Friday Files: Double Talk, Stalls and Smiles
Pritzker tone deaf speech; ISBE shenanigans and the virtues of collegiate signing day
Good morning! So much happening this week, thought I’d condense news into more of a “notebook” format for this Friday.
Here goes. And happy TGIF.
State of State from Pritzker
Wednesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker gave his ‘state of state’ address to an empty chamber hall. The symbolism of Pritzker, the Lord of Lockdowns, speaking about his vision of the future while the general assembly was ordered to stay home due to a weather-related disaster declaration was not lost on the moment (there were staffers strategically placed inside the hall to provide a ‘clap’ track after specific sound bites during his speech).
I’m not going to get into all of the nitty-gritty budget stuff here. There are plenty of outlets to find that analysis. What I write about in this space is how the actions of politicians and administrators impact schools and athletics.
And Pritzker said next to nothing on that subject.
Here was Pritzker’s lone, opaque comment related to his still-in-effect school mask mandate:
We have three tools that we know work: masks, testing and vaccines. I have not hesitated to use these tools and make them available to schools so they can maintain in-person learning for Illinois children while protecting parents, teachers and staff.
Alrighty, then.
He’s wrong about masks/testing/vaccines but with little oppositional media or viable counter candidate in the 2022 election, Pritzker can say whatever he wants with no consequences.
Don’t expect any change in stance from Pritzker on masking. It may take the courts to force his hand.
A pending class action lawsuit involving hundreds of school districts remains in the hands of a judge in Sangamon County. That judge must decide if masking and quarantines are in violation of due process and if any ruling encompasses all students, not just those listed as plaintiffs in the legal action. District leaders are growing impatient; preferring not to interpret a temporary restraining order from a judge in a county hundreds of miles away and would be much more comfortable enacting guidance from local and state agencies (Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Department of Public Health, etc).
Earlier this week, Kaine Osburn, superintendent of Wilmette-based District 37 schools, sent this tweet tagged to Pritzker, ISBE and IDPH:
A day later, Osburn sent another tweet summing up the frustration of some school administrators (‘some’ meaning very few. Most don’t have the courage to share publicly the obvious…that districts are capable of making their own decisions about masking and a ‘choice’ policy is the only recourse if emotion is taken out of the equation).
Osburn told the Chicago Tribune that the district isn’t prepared to ditch masking but “that it’s time for a plan. We’re getting pressure from the community on both sides.”
Others are spending time and resources on plans for “off-ramp” masking policies.
Barrington D220 administrators shared a ‘situational’ masking policy with residents at a Jan. 31 board meeting. D220 Dr. Robert Hunt did not sound like an administrator interested in rapid descaling, but in a more measured approach incumbent on flexibility with decision making at the local level:
“It empowers our staff to evaluate situations, potentially create situations, in which students would have an opportunity to be without masks and continue to interact and develop and overcome implications we have faced in our environment in education with masking in our schools,” Hunt said.
(Expect to hear much more conversation on contingency plans involving forced masking at local school board meetings in February. Whether these contingencies have to do with the impending TRO ruling or an anticipation of Pritzker removing the mask mandate is unclear. The job of administrators is to plan ahead and take a long game approach. The fact that supers are spending the amount of dollars and resources they are on masking policies two years into Covid is wasteful and absurd.)
But what does this all mean? I think we’re back to where we were at the end of last summer, right before classes resumed. Then, while data revealed no threat from the virus, the Covidians and Cultists were fear-blasting variant propaganda, school administrators were mass-signing and sharing open letters on social media advocating for local control and there was little to no communication from state agencies.
Doesn’t that kind of sound like where we are now? The “Groundhog Day” analogy making the rounds this week seems appropriate.
Pritzker? He’s still clueless as to what’s happening outside his autocratic pod, unchallenged (are we in an election year?) and unapologetic.
Some things never change.
ISBE STALLS IN PROBATIONARY HEARING
A solution that would save these districts a lot of time and resources?
Non-comply to the mask mandate, reject exclusions/quarantines and stop asymptomatic testing.
Take an endemic stance with Covid rather than No Covid.
Not a chance with Chicagoland public schools, many of whom are named as defendants and are fighting the consolidated legal action in Sangamon County.
Further south, though, there are districts practicing a traditional American ethic of non-compliance.
