Education Matters US

The chicanery going on with the Gavin District 37 School Board is ridiculous. It is just one more example of the pat to play system prevalent throughout all levels of government in Illinois. It also shows how the school board in many districts in uncontrollable with just elections. We need recall to end the pay to play systems in Illinois.

To recap the story, the Gavin Board President Barbara Mende and 3 fellow board members circumvented the no-bid contract laws to hire a mover by splitting the contract into 2 payments. When caught, she was convicted. Now, the remaining three board members involved have refused to resign and in fact one of them has been elected as the Board Vice President.

Three board members who approved illegal action by the former board president refused to resign from the Gavin School District 37 board.

Steve Moulis, Kristine Johnson and board president Phil Mack all defiantly refused to step down from the board Monday despite approving a vote last year that was deemed illegal last month by a Lake County Circuit Court Judge.

In fact, in an ironic twist, Moulis was elected board vice president Monday. Mack, the former vice president, moved up to president.

The shuffling took place after former president Barb Mende was kicked off the board for being convicted of bid stringing, a felony that could put her behind bars for up to three years.

This is not the first time school boards skirt the law and use no-bid contracts. The most egregious and costly are the use of consortiums, many run by former school superintendents, like the Illinois Energy Consortium. Grayslake District 46 did this with the purchase of over priced cleaning supplies from a referendum supporter. Yet, others throw out bids to make sure they get the vendor they want even if it costs ten of thousands more.

At least one district though has attempted to end the pay to play system and tries to do what is right. That districts is Cary District 26.