Dist. 158 hopefuls clash over conflict of interest

The Huntley Unit District 158 school board spent the greater part of 2008 hammering out a new contract with the district's teachers union.

Absent from those discussions was board member Mike Skala, whose wife, Carol, teaches French at Huntley High School.

Still, Skala and board member Larry Snow, both seeking a 2-year seat on the board, clashed over Skala's relationship with the union in an interview last week with the Daily Herald.

Snow claims Skala violated his general abstinence from contract negotiations in at least three instances, all of which, in Snow's view, presented an unacceptable conflict of interest:

• In 2002, Snow claims, Skala voted for a contract with the district's teachers that gave Skala's wife a 50-percent raise.

• In 2006, according to Snow, Skala participated in a discussion about the maximum raise teachers would get under the contract the board was then negotiating.

• In 2008, Snow alleges, Skala shared information with the union about contract negotiations, and asked to be part of the board's negotiating team on the last night of contract talks.

Skala's support for the union, Snow claims, led the school board to grant concessions to teachers that ended up costing the district later.

"Those concessions were incredibly costly," he said. "The district simply couldn't afford it."

Skala said that while his wife's job provides him insight into the effectiveness of district initiatives, he does not discuss teacher contract issues with her and challenged Snow - or anyone - to prove otherwise.

"I'd say 'prove it' to whomever," Skala said. "It hasn't happened."

A former school board president, Skala acknowledges voting for the 2002 agreement, saying he "probably shouldn't have." But he disputes the rest of Snow's claims.

Skala said it would have been politically impossible for the board to specifically grant his wife a raise higher than those given to other teachers.

Although Skala admitted that in years past he attended closed-session meetings where the board discussed teacher contracts, he said he never weighed in on any provisions of the 2008 deal.

"I didn't offer my input, but I may have been present," Skala said.

He also rejected Snow's accusation he asked to participate in contract talks on the last night of negotiations last year. Instead, Skala said he merely informed the board that several district residents had asked him to join the team.