A Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Elementary District 181 Board member is calling the board’s decision to not vote on a full, in-person option for the start of the 2020-21 school year an injustice.
Bill Cotter, who was appointed to the board in June to fill the vacancy created with the resignation of William Merchantz, addressed his concerns about the board’s decision in a letter to the editor sent Wednesday to local media. He was the only board member Monday to vote against opening schools only with hybrid and parallel remote learning options.
“An overwhelming majority of respondents to a D181-commissioned survey wanted the board to adopt a five-day per week, in-person reopening plan for our schools,” Cotter wrote. “Those respondents, and the D181 community at large, were deprived of an up-or-down vote on that reopening plan. The failure to call for a vote on that plan was an injustice.”
Cotter wrote that while the injustice is trivial, compared to those that Martin Luther King faced while writing from a Birmingham jail cell, his call for constant vigilance against injustice must not be ignored.
“To that end, I am calling on my fellow D181 board members to reconsider their adoption of an ad hoc, ill-defined “hybrid” reopening plan and allow for an up-or-down vote on in-person reopening plan presented at last week’s special board meeting,” Cotter wrote. He added that he will introduce action items to that effect at Monday’s regular board meeting.
“Justice_ to say nothing of our students’ achievement of their full academic, social and emotional potential _ demands nothing less of us,” Cotter wrote.
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He said Wednesday that he preferred not to comment on why he decided to write his letter to the editor, rather than only bring up his concerns again at Monday’smeeting.
The District 181 administration recommended to the board at its July 30 meeting that it approve offering both a full, in-person and a parallel online learning option. After considerable discussion and community comments, the board scrapped the idea of a full, in-person option and replaced it with a hybrid model, which combines in-person and online learning. District 181 teachers supported the hybrid model. That model was approved Monday.
A recent preliminary survey of parents indicated that about 85% favored sending their children back to school. However, at least one resident commented that the survey results are not truly accurate because of the manner in which questions were asked.
Board President Margaret Kleber said she believes that like any citizen, Cotter has the right to express his opinion publicly. “As the topic of public health and schools will be on-going, we look forward to engaging in discussions with the full board and administration in future meetings,” she said.