Lavish trips, Nepotism, Firings, Litigation- Grayslake “Public Service”

For close to two years, Michael Carbone has been the lone voice of reason on the Grayslake Elementary school board. Despite his best efforts, the board has operated like a runaway freight train with taxpayer money. From lavish trips to resort locations, to the hiring of an ex-board member and personal friend of the superintendent for a part time position netting $75,000 annually, Grayslake elementary school board decisions are rife with controversy.

In the past year, CCSD #46 has gone through 5 business managers, one of whom was not properly vetted for the position. It was not until after he was hired, that the district learned of his litigation with another school district in Wisconsin. Now, there is additional consideration of litigation against Grayslake. “This type of poor, not well thought out decision making, harms all of us. Unnecessary litigation costs redirect money that should be spent in our schools educating our children,” said Carbone.

However, this is not the only questionable hiring made by the school board. Carbone led the efforts to expose the nepotistic hiring of school board president Mary Garcia’s husband for a job, which otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

In November, Garcia’s husband was hired for a custodial position with the district, as well as coach for several sports teams. At the time that his paperwork was before the board, Ms. Garcia recused herself from the vote. But she never openly admitted that her husband’s application was among the stack of applicants. Carbone questions her decision. “In this economy, the district receives hundreds of applications for every job posting. What makes her husband the most qualified candidate and does his hiring really support the needs of our children and this district?”

Now others in the community are looking closer. Many are wondering how Garcia’s husband can work as both custodian, Tuesday through Saturday as required by his contract, and still get paid for a coaching position which often requires him to work on Saturdays. This conflict of schedules causes the custodial department to find a sub for Garcia on the weekends. Community activists are now trying to determine if Garcia’s pay was docked for the days not worked or if the District paid both Garcia and his fill-in for those days, while still paying him a full stipend to act as coach.

As a current board member Michael Carbone cannot endorse any specific candidate. However, he has been quoted as saying “This year is an election year. It is time for new blood on the Grayslake School Board. We need people on the Board that realize we are servants of the public and not the other way around.”

There are currently three seats open on the CCSD 46 school board. The three newcomers recently endorsed on March 17th 2011 by the Daily Herald are Kip Evans, Marchell Norris and Shannon Smigielski. All three have shown a dedication and involvement in the school board.

Marchell Norris, a private business owner of 15 years with an MBA from the University Of Notre Dome, believes her strong business background coupled with Evans’s knowledge of the inner workings of school systems can help shape a new vision for Grayslake.

Kip Evans is a retired teacher of 33 years. He has taught grades K through 12 in his career and also has an Administrative Degree from Roosevelt University. While not officially in a slate, Evans is leveraging resources with Norris to get the word out about their campaign.

Currently, 68% of property taxes in Grayslake are allocated to school budgets. It is more important than ever to ensure that school budgets allow for the funding of quality education, while being ever vigilant to root out corruption and waste. In 2011, an individual in CCSD received a 14% pay increase, which equated to $27,000 raise.

In this economy we cannot continue to ask American families to shoulder the burden of wasteful government.

(Cross-posted from For the Good of Illinois.)