D-219 To Save Taxpayers $42 Million, Settle With More Ex-Staff

SKOKIE, IL — The District 219 Board of Education is set to approve an final amended version of its budget for the 2017-2018 school year at a special meeting Wednesday. The final version includes $31 million in transfers to the debt service fund, which will result in savings of more than $42 million to taxpayers, according to Assistant Superintendent Eric Trimberger. At the same meeting, the board is set to approve a settlement agreement with an undisclosed employee for the third time in a month.

The interfund transfers come from the operating reserves of two of the district's funds, $21 million from the educational fund and $10 million from the operations and maintenance fund. Trimberger said they will allow the district to pay off bonds issued in 2010 after a 10-year term and save taxpayers an estimated $12 million in interest payments in addition to the remaining balance.

The fund transfers were adjusted as a result of a $1.3 million settlement between the district and a custodial company to end disputes over unpaid bills, according to a memo to the board from Trimberger.

A settlement agreement the board approved at its June 5 meeting said GCA Services Group had been contracted to perform custodial, maintenance and grounds-keeping duties for the district between August 2006 and June 2017.

But after the expiration of the contract, GCA sent the district a notice demanding nearly $2.9 million in unpaid bills for services the company performed during the contract, according to the agreement.

The district denied the claim, saying it was "entitled to set-off due to GCA's improper invoicing and performance" of its duties. After discussions with a mediator, both sides agreed to accept the reduced payment.

The final amended budget for the 2018 fiscal year must be approved before the end of the budget year, June 31.

Administrators plan to present a preliminary budget for next fiscal year at the board's next regular meeting July 18.

At the June 27 special meeting, board members are also due to approve a settlement agreement with an unspecified employee. No information was disclosed ahead of the meeting about the employee's identity, any potential severance payment or any reason for the employee's departure.

Such opacity is not uncommon for the District 219 board when it comes to severing ties with staff. At its last meeting, the board approved the release of one employee and the dismissal of another without any discussion or explanation. One board member questioned if the secrecy was necessary.

"Are we being as forthcoming as possible on this?" asked board member Linda Lampert.

"Well, we're just doing the motion right now, and then we'll go into discussion, correct?" said member Mark Sproat. It was not correct. No discussion followed.

"Typically in these cases we don't talk about the personnel," said Superintendent Steven Isoye. "Because you're talking about particular individuals, those discussions are held in closed [session] because that is an exception to the rule of the Open Meetings Act."

In fact, the Illinois Open Meetings Act does allow for closed-session discussions of personnel matters, but it also places no restrictions on the ability of board members or administrators to acknowledge who they are dismissing, the reasons for their departure or what kind of settlement or severance agreements are being signed. The law clearly provides the option – rather than the requirement – of secrecy in order for boards to sometimes discuss confidential matters.

"Nothing in this Section or this Act shall be construed to require that any meeting be closed to the public," the act says. And nothing in the law prevents those who were in attendance at a closed-session meeting from talking about it.

When asked if the district was being as "forthcoming" as it could, Isoye said his practice was to require a public records request be filed in order to release any information about employees who depart the district.

"Where we're forthcoming is based upon any of the documentation that can be [obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request]," Isoye told Patch, declining to speak about recently accepted settlements or the one the board is set to consider Wednesday. "Whenever it's an employee matter, it's something that I don't like to just off-the-cuff talk about," the superintendent explained.

Illinois lawmakers are considering amending laws regulating confidential negotiated settlements with school employees and restrictions on information sharing between districts in the wake of reports about the handling of accusations of misconduct in Chicago Public Schools.

Among the proposals introduced in Springfield is House Bill 5914, sponsored by Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills), which would amend the Freedom of Information Act and Personnel Records Review Act to allow for administrators to share internal investigative findings and discipline with other school districts.

If an school administrator under investigation for workplace misconduct resigns, as Patch has reported, potential future employers may not be aware of the reasons for their departure due to the confidentiality clauses in employee separation agreements.