View the public comments and noteworthy statements from the 3/17/2022 D158 School Board Meeting below.
1:42: Mother is concerned about the district’s future Covid mitigation stances on masking and vaccination and discusses adverse effects for children.
1:46: Mother reads lengthy list of comments from D158 Parent Union members regarding drugs, alcohol, vaping, and violence in the schools, particularly at the high school.
1:50: Mother discusses district’s recent IEP presentation and suggests that the district use their social media channels to do a better job advertising programs like Smart Social.
2:36: Later in the meeting, the board addresses the list of parent comments regarding drugs and violence, stating “we’re all very much aware that discipline is becoming a bit of an issue at times.”
The board continued to state that of the second speaker of the night representing our parents, “she speaks well, but she’s making statements on behalf of other people – we have no idea who those complaints are coming from, and I don’t think that’s fair presentation… I think many of those statements were blanket, overreaching statements that I don’t believe accurately depict what is going on at the high school.”
The D158 Parent Union strongly encourages our parents to attend the monthly board meetings and bring your concerns to the board in person.
We understand that with this month’s meeting falling on St. Patrick’s Day, many of our parents utilized email and our tip line to provide comments they wanted read in their absence. However, the board seems to place more weight on a dozen comments read by a dozen people versus a list of your comments read by one.
View the public comments and noteworthy statements from the 2/11/2022 D158 School Board Meeting below. This meeting had the most public attendees we have seen since our group was formed. More than 150 audience members filled the board room, board overflow room, and the lobby of the Administration building.
1:28– Mother says how wonderful this week has been for her children as they have unmasked at school, and that her daughter chose to wear a mask in one class because the teacher’s daughter is immunocompromised. Applauds allowing the kids to make choices.
1:30 – Father states that he hopes the Parent Union gains more influence with the board as it supports parents, and he wants to see it have as much power as the Teachers’ Union. He is concerned about the kids’ ongoing mental health.
1:32 – Mother points out that the Parent Union raised $5,000 in four days to join the unmasking lawsuit because of all of the support and influence from the community. Questions why the District is still involved in appealing the lawsuit to overturn the court ruling to re-mask kids.
1:35 – Father states that he removed all three of his children from D158 last year because he has lost faith in the district, and their decision to try to appeal the unmasking lawsuit does not reinforce his faith, especially when we are only one of a handful of states with a mandate.
1:38 – Mother addresses the issue of masking on the buses and how the federal mandate for masks on public transportation does not apply to school buses. (Our Parent Union website has the text of the mandate and transportation law citations at this link you would like to know more.) She also asks why masking is being enforced for school sports.
1:41 – Student says he has not enjoyed wearing masks for two years and feels punished and wants them to continue to be optional. Says school is telling them to “follow the science” and wear masks, but when adults don’t have to wear them, he feels punished. “Why can’t school be like restaurants?”
1:44 – Mother says she does not understand the opposition to masks and says her child has never come home upset that he is wearing a mask because she has told him it’s something that’s necessary.
1:46 – Mother says that her kids had a great week and the masks must remain optional. The masks only provide a barrier to growth and opportunity. Discusses how her first grader has been masked her entire school career until this week and now has a speech impediment which she is receiving speech therapy for.
1:50 – Mother reads emails and voicemails from parents and teachers from the Parent Union tip line sharing positive experiences, and unfortunately a few negative ones, including D158 teachers posting negative social media posts swearing at their own students for unmasking.
1:54 – Mother of graduated students of D158 thanks them for giving a wonderful education to her children. She is the waste co-chair for the Environmental Defenders and was happy that D158 participated in this initiative to reduce food waste.
1:56 – Mother says her maskless children are the happiest she has seen them in a couple years. She pivots to discuss inappropriate Youtube videos getting through the district’s Chromebook and was unable to install a filter or channel blocker. She would like one to be installed on the school end.
1:59 – Mother pulled her children from the district and wants them to return but is having second thoughts knowing that the district is appealing the mask lawsuit. She asks how the district can truly heal when they are appealing the lawsuit and notes that they will likely be served with many lawsuits if they re-instate masking.
2:03 – Father says the board embraced questionable practices without looking at the actual science and data and that indoctrination is coming from the top down, both on this and on curriculum. Asks the board to stand up for the students, or put someone in their seats that can.
