Back to school for school boards?

January 8th, 2008 at 04:33pm Andrea Zimmermann

School superintendents perked up today over a short paragraph buried inside a 459-page gaming bill.

Naturally, the portion of House Bill 4149 giving school officials the most heartburn is not the part that describes the gobs money (on page 54) schools would be poised to receive if the measure passes. It was the part that would require all school board members to undergo training for ethics and accountability (on page 140).

Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, said Rep. Kathleen Ryg, D-Vernon Hills, wanted the mandated training due to the influx of money schools could receive through the bill that would create three new casinos and also implement a new independent gaming commission.

Rep. Brent Hassert, R-Romeoville, said during the hearing that he didn’t remember school board training being discussed during negotiations.

Mark Metzger, vice president of the Illinois Association of School Boards, said during testimony that it is unfair for legislators to single out the state’s largest group of unpaid elected officials.

Metzger also said his association’s annual conference includes training and reaches roughly 85 percent of the state’s school board members.

Micahel McCreery, executive director of the Illinois Association of Superintendents of Schools, said at the very least, lawmakers should give the topic its full due by creating legislation to deal specifically with school board training.

Joe Alesandrini, vice president of Pekin Community High School Board, cut straight to the heart of the matter.

“Mandating training will not stop unethical behavior,” Alesandrini said today during testimony to the Illinois House Gaming Committee.

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