Education Matters US

Big Hollow School District 38 is hiring a Director of Technology. This position and how it is being handled is being questioned by residents of the district. The job posting can be found here. Below is the email I received from a resident providing background for the approval of the position:

The new director-level position was never discussed or introduced at a school Board meeting prior to December 15. Citing recent financial hardships, the Board has repeatedly voted down community supported staffing such as a school nurse and other areas of genuine need. Since the school already employs a well-regarded and reputable IT person, the immediate need for a director level role is a previously unidentified need.

• The position was recommended by one of the School Board members via a confidential report (to the Board) to bolster the case for the new position. The recommending School Board member has a background in Technology and is currently unemployed. The recommending School Board member then recused himself from personnel discussions related to the position due to his own desire to apply. In short, he wishes to apply for the job that he just created.
• The job position was posted the following day on the school website (December 16th) without a job description, experience/educational requirements, or any list of tasks and responsibilities. Nonetheless, the Board appears prepared to take action and approve a candidate for hiring at the January 19th meeting. Clearly, the job ideation, job posting, interviewing and possible fulfillment of a director level position in less than 30 days (including holiday break) is a breathtaking achievement for the Big Hollow School Board. While the public had no idea that a Director of Technology was so screamingly urgent, the board seems prepared to hire one of their own. In fact, a board member is set to resign at Monday night meeting.

I have emailed the school board and superintendent with questions about this situation. I have also called and had to left a message for Superintendent Pazanin. I have not received a response from the district about this situation.

If all of this information is substantiated, it again shows the arrogance of the elected officials to feel like they are a protected class and should receive personal perks just for being elected.

A similar situation occurred in Huntley District 158 back in 2006 when they created a position and then hired a fellow board member to the position for $101,000.

Trust with the community is something that is hard to come by for Big Hollow as shown by this current act of arrogance and their threatening style to get their referendum passed and violated the Open Meetings Laws in the process. Read about those tactics in the following articles:

• Big Hollow Information
• Big Hollow Wants Your Money
• Big Hollow After Your Wallets Again
• Big Hollow Cuts Art and Music