Hansen's Bittersweet Departure

Barbara Erwin is no longer Kentucky's problem. So, I don't monitor the WestChiTown papers on a daily basis anymore. Since she's no longer a threat here, there's something a little improper about an abiding interest there. It's like getting into somebody else's business.

But I must confess an interest in how the St Charles authorities resolve two open issues: The Erwin/Gaffney memo and the lost personnel file. So, I still peek at the papers a couple of times a week - to see if anyone still cares.

I'm glad I saw yesterday's column from Kane County Chronicle Managing Editor Kristen Turner regarding Chris Hansen. Although I have never met Mr. Hansen, after covering D303 stories for the past few months I feel like I've come to know the players. So I was pleased to see that the Chronicle softened its position on Hansen a bit. He deserved it.

But isn't that the way it always seems to go. The guy who is in that thankless job for the kids, and feels genuine remorse for not being able to make things better, acts with integrity. While others look out for their own egoes - and hope public scrutiny simply goes away, as it seems to have done.

I will always be grateful to several folks in St Charles for helping us in Kentucky avoid the perils that come with Barbara Erwin. If I could grant a wish for you in return, it would be that Gaffney and Hewell would go away too.

This from the Kane County Chronicle:

In June, the Chronicle’s editorial board called for the resignation of St. Charles school board members Christopher Hansen, Kathleen Hewell and James Gaffney.Last week, Hansen resigned, saying that he thought it was a good first step toward helping the board move forward.

That very well might be true, but Hansen’s departure is bittersweet.

The editorial board (of which I am a member) asked for all three resignations because it thought that the board’s slate needed to be wiped clean. These are three people who voted “yes” in closed session, but never in public, for a lucrative contract extension for former Superintendent Barbara Erwin. Anyone involved in that vote, the editorial board reasoned, needed to cut ties with the school district.

Hansen was the least culpable among them.

On the recording of that meeting, which happened April 11, 2005, Hansen is heard a few times asking about the proper procedure for the vote, about the legality of the vote. He asks whether the group needs to open up the public meeting again and vote there.

Sadly, he is misinformed by a fellow board member.

“Mary Jo, are we going to go out and take a vote on this?” he asks.

“No, no. We do not have to vote. All I need to know is that the majority of the board is OK with this ...” then board President Mary Jo Knipp responds.

Hansen, just like every other member of the board, had a responsibility to know the law about voting for measures in open versus closed session.It’s simple: A public body cannot take official action in closed session. The business has to be completed in the public eye. But it didn’t help when he was given bad information.

Hansen’s institutional knowledge offered guidance to newer board members. His now-former colleagues praised him for that, and those who spoke publicly after his resignation spoke highly of him.

It remains to be seen whether Hewell and Gaffney will follow.

One more note about this: Attendance by the public at Tuesday night’s board meeting was a grand total of one person, at least for the first two hours, when reporter Amelia Flood was there.Only a few weeks ago, I took several calls from people asking what they could do to change things, how they could get involved.Going to school board meetings is a great place to start.