Dist. 300 hopefuls debate charter school

Candidates for the Community Unit District 300 school board said this week the district should stay at an arm's length from the Cambridge Lakes Charter School.

The Pingree Grove school was beset by labor issues and parent complaints after it opened in 2007, leading to an enrollment drop of roughly 100 students - about 20 percent of the student body - after its first year.

School board candidate Dorothy Jordan was herself a victim of the charter school's vicissitudes when she lost her job as a middle school social studies teacher at Cambridge Lakes last year.

"Officially, the enrollment at the charter school did not allow for another classroom, so I was asked to leave," she said.

Jordan, a Pingree Grove resident, said her dismissal was not related to the ongoing unionization effort at the school. Her service on the board of the school's administration, Northern Kane Educational Corp., kept her out of those talks.

However, a former teacher has said he was fired for his role in the union push, while the Illinois Education Association has accused the school of intimidating teachers involved in the effort.

Charter school officials have declined to comment on these charges, and the union dispute is tied up in the courts.

While complaints from parents and labor officials have reached the ears of top elected and appointed officials, those officials have said the law prevents them from interfering in the school except in certain circumstances, such as when student health or safety is at issue.

District 300 officials have, however, sought to engage charter school administrators and have a voice - if not an actual vote - on the board that controls the semiautonomous school.

Most candidates seeking a spot on the District 300 school board in April agree the current approach to the charter school is working and the district should not try to exert its authority over the school. However, they say, efforts to communicate with the school can be improved.

Only one candidate, Algonquin parent Tracey Perez, suggested she might pursue an increased role for the district in the Pingree Grove school.

"There may be a need for greater board oversight," Perez said. But she added she would not "aggressively push oversight over the charter school."

Others, including board Secretary Anne Miller, board Vice President Karen Roeckner and former board member Dave Alessio, said they would work to improve the school within the existing limitations.

"I'm not quite sure what the circumstances would be for greater oversight, but if there's something the district can do to help them be more successful, I'm willing to look at that," Miller said.

Board candidate Rob Lee, a member of the Community Finance Committee, said more aggressive oversight of the charter school is not feasible, given a possible budget shortfall.

"If District 300 was to have more oversight, it would be essentially an obligation of District 300 to take it over," Lee said. "Considering that District 300 is facing a budget deficit - I wouldn't feel comfortable taking on more teachers, more salaries."

Despite her firsthand knowledge of the charter school, Jordan said she needed more information on the district's relationship with the school before she could offer ideas for improving that relationship.