District 158 