2:08 – Mother thanks for making masks optional. She says her mind is still not at ease on the masking though because the district is appealing the mask-removal lawsuit, and it breaks her heart. She stresses that we need personal choice.
2:12 – Mother brings her five-year-old to the podium to show them that she was denied a public education because this district would not stand up for her rights to begin kindergarten without a mask. She points out that the Leggee kindergarten teacher who wrote that unmasked students need to “kindly go F” themselves would likely have been her child’s teacher had she not been driven to homeschool.
2:15 – Mother says she is concerned that the school board is appealing the mask lawsuit and says she is concerned that they are using our taxpayer dollars to fight it. Why would the district join this appeal if, as they stated, they wanted to go mask-optional all the way back in August?
2:20 – Father shares his struggle with getting a mask exemption for his child’s IEP who has health issues with shortness of breath and dizziness. Despite information provided by his doctor, the health department sent it back saying dizziness was not a medical diagnosis.
2:25 – Mother says she is happy to see so many parents supporting tonight. Thanks the board for acting professional through this process and that she has heard 80% of students are now mask free. She felt so defeated to hear that the district is trying to overturn the mask ruling now and asks Dr. Rowe to set an example as a leader.
2:27 – Mother states that the parents’ trust has been eroded. We presented a great deal of research for months that masks did not work and were not slowing the spread. We are told our children are resilient, but parents are too, and we are not going away.
(This marks the conclusion of public comment.)
Dr. Rowe addressed some of the issues raised by parents later in the night that may interest our parents who did not stay for the entire meeting.
4:45 – Dr. Rowe understands that while many parents are happy with the unmasking, some are upset. He points out that our district’s experience, both with students and parents, was more positive than what is happening both in neighboring districts and around the country. He believes it’s time to focus on life beyond masking at school.
4:48 – The virus has mutated a few times but has gotten less contagious. He states that the vaccine is safe and proven effective scientifically. We also need to acknowledge the declining risk of the virus and is something we have to live with. At some point we must live with a level of risk. Higher-quality masks do exist for those who elect to utilize them. It is time to look past the crisis portion of this event. Our local views do not necessarily align with the decisions we have had to make. He is happy we are heading in this direction and metrics are in an extremely good place.
4:52 – Regarding the lawsuit appeal: “I listened and I heard every word of what was shared tonight. And they hit hard, to be honest with you. There’s nothing underhanded about our involvement in this appeal, we are not trying to overturn this decision or secretly want to be in a masked environment. That could not be further from the truth. But some questions have been raised.”
“We are listed in the appeal, and the fact of the matter is that we had to sign onto the appeal days before we even heard the outcome of the verdict. As a named defender in the case, we were forced to make that decision whether to be added before we knew the outcome so our attorneys could prepare that file. At that time, the direction the district was going to take was unknown. We were expecting six or seven different variations of what that court decision was. But to be totally clear, we fully accept the court decision. We are not in any way trying to overturn it in an underhanded way, because a masked environment is not an environment that we like… we were in a tough spot. I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“The attorneys explained, as I raised the question, and in fact did attempt to question why are we involved in the appeal when the governor is appealing from the state and as a named defendant, we would be subject to the appeal regardless, with the documents already filed there is no way of pulling our name off. The state is seeking the governor’s ability for a widespread mask mandate. The districts listed are seeking something different, local control and to not be restricted by the ruling of the original court case.”
He states that it has been frustrating and challenging to have different attorney groups offering different advice. “To be honest, we had a fantastic week at school. It was probably one of the best weeks we’ve had in a long time. Our students were happy, our teachers were pleased, and as I look around the state of Illinois, I want nothing to do with that, with what other schools are experiencing. I hope this path forward continues and that we don’t see what some fear will come with an unmasked environment.”
He says that he looked at data from similar states unmasked and said that the data does not show lower positivity rate or cases in similar populations from our state to others. He says he is thrilled that the board made the decision that it made, as he thinks it was the right one.
5:07 – Powerpoint of Covid-19 Mitigations is presented on screen and discussed.
5:23 – Dr. Rowe: “I have zero desire to experience what I’ve seen other schools around the state experience. We will not put children in a gym and not have their education,. I can’t do that. I’ve seen some horrific things occurring in schools around the state enforcing the mandate because they feel they are still supposed to, and I sympathize with them because I know what it feels like. They were told that they had to. But I fear for our kids if we had to go do something like that because that’s not who we are, that’s not how we treat our kids, that’s not how we fight for our kids.”