One of those, Vandalia District 203, were one of the first - if not the first - to publicly advocate for local control last summer. The leadership in that district has stuck to their guns and continue to challenge Pritzker and his agency mobsters.
Tuesday, a virtual hearing was held between the district’s attorney and ISBE representatives.
The purpose of the hearing was for D203 to state its case for removal from “probationary” status, a label slapped on Vandalia for a mid-December switch to “mask optional.”
“This (meeting) is the second step in our probationary status as a school district,” District 203 school board president Joe Lawson told The Kerr Report via email. “We had a pre-probation hearing in December. We were given a certain number of days to present our plan to adhere to ISBE policy. We were prepared to present our case but wanted it public.”
What took place Tuesday was a proverbial shit show.
ISBE reps refused to proceed with the meeting over its interpretation of the Open Meetings Act, which allows for public participation. ISBE did not want public comment, Vandalia attorney Jerrold Stocks argued for comment, per instructions from Lawson and the school board, and accurate under the law.
The meeting promptly ended when ISBE refused to agree to public comment. Here’s the link to the meeting (go to the 50:50 mark for the verbal combat over OMA) but I’ll publish this quote from Stocks over ISBE’s behavior:
The school board and its president will make the decision and I have my directions that they proceed in a public hearing on this matter. The fact the hearing officer and ISBE may consider this process more than a dog and pony show, that we may present evidence that we are compliant to something that isn’t even a standard set by ISBE, I think undermines the entire process and the integrity of what should be taking place here and is just another chapter in what is a very offensive invasion of local control and we are not going to allow that invasion to go so far as to impel us to violate the Open Meetings Act.
The contentious exchange is the latest example of how our state agencies respond when its imperious rules are challenged. They bully, then when backed against an untenable legal wall, they stall and object and kick the can down the road.
“Our appeal status at this time is in limbo. We couldn’t agree on public access. This stopped the hearing. I/we are unclear in next steps in the process,” Lawson said via email.
The actions by ISBE are embarrassing and unacceptable. But as long as the Master of Puppets controls everything, nothing will change.
COLLEGIATE NATIONAL SIGNING DAY
Twitter can be a platform for positive vibes. If one searches in the right spot.
Wednesday, one trending hashtag was #NationalSigningDay.
This is first of several collegiate signing days over the course of a calendar year. The first Wednesday in February gets more attention due to the focus on football.
A few years ago, the NCAA added an ‘early’ signing window for big time football recruits, in the middle of December. Only a fraction of collegiate athletes actually ink scholarship agreements on that day. The overwhelming majority of high school athletes make collegiate decisions throughout the year but don’t actual ‘commit’ until early spring.
I enjoyed scrolling through my Twitter feed and seeing the ceremonies at various high schools throughout Chicagoland and state. I’ve covered many of these events in-person over my media career and they are fun and a nice diversion from the day-to-day muck of social media feeds.
There is a purity to signing day events that makes them more attractive than ever.
Because the professionalism of amateur sports has overtaken our culture, terms like ‘name, image, likeness’ and ‘transfer portal’ are becoming more and more ubiquitous. But media interest is over-indexed compared to the reality; how a very, very small percentage of collegiate athletes will ever make money off their likeness. The overall “experience” of collegiate life – which for those who announced their commitments Wednesday will include athletics – remains the big up sell and mass appeal for high schoolers and their parents.
I’m fascinated by the changing tide in collegiate sports. It’s already a massive story and will continue to be over the next 3-5 years, and one I will covering and writing about in this newsletter.
But the photos of smiling faces Wednesday (big ups to those who removed masks) showed there’s still a place for modest recognition of success and young people certainly deserve the accolades.
Have a great weekend everyone. I’ll have a new Sunday Six in your email boxes Sunday morning.
For story ideas, article comments/feedback, media inquiries and more, drop note to jon@jonjkerr.com, or @jonjkerr on Twitter.
Seeing these kids and their achievements means so much to me. I enjoy sharing this info with my little ones in hopes of giving them motivation to strive for GREATNESS. Whether or not it brings them fame or fortune means nothing to me. I just hope they carry the memories, friendships, work ethic, and sense of teamwork with them throughout their life.
Thank you for the update.
Oh & I forgot to mention...Pritzker SUCKS!!