District 74 board veep quits after top staff contracts approved

• Reprints

Updated: February 27, 2012 8:39AM

The approval of three administrators’ contracts by Lincolnwood School District 74 officials at special meeting Saturday morning was swiftly followed by the resignation of the school board’s vice president and further scrutiny by residents about the district’s spending and alleged lack of transparency.

Officials announced the meeting Friday when it also issued the administration’s preliminary response to a Jan. 8 open letter to the board that questioned specific expenditures and Superintendent Mark Klaisner’s performance. The open letter had prompted a standing room-only crowd of 100 to attend and air concerns at the school board’s Jan. 12 monthly meeting.

Dozens more returned for Saturday’s meeting at Lincoln Hall Middle School.

After reconvening from closed session, officials moved to extend the contracts of Klaisner, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Susan Brandt, and Assistant Superintendent for Business Kevin Nohelty through June 30, 2013, despite requests from the public to first conduct a “thorough and complete evaluation” of Klaisner’s performance.

Board member Scott Anderson’s attempts to delay contract renewals “pending investigation into issues raised in the open letter to the Board of Education” failed.

Klaiser’s contract received “no” votes from board member Anderson and Georjean Hlepas Nickell and Board Vice President Richard Ruderman but passed with four votes.

Additionally, Ruderman and Anderson voted against renewing the contract for Brandt, while Hlepas Nickell and Anderson voted against Nohelty’s contract.

Upon the approval of all three contracts, Ruderman, a board member since 2007, suddenly announced he was resigning from post.

Visibly frustrated during the board’s last two public meetings, Ruderman said: “The majority of the board has made decisions today that I cannot abide by based on the oath I took when I took public office. I’m bound by ethical reasons to withdraw from my Board of Education District 74 seat, effective immediately.”

Audience members applauded his announcement. He then packed his briefcase, put on his coat, and shook Anderson’s hand before walking out the door.

In addition to serving as vice president, Ruderman was the board’s secretary and finance committee chair.

Hlepas Nickell said the board appreciated Ruderman’s contributions and had considered resigning herself but first wanted to rights the wrongs of the past to best serve the district’s students.

The school administration replied to residents’ questions about Klaisner’s performance and expenditures for personal cell phones, car repairs, meals, and multiple out-of-state conferences by issuing a letter on Friday.

“When we started building our teams and set our goals, we frequently spoke about being a ‘lighthouse’ district (innovative and forward thinking) and to establish ourselves in Illinois, the United States, and globally,” the letter states.

It continues to state that district’s expenses are typical for a “$25 million enterprise” and that “additional investments” are necessary to maintaining its “21st century global curriculum” that allow students to compete at national and international levels.

Klaisner issued the administration’s Jan. 20 response letter, though the open letter signed by 13 residents had been addressed to the Board of Education.

Mark Collens, one of the signatories of the open letter and a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the district in November, called the district’s reply letter “non-responsive, evasive and choreographed,” saying that it “doesn’t address the issues that have been raised.

“It feels it’s a boilerplate answer from an attorney,” he added.

Collens said the school board has had no direct communication with him or other concerned taxpayers.

He and a group of 20 residents have committed to holding the school board and district officials accountable, he said.

“We are a motivated, highly-skilled group of people,” Collens said. “And we have not been treated very nicely by the school district.”

Resident Joel Perzov, who had been organizing information and receipts obtained from the school district through Freedom of Information Act requests, said: “I don’t think they’ve answered any of the important questions. They responded in generalities.”

Perzov said residents are asking specific questions about expenses, such as how much the district was reimbursed by board members, but are not getting direct answers. He believes this is partially because no one knows the answers.

“Some of these (questionable expenses) they’ve had since April 2010 are approaching two years,” he said. “And they’re just being reviewed now? Again I raise questions.”

The administration’s letter states, “Receipts are being reviewed and additional reimbursements are being secured where and if appropriate.”

“They should have been doing the work that I’ve tried to do,” he said of his efforts to closely review receipts and ask detailed questions. In response to residents’ concerns about expenses associated with Klaisner’s district-issued 2011 Cadillac, the administration’s letter states: “As has been the past practice of SD74, our superintendents have received full compensation … When Dr. Klaisner took the position and signed the contract, the business manager explained that all costs were included — car, maintenance, gas, and insurance.”

Perzov said this is not an adequate explanation to justify the district paying for Klaisner’s car expenses, including $4,100 in gas and $2,000 in body work, not to mention the car’s $45,000 sticker price.

“The superintendent tries to justify his expenses despite the expressed language of his contract,” he said. “We are not satisfied with anything that they’re giving us.”

Perzov and Collens both said providing a high-quality education is not an excuse to spend lavishly and travel the world for conferences.

Klaisner, Perzov said, has a “a vision that is inexplicable.”

“I am not interested in us in being a ‘lighthouse to the world,’” he said. “I’m interested in providing the best education we can for the children in Lincolnwood.”

Klaisner said the district will soon provide a follow-up letter regarding specific reimbursements.