District 158 school board flap erupts

The controversy over a Nov. 13 meeting of the Huntley Unit District 158 school board was taken to another level Wednesday with a series of revelations and accusations.

Two days after the meeting, one board member filed a police report accusing another board member of threatening her and another board colleague during closed session on Nov. 13.

In that same closed session, it came to light that a board member had filed a complaint with the McHenry County state's attorney's office about fellow board members.

And on Wednesday, the board president referred to two board members as "terrorists" and likened their actions to terrorist attacks.

Allegations stemming from the closed session cannot be completely verified because the audio device in the meeting stopped recording after just a few minutes.

The failure of the digital audio recorder came at the same meeting where two DVD recorders and a VCR backup failed to record most of the board's open session.

At the controversial meeting, the board interviewed candidates to fill the vacancy left when Jim Carlin resigned his seat after only six months.

After deliberating in closed session, the board returned to open session and voted to appoint former board President Mike Skala to the board.

Immediately, accusations started to fly over the closed session, in which a majority of the board decided on Skala.

Board members Aileen Seedorf and Larry Snow accused three of their colleagues of announcing their intent to appoint Skala at the outset of the closed session -- without giving the other three candidates a fair shot.

The rest of the board denied the accusation, firing back that Snow and Seedorf stated in closed session that they could vote only for Linda Moore or Dave Larkin.

Board members on both sides of the dispute characterized the closed session as particularly acrimonious, with rude and hostile comments being exchanged.

Seedorf said in a police report filed Nov. 15 that during one of these exchanges, board Vice President Tony Quagliano threatened Seedorf and Snow with violence.

Quagliano on Wednesday admitted making inappropriate remarks but said they were more along the lines of saying Seedorf deserved a spanking.

Seedorf declined to comment on the report beyond confirming that she filed it and felt threatened.

Algonquin police said they would not investigate Seedorf's allegations because she did not want to pursue charges and that Seedorf's account, if accurate, didn't rise to the level of a crime.

Board members said that during the same closed session, it was revealed that Snow had filed a criminal complaint with the McHenry County state's attorney against Skala and other current or former board members.

On Wednesday, Snow did not deny filing the complaint but declined to comment on its content or say when it was filed.

The state's attorney's office could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

In response to Seedorf's filing the police report and Snow's lodging the complaint, board President Shawn Green on Wednesday said Snow and Seedorf were "terrorists running roughshod over the rest of us."

Green also compared the actions of Snow and Seedorf to terrorist attacks.

Snow and Seedorf said Green's remarks were upsetting but not surprising.

"It's irresponsible language and it's typical of Mr. Green," Snow said. "This is how he talks privately. He can't help himself."

Seedorf echoed her frequent board ally.

"Mr. Green is going over the top," Seedorf said. "(That's an) understatement.

"This isn't a comment I'd expect from a person who thinks he can run a school board."