speech in full:

Speech to Lincoln Way High School District 210 BOE
Thursday, November 12, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPb3XA_iGKg

"THE "WELCOME" STATEMENT ON THE DISTRICT'S WEBSITE STATES ONE OF ITS GOALS AS: "THE BOARD OF EDUCATION WANTS TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE IT REPRESENTS."

"AS I WAS SAYING LAST JULY BEFORE I WAS CUT-OFF... YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO THE ENTIRE DISTRICT TO START THIS PROCESS ALL OVER AGAIN. THIS TIME WITH COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY AND WITH ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDED. WE NEED TO GET THIS RIGHT!

"THERE IS NO SHAME IN ADMITTING YOU WERE LIED TO BY MR. WYLLIE. HE LIED TO ALL OF US. WE ALL THOUGHT HE WAS A FINANCIAL WIZARD. TURNS OUT HE WAS A MAGICIAN WHO MADE THE MONEY DISAPPEAR. I KNOW IT WOULD BE EMBARRASSING TO ADMIT THAT. BUT THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU, OR ME, OR THEM. IT'S ABOUT THE KIDS.
THE FACT IS YOU DIDN'T AND STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. THE STATE WAS NEVER COMING IN HERE. YOU MADE "A PANIC DECISION." AND NOW IN LESS THAT 60 DAYS YOU DECIDED TO CLOSE A SCHOOL AND FLUSH $100 MILLION.

"YOU STARTED WITH THE RESULT YOU WANTED AND WORKED BACK FROM THAT. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANY SPECIFIC RESEARCH PRESENTED TO JUSTIFY YOUR ACTIONS. YOU CHOSE POLITICS OVER CHILDREN.
AS A STOCKHOLDER IN THE CORPORATION I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH MY MONEY? WE ALL WANT TO KNOW. YOU'VE MADE A MESS OF THE FINANCES. YOU'RE THE CAUSE. YOU SIGNED OFF ON IT. NOW TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT.

"IN MY 30 YEARS OF EDUCATION I HAVE NEVER SEEN FINANCIAL RECORDS LIKE THESE. MISAPPROPRIATIONS, AMBIGUITIES, AND GENERALITIES. THE DEL CLOSE SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTING. IN SHORT, WE HAVE NEITHER THE TIME NOR THE TOLERANCE FOR ANY MORE INEXACTITUDES.

"DO ANY OF YOU BOARD MEMBERS DISAGREE THAT THIS DECISION WAS MADE TOO QUICKLY AND WITHOUT ALL THE FACTS? THAT THIS DECISION WAS BOTH ABRITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS? RAISE YOUR HAND OR SPEAK UP IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT.

"YOU'RE ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS, DUTY-BOUND, SWORN TO UPHOLD THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OFFICE. BUT THE FISCAL MISMANAGEMENT THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING HERE...YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES. EITHER YOU'VE BEEN NEGLIGENT OR COMPLICIT. PICK YOUR POISON. BUT YOU ALREADY KNOW WHICH, AND WILL HAVE TO LIVE IT. IT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY.

"WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT YOU CAN'T KEEP DRINKING CHAMPAGNE WITH A BEER POCKETBOOK. YOU KNEW THIS WAS COMING OVER FIVE YEARS AGO AND YET CONTINUED TO MAKE BAD DECISIONS THAT HAVE COST US MILLIONS. SHUTTERING A BUILDING AND CONTINUING THE SAME FINANCIAL PRACTICES WILL NOT SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS.

"AND YET HERE YOU ARE, ASKING US TO TRUST YOUR JUDGEMENT AGAIN. WE DID BEFORE AND LOOK WHERE IT'S GOT US. TO QUOTE WOODY ALLEN: "IF THERE WERE ANY JUSTICE, TRUST WOULD BE A FOUR-LETTER WORD."
YOU CLAIM THAT THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT, BUT YOU'VE DONE EVERYTHING TO SHOW OTHERWISE, ESPECIALLY CONTEMPT. I HATE TO TELL YOU THIS, BUT YOU WORK FOR US, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

"YOU'VE TURNED YOUR BACKS ON THESE GOOD PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRIED TO HELP YOU SOLVE THIS CRISIS. YOU DON'T ALLOW YOURSELVES TO BE QUESTIONED IN PUBLIC, DON'T RESPOND TO EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS, AND BASICALLY IGNORE THE PUBLIC.

"THEN DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO HIDE ANY AND ALL INFORMATION FROM PRYING EYES. SORRY WE'RE SUCH AN INCONVENIENCE. LET ME REMIND, "THE GRAVEYARD IS FULL OF INDISPENSABLE PEOPLE."
AND THEN YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO COMPLAIN THAT PEOPLE ARE MAKING THIS PERSONAL. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT YOU DON'T MESS WITH -- A PERSON'S FAMILY AND A PERSON'S FINANCES. YOU CHOSE BOTH. THEY WERE ASKING ABOUT BUSINESS, AND YOU CHOSE TO MAKE IT PERSONAL.

"HERE'S WHAT I KNOW...THE ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS DECISION TO CLOSE LW NORTH WAS MADE AT LEAST 18 MONTHS BEFORE IT WAS PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED. IT WAS THE CULMINATION OF DISCUSSIONS AND PLANNING WITH THE OLD SUPT., FORMER BOARD MEMBERS, AND LOCAL POLITICIANS. AND THEN FOR GOOD MEASURE, ROLLING OVER A MORE THAN GENEROUS TEACHER'S CONTRACT THAT YOU REALLY CAN'T AFFORD, IN EXCHANGE FOR A PUBLIC DECLARATION OF, "LET'S GET ON WITH IT."

"I EQUATE THIS ENTIRE MESS TO A PONZI SCHEME WITH THE PUBLIC CAST AS "THE GREATER FOOL." THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN CUTTING BACK FOR YEARS. THE EXTRA MONEY FROM THE REFERENDUM DELAYED THE INEVITABLE. WELCOME TO WHAT OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE BEEN FACING FOR YEARS.
WE LOOKED AT THE FINANCES. IT TOOK THESE PEOPLE ONLY A MONTH TO FIND $11 MILLION IN COST-SAVINGS AND REVENUE-GENERATION. IT TOOK ME 30 MINUTES TO FIGURE OUT THAT IF YOU HAD HELD THE LINE ON EXPENSES, AND CUT ONE MILLION OUT OF YOUR BUDGET EACH OF THE PAST FIVE YEARS, THAT YOU'D HAVE $17 MILLION IN THE BANK RIGHT NOW.

"MY QUESTION IS: DO YOU RUN YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES LIKE THIS? THEN WHY WOULD YOU THINK IT'S OKAY TO RUN THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT SO RECKLESSLY? I'M JUST WONDERING HOW MUCH YOUR NEXT BAD DECISION IS GOING TO COST ME?

"THE TAXPAYERS HAVE REQUESTED A FULL FORENSIC AUDIT. YOU RESPONDED BY CHERRY-PICKING A FEW ACCOUNTS THAT YOU ALREADY KNOW WILL PASS MUSTER. SORRY, NOT GOOD ENOUGH. WE WANT A TOTAL FORENSIC AUDIT OF THE ENTIRE BUDGET. YOU CERTAINLY HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE, RIGHT?
THE SAD THING IS THAT ALL OF YOU WILL EVENTUALLY WALK AWAY FROM THIS AND LEAVE THE TAXPAYERS STUCK WITH THE BILL.

"THERE'S PLENTY TO CUT IN THIS DISTRICT. AND WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW A LINE ITEM SALARY GOES FROM OVER $100,000 ONE YEAR, TO A NEGATIVE $36,000 THE NEXT YEAR, THEN BACK UP OVER $105,000 THE FOLLOWING YEAR? HOW'S THAT HAPPEN?
YOU WANT THE KEY TO MANAGING FINANCES: IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY YOU THINK YOU NEED, BUT HOW YOU MANIPULATE THE MONEY YOU HAVE.

"THE BOARD OF EDUCATION WANTS TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE IT REPRESENTS."

"I'M HOPING THERE ARE FOUR INTELLIGENT AND REASONABLE PEOPLE ON THE BOARD THAT WILL GIVE VOICE TO THESE PEOPLE AND HAVE THE COURAGE TO RIGHT THIS WRONG? WHAT'S DONE, CAN BE UNDONE.

"I LEARNED A LONG TIME AGO, "IT IS AN IGNORANT MAN WHO THINKS HE HAS A MONOPOLY ON KNOWLEDGE."

"LOOK AT THE FACES OUT HERE TONIGHT. LOOK THEM IN THE EYE AND TELL THEM YOU KNOW FOR CERTAIN YOU'RE DOING THE ABSOLUTE BEST THING FOR THEIR CHILDREN."

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