5:27 – Mr. Quagliano states that there are false narratives around the ESSR relief funds and that those are not the reason the school was doing mitigations.
5:30: Mr. Quagliano states that $350 was spent on the lawsuit appeal.
View the intro, public comments, and conclusion of the 2/6/2022 Emergency D158 School Board Meeting below. This meeting was announced two hours prior, and more than 100 parents attended in support of making masks optional and removing close-contact quarantine.
No members of the public spoke in opposition to these topics.
WGN News attended as well, and here is their clip from the 9pm news.
Introduction
Mother who is a named parent in the lawsuit speaks to the board about her expectations for the vote.
Mother reads excerpts from the court ruling and urges the school board to follow the law.
Mother discusses school’s policy of punishing “inconsistent mask wearing” that caused her healthy son to miss two weeks of school.
Father discusses how connected he feels with the parents in the community who disagree with the unlawful mask and quarantine mandates.
Father points out that historically, making rules to divide different groups of people has not ended well.
Mother of a child with a mask exemption discusses how sad her child is because she cannot see everyone else’s faces under their masks.
Mother thanks the D158 Parent Union for constantly fighting for her children and for freedom.
Mother points out that while the ruling was on Friday, we waited for two weeks for the answer. The board had plenty of time to make a decision on what they would do prior to today.
Mother says we are past “we’re trying to do the right thing.” The judge has ruled it unlawful.
Mother says that while she has not agreed with the rules, they have followed them. Now the board needs to follow the judge’s rules.
7th grader gives an incredibly impassioned speech outlining that their entire day is spent in mask compliance and not in learning. She says her teacher has never seen her unmasked face, and that she has not had a normal school year since 4th grade. She points out that the initial Covid initiatives were called “an extra week of Spring Break. But it wasn’t an extra week. It was two years.”
Mother says they moved to D158 for the quality of their 504 plan and asks how they can simultaneously have such a strong 504 plan while failing the children on so many other levels right now.
8th grader says that she is over Covid, the teachers are obsessed with why masks need to be over noses instead of teaching. She is tired of quarantining for close contact and ready to get back to normal.
A senior at the high school points out how often children are sent to detention for mask violations and sit in the dean’s office for the entire hour instead of remaining in class, and that she will not be wearing her mask tomorrow.
Mother points out that her daughter has never seen her friends’ faces since she started school in District 158 two years ago.
Father feels that the words of the families present are falling on deaf ears to the board. He is a teacher in another district and says because of the mask mandate, he still does not know what his students look like.
Mother recalls conversation with Dr. Rowe regarding remote learning because the district was at too big of a risk. But now, there is no risk anymore.
View the public comment portion of the 1/20/22 D158 School Board Meeting below.
1:52 – Mother discusses how the board says they are “blindly following orders” on masking and Covid mitigation strategies and calls on the board to change.
1:55 – Father asks when children will be getting mask breaks. With the cold weather, they are not allowed to go outside. He also discusses his child being marked “present” when she is in e-learning, even though she has not been attending.
1:58 – Mother points out that the CDC stated four days ago that cloth and fiber disposable masks are no longer sufficient for stopping the virus. Asks why the schools are still following mask mandates.
2:02 – Mother discusses that children in quarantine for close contact do not actually develop Covid, and that children are being punished for political gains and ESSER funding.
View the public comment portion of the 12/16/21 D158 School Board Meeting below.
1:31 – Mother presents a statement from her family regarding the district’s tax levy and how unnecessary it is when enrollment in the district has been on the decline for years.
1:51 – Mother discusses ongoing practice of children riding on the floors of the buses, noting that this has been going on for five months. Inclement weather is approaching, which will make this practice more dangerous.
1:55 – Father supports district’s choice to have graduation at Willow Creek church and supports this choice. Notes that the issue is drawing unnecessary controversy online.
1:59 – Woman speaks against having graduation at Willow Creek, saying that it is not an “inclusive” choice.
2:02 – The LGBTQ committee chair for the McHenry County National Organization of Women speaks against having graduation at Willow Creek.
2:06 – Woman offers holiday greetings to the board and administration to thank them for what they do during this crazy time.
View the public comment portion of the 11/11/21 D158 School Board Meeting below.
1:44 -Mother discusses negative effects of district’s quarantine policies on her daughter and how vaccinated children are allowed to return to school for “close contact” but unvaccinated must quarantine.
1:48 – Substitute teacher discusses ongoing staffing issues in the district and how few substitutes are currently available.
1:52 – Mother discusses quarantine procedures on the bus and how in one incident, a student who was not even on the bus and had missed school that day caused an entire-bus quarantine for other students based on a false belief that the absent student was positive for Covid.
1:59 – Father begins reading joint statement from the D158 Parent Union on the many discrepancies being stated in the name of “science” by our government authorities regarding masking and vaccines.
2:04 – Mother continues reading the D158 Parent Union statement on the dangers of the MRNA shots for children and their side effects.
2:08 – Mother concludes reading the D158 Parent Union statement on the inconsistencies in mitigation enforcement and how mandates are not laws.
2:11 – Mother discusses her daughter’s second 14-day quarantine and how difficult it is on her daughter as the Zoom instruction is not sufficient and the whiteboard cannot be seen on the stream.
2:14 – Mother discusses the culture of violence growing at the high school and the multiple physical fights occurring between students. Video of today’s fights circulated widely on social media and is shared with the board. States that the district’s reputation will suffer if the violence is not curbed, and that the district seems more interested in trademarking the term “Destination District” than actually making our schools safe.
2:18 – High school student discusses masking at school. “I find it funny how people can choose to use one bathroom or the other regardless of gender, but I cannot choose whether to wear a mask.” States that the masking decision should be up to parents.
2:21 – Mother states that it has been 600 days since school was normal for our students and addresses the growing violence in the schools. “The kids have turned into animals and inmates. What once was a ‘destination district’ is now a district people are running from.”
2:23 – Father states that the leadership in the district is driving people away. Asks if our leadership is just going to keep following orders. Discusses the videos of the fights at the high school today and asks why the school is more concerned with putting tampon machines in the boys’ bathrooms than stopping the fights in schools.
2:26 – Mother discusses CDCs new claim this week that masks reduce risk by 80%, which has no scientific basis and has no peer-reviewed evidence to support it. She shares actual stats on the low risk of transmission among students and how wearing masks is negatively affecting children’s development.
View the public comment portion of the 10/21/21 D158 School Board Meeting below.
1:41 – Two HHS students discuss negative effects of masking and the numerous fights, alcohol usage and drug use at the high school.
1:44 – Mother discusses brainwashing and narratives in K-12 school curriculum and how the school is trying to remove parental rights.
1:47 – Mother discusses board’s inability to make changes to Covid policies and how her kindergartner is now afraid to leave the house without a mask, shaking with fear when she isn’t wearing one, due to what she’s learned in school.
1:51 – Mother discusses isolation and quarantine. Despite testing negative, her daughter was quarantined for close contact and prevented from attending the Atwood nature trip and participating in the school’s Moana musical. These are lost experiences her child can never get back.
1:58 – Mother addresses the board Behavioral and Emotional Screening System tests (BESS) and how many children the test was administered to, despite parents having submitted opt-out forms. Raises concerns about what will happen with opt-out forms once vaccines are given at school.
2:02 – Dr. Rowe says he gives parents his word that no vaccines will be administered without a parent present.
2:03 – Mother speaks about dissatisfaction with school district and her decision to homeschool her daughter, encouraging others to consider this option.
2:08 – Mother of child with Down Syndrome expresses disappointment that on the day her daughter was selected to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at tonight’s board meeting, she was quarantined for close contact. Raises awareness of how severe the impact of these policies are on children, especially those with special needs.
2:11 – Father discusses incident at school which led him to withdraw his children from school. (His middle-school child was taught that Muslims and Christians are terrorists and extremists.) He explains that “equity” is the term being used to disguise the critical race theory being taught in school.
View the public comment portion of the 9/16/21 D158 School Board Meeting below.
1:57 – In praise of Mrs. Vandy, who recently resigned from the district
2:00 – “We blindly trusted this district for far too long, and now we are here to make sure our kids are learning and not being groomed to follow an ideology or an extremist agenda.”
2:02 – Regarding illegal quarantining of healthy kids. “Illinois truancy is defined as missing 5% or 9 days of school. With each quarantine they miss more than 5% of the school year.”
2:06 – Father’s son was told as part of an alarming middle-school 9/11 lesson that Christians and Muslim religions cause the most terrorism and extremism. Teacher drew a tree outlining multiple religions but used a different color marker to create an “extremism branch” for Christianity and Islam.
2:12 – Mother’s son’s class was told to repeat a poem for 9/11 that included the line “We are one gender.” Mother says “It’s very sneaky what’s being indoctrinated into the children’s minds.” Echoes concerns about the 9/11 Islam and Christianity extremism lesson. “Are parents aware of what’s being taught in social studies today? That is unacceptable.”
View the public comment portion of the 8/19/21 D158 School Board Meeting below.
1:42 – Regarding LIGHT program and the inappropriateness of the move from HHS to Marlowe and how these young adults need to be in a space that respects their age and status as adults.
1:44 – Unacceptable that LIGHT program was moved and how special education services are to be delivered in age-appropriate settings. Marlowe Middle School was not built as a young-adults facility.
1:48 – Critical Race Theory concepts being ushered into our schools under the guise of “intersectionality, diversity, inclusion, fragility, and equity.” D158’s recently-completed “White Fragility” training.
1:54 – Father explains why he is a member of the D158 Parent Union “We want input on the curriculum, specifically around Sex Ed, CRT, gender approaches, how equity is achieved, history” and discusses COVID response.
1:58 – Mother pulled two sons from D158 “My 13-year-old wanted to come to school and learn, not be indoctrinated, and have the message that he is a terrible person because he was born a male with white skin, and he was getting that message loud and clear. He chose to leave. There was no way I was going to expose my 6-year-old to that message and the curriculum that this district is planning.”
View the public comment portion of the 8/5/21 D158 School Board Committee of the Whole Meeting below.
(Note that our group typically does not attend the COTW meetings, but based on the volume of parents who spoke against masks and testing at the previous school board meeting on 7/22/21, board members were encouraging pro-mask viewpoints to attend and speak at this meeting.)
The first five parents to speak shared time at the opening of public comments to read a joint statement from the D158 Parent Union regarding COVID response, masks, and quarantines.
This meeting took place 13 days prior to the 2021-2022 first day of school, one day after Governor Pritzker mandated masks for back-to-school.
3:15 – Quarantines legally cannot be implemented without a court order or consent. Mandate does not even specify what kind of mask should be worn. Under the governor’s mandate, a mesh mask qualifies.
3:18 – Our Parent Union has presented many questions which remain unanswered. If masks are a “medical product,” legally, they should be treated as biohazardous waste. If you believe the pandemic is deadly, virally-contaminated masks are medical waste that cannot be discarded in the trash.
3:21 – Parent Union will further our effort to fight for voluntary COVID protocols. The CDC has been consistently inconsistent for the past 18 months. They said COVID spread on surfaces, was airborne, and spread asymptomatically. They told people not to mask, then to mask, then to wear two masks.
3:24 – There are three kinds of people in the world: Leaders, leaners, and followers. We are asking you to lead. Other states are leading and have lifted mask mandates for schools while providing N95s for those that want them. We are extremely disappointed to learn that $20,000 was spent on Critical Race Theory training called “White Fragility” instead of working on COVID response. We will be holding this board accountable for the actions they have taken.
3:26 – You promised to debate these issues tonight publicly. You are the board of education, not the board of health. We want to see expert data behind the decisions you’re making. At what point will our board stand up and fight for us? How far are you going to let this go before you say “enough is enough?”
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3:31 – Internet safety for Chromebooks without safety stickers. LIGHT district issues: How can the district spend millions on a new coffee bar at the high school, but the LIGHT program students are being shuttled to Marlowe, where grown adults in special education will be sharing a building with middle schoolers?
3:35 – Mother discussing son’s entry into LIGHT program. District has $700,000 worth of COVID funds but does not have money to move post-high-school LIGHT students into their own facility.
3:39 – Man states 600,000 people have died from COVID, he knows someone who has died, and that masks are needed to protect as many lives as possible. He says more deadly variants are coming and to follow the science. “Today I’ve heard some of the most dangerous misinformation of all time.”
3:42 – Father does not want mask-wearing imposed without considering the risks of wearing them all day. “Death” is not considered a metric for the current masking policies. He cites a study that 4X Co2 builds up inside masks in just 9 minutes. There are no peer-reviewed studies saying that prolonged mask wearing is healthy and safe. Parents are against vaccine centers in school. Asks the board to have a town hall with parents.
