HP_052418

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6 | May 24, 2018 | The highland park landmark news hplandmark.com ‘We will not go away until [Dr. Dignam] is removed’ Superintendent hit with barrage of accusations NEIL MILBERT Freelance Reporter The plummeting morale of teachers in Township High School District 113 remained a hot-button issue at the May 15 meeting of the board of education in Deerfield. And the community wants action and answers. “What does the board of education plan to do to right this ship?” said Jaime Stasiorowski, Deerfield’s District Education Association vice president. A Deerfield parent, Katie Bittner, demanded that the board fire District 113 School Superintendent Dr. Chris Dignam. She said “his conduct has seriously damaged our school district” and made several allegations in arguing for his termination. Among her most serious accusations were: bullying, racism, coverups and lying. “The community unequivocally stands behind our teachers, the teachers’ aides, the custodians and the administrative assistants,” Bittner told the board. “We will not go away until this man is removed.” Dignam issued the following statement: “We hear the concerns from our school community and will continue to work collaboratively with our staff to ensure we are cultivating a positive learning environment for our students.” At the May 1 meeting, some of the teachers alleged that when Dignam was principal at Lane Tech many teachers and administrators left the Chicago school because of deteriorating morale caused by adverse working conditions. In support of that argument, District Education President Marty Esgar, who is on the faculty at Deerfield, and Ceri Tanimoto, who also teaches at Deerfield, read a letter from a Lane Tech department chair and teacher for 14 years. It read that she left because of “an autocratic atmosphere with no kindness and respect” and because “punitive action was taken against those who disagreed (with Dr. Dignman).” Deerfield parent Lisa Helfand said she is “deeply concerned” and asked the board why “there is no policy to improve staff retention rates.” She also wanted to know why the board gave Dignam a big raise and extended his contract midway through his first year as superintendent. “By a 4-3 vote his threeyear contract was extended to five years, he was given a $45,000 raise for each of the years and the raise was retroactive for a total increase of $225,000 (for the life of the contract),” District Education Association President elect Jerry Lavin told The Leader. Board member David Small questioned the substance to the comments about oppression of faculty members and support staff. “If there are examples of retaliation, I’d like to see this addressed and corrected,” Small said. “Let’s try to understand the cause (of the problems). I’d like to see a very strong collaboration.” “We need more communication rather than confrontation,” agreed board member Alena Lube. “The first step in addressing this is acknowledging that the people have been heard.” Prior to adjournment to closed session there was another opportunity for New exec team assembled; New food provider selected Neil Milbert, Freelance Reporter Elizabeth Garlovsky was elected the new president of the Township High School District 113 Board of Education during the reorganization meeting May 14 by a 5-2 vote. David Small and Alena Laube dissented. Garlovsky is an attorney who grew up in Highland Park and now resides in Deerfield and was elected to the board in April 2017. Veteran board member Stacey Meyer was elected vice president and Assistant Superintendent of Finance Ali Mehanti was elected treasurer, both by unanimous vote. citizens to comment and Bittner, Esgar and Lavin delivered scathing rebuttals. “When the fox is in the hen house, you don’t need focus groups, you don’t need all this discussion,” New Food Service Quest Food Management was awarded a fiveyear contract to provide cafeteria service to Highland Park and Deerfield high schools, starting in the 2018-19 school year. Quest is replacing Sodexo, which has provided service for more than two decades after a 14-member committee headed made up of students and staff members from both schools recommended Quest. As a result of the contract with Quest, the district will save $1.42 million in food costs over the next five years. “It’s clear to me it’s going to be an extraordinary step up,” board member Small said. Lavin said. “You remove the fox and patch up the hen house.” This story was trimmed to fit print constraints. To see the full story, please go to <strong>HP</strong>Landmark.com North Shore School D112 bOard of Education Full-day kindergarten furniture to cost about $300,000 NEIL MILBERT Freelance Reporter Dr. Kevin Ryan, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, made a presentation to the North Shore School District 112 Board of Education May 15 on the furniture upgrades that will be installed when the district goes from half-day to fullday kindergarten for the 2018-19 school year. He said because of the integration of laptops and tablets, schools throughout the state are going away from traditional classroom models. There will be 18 classrooms involved in the upgrade. Ryan said the cost of the furniture won’t exceed $20,000 per classroom and the total project cost won’t exceed $360,000. “It will be much less than that,” he added, “probably $306,000.” School-condition update Three representatives of the Darien architectural firm Wight and Co. presented the results of its preliminary facility condition assessment and educational alignment study. The firm was hired in February to guide the district through their facilities planning by evaluating the physical condition of the nine schools that will be open next year. “We see a lot of potential,” Leanne Meyer- Smith, the firm’s vicepresident/architect, told the board. “We wanted to whet your appetite and show you what we can achieve.” Wight and Co. has surveyed the district’s seven elementary schools and two middle school buildings and evaluated their condition. Contained within each of the evaluations were ratings, from poor to excellent. The Wight and Co. timetable calls for a cost range update June 5, cost estimates over the summer, and planning recommendations in September.
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