The folks in WestChiTown are still chatting about Barbara Erwin's move to Kentucky and a pesky little problem with her contract in St Charles. Kane County Chronicle news editor Dan Campana wondered, "Did the St. Charles school board, circa April 2005, skip the legal formality of open session and approve a five-year contract for soon-to-be departing Superintendent Barbara Erwin?" There is no record of a public vote and one out-going board member claims the contract is therefore illegal.Erwin's troubles in Kentucky have not escaped their attention, and neither have the comments made to Kentucky reporters by St Charles school leaders. Apparently, honest talk has been hard to come by for a school board and superintendent that has been deeply divided.
"Is it frustrating to anyone else that three leaders in a prominent school district only feel compelled to engage in seemingly honest conversation and in veiled trash-talk knowing it will appear across state lines?
Only in the St. Charles school district can a change of the guard – be it the board or the superintendent – bring with it a stranger level of dysfunction.
Going back to Erwin’s new, soon-to-be abandoned, contract, maybe it really is an odd string of coincidences, or maybe something illegal did happen. Chances are very
little will ever come of it.Don’t let that overshadow the greater issue.
If the people...in D-303 can’t trust your school board to tell you when and why your superintendent is being rewarded with a new contract, what does that mean for the more basic issues? You know, like educating the children.
And this from the St Charles Republican.
1 comment:
So now St. Charles is experiencing the controversy Dr. Erwin leaves in her wake. I wouldn't be surprised if they discover other "improprieties" after she leaves. As an educator with years of supervisory experience, I'm surprised Dr. Erwin allowed the 303 Board to extend her contract without a public vote. Then again, it appears that an understanding of the local laws is not her strong suit. I don't know what to say about the Board of Education's decision to hire her except that--she's only in it to increase her retirement benefits. Once she has the requisite time she'll leave. They're betting in Scottsdale she won't last greater than 2 years. Those folks are pretty savvy and I'd give even odds they are right. Good luck to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Hopefully she can't do too much damage in that short a time frame.
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