Monday, June 04, 2007

Erwin probe set to begin, Regional Superintendent says honor contract and move on

Kane County Regional Superintendent Clem Mejia told the Kane County Chronicle that the St. Charles school board should uphold the previous board’s intentions and move on.

“I say honor the contract. ... Dr. [Barbara] Erwin didn’t do anything wrong,” Mejia, whose tenure ends June 30, said Friday. “It’s on both sides; that’s why you have contracts. They’re there to be honored, whether it’s one day, one year or 10 years.”

But Erwin's contract amendment two is under investigation by Kane County state's attorney John Barsanti, and that outcome is uncertain.

Mejia says voiding the agreement would be an extreme measure on the part of Barsanti, since such drastic action is only taken after multiple Open Meeting Act violations.

Mejia apparently did not say how many violations of the Open Meeting Act should be tolerated before the law is enforced, but he offered a sense of what constitutes business-as-usual.

“I’m going to draw on the 20-years I’ve been in office: If there was a violation, the state’s attorney would send a very stern letter stating ‘Don’t do it again,’” Mejia said.

Sweet.

Barsanti allowed District 303 extra time to gather the necessary meeting agendas, minutes and recordings of the closed session conversations, and said he expects his office will begin their inquiry soon. He has declined to issue a timeline on how long the review will take.

Despite the impending investigation and the many hours she has spent with fellow board members trying to ratify Erwin’s contract, District 303's Board Chair Kathleen Hewell says the district has inherently approved the contract by granting Erwin 85 sick days credit since 2005.

If the investigation finds fault with district's processes, the district could be issued civil sanctions, including fines, or have the contract voided, Barsanti said.

Unless the contract is declared valid as of the date written, the board may still be subject to penalties for officially ratifying a contract, in 2007, that includes an excessive number of sick days in violation of PA 94-004.

Erwin’s original contract would have expired on June 30, but the amended contract (signed before June 1, 2005) extended the agreement until 2010. If she remains an employee of the district after July 1, she stands to have another 85 sick days credited to her account. Her last day in the district is now said to be July 13th.

The Illinois State Board of Education declined to comment citing a lack of information. An attorney with the Illinois Association of School Boards also was unavailable for comment on Friday.

This from the Kane County Chronicle.

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