Bessie Rhodes Closure Vote on Monday; Opposition from Civil Rights Group

And District 65 Hires a New CFO from Joliet Public Schools

On Monday, June 10th, the District 65 Board intends to hold a vote on the closure of Bessie Rhodes. You can read Monday’s agenda. On Friday, the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights sent a letter to the District 65 board opposing closure of Bessie Rhodes. The letter is signed by Beatriz A. Diaz-Pollack the Director of Education Equity at the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. You can read the letter here.

In the letter, Ms. Diaz-Pollack suggests that the District’s Student Assignment Process (SAP) was insufficiently conducted to meet the criteria of an inclusive Race Equity Impact Assessment (REIA);

A comprehensive and transparent REIA process would involve community, parent, student and staff voices in intentional data collection and analysis to examine how different racial and ethnic groups are likely to be impacted. Such a process was previously contemplated in the Student Assignment Planning ('SAP') process, but evidently was not engaged in with the degree of fidelity or rigor to ensuring a reliable and transparent outcome. A robust and expertly conducted process that centers racial equity is critical to avoiding unintended consequences and harm.

I agree with this criticism. Not only was it insufficient to meet the criteria of an REIA¹, I still contend it was a violation of the Open Meetings Act. I’ve submitted a letter to the Illinois Attorney General but still haven’t heard back. There were at least two meetings held where 3 board members are listed as being in attendance² - this is the very definition of a meeting under the Act.³

Either way, the resolution to close Bessie Rhodes remains on the Board Agenda for Monday

Again, I cant help but look at this situation and see another unnecessary mess created by the Horton Administration. There was no compelling reason to hold these meetings in secret, other than to shield participants from their opinions being made public. With respect to equity, the Horton administration framed almost everything within an “equity lens” but couldn’t even be bothered to meet the REIA standard? I thought we hired Dr. Horton for his equity chops?!

Yet, despite these shortcomings, in 2023, the ISBE gave the SAP committee a “Those Who Excel Award.” You can read the nomination letters:

• Letter from Monique Parsons, ETHS Board member

• Letter from Kenneth Cherry, Evanston Recreation Manager

• Letter from Henry Wilkins, Founder of Evanston STEM Schools⁴

The last nomination letter clearly states the the plan selected by the Board was precisely the plan created by the SAP committee, furthering my argument that this committee should’ve been compliant with the Open Meetings Act.

History was made in April 2022, when the school board unanimously voted 7-0 to approve of the plan our team submitted under the leadership of Sarita Smith

At the current moment, I urge the Board to do the following:

• Table the closure vote for Bessie Rhodes indefinitely.

• Conduct a SAP3 committee, as a “special board committee” in compliance with the Open Meetings Act and the REIA criteria. Provide recordings and full meeting minutes to the public, as the Board does with the Finance Committee, Building Committee, and so on.

• In the SAP3 committee, work on a comprehensive student assignment process that includes all closures and changes. The community deserves the full truth on the process - which other schools are going to close and when?

• Open the full meeting minutes, notes, and recordings from the SAP1 and SAP2 committees that were in obvious violation of the Open Meetings Act.

Lastly, for those keeping score on the District’s food expenses - sources have told me that the SAP committee meetings were fully catered events.

New CFO to be Named

Also on the agenda for Monday’s meeting is the appointment of a new CFO. It’s been almost a full year since the prior CFO, Rafael Obafemi left District 65 to join former District 65 head of HR and current superintendent Khelghati in Oswego.⁵ During this time, District 65 had no CFO and lost Kathy Zalewski, the Treasurer who had been with District 65 for 23 years.

Unnamed sources have told me that the new CFO is Tamara Mitchell, the Asst. Superintendent for Business & Financial Services at Joliet Public Schools. I haven’t been able to confirm or deny this information - I reached out to the District this morning but don’t expect a response until Monday. The agenda also includes a resolution to appoint the new CFO to also fill the role of Treasurer.

1. I find this claim absolutely accurate and also ironic, given the language that Dr. Horton and the Board would use around the equity intention of the SAP process. Sometimes in this town, I get the sense that it is “equity for thee, not for me.”

2. These were the ONLY two meetings where attendance records were made public and in both cases 3 active board members were present in the meeting. This is a textbook case of a meeting under the Act.

3. A majority of a quorum, which for District 65 means = 7 Members, so a quorum is 4/7. Then a majority of a quorum is 3/4.

4. This letter was authored before his wife, Mya Wilkins, was elected to the District 65 school board.

5. Recall that Dr. Horton was paid for helping get Mr. Khelghati this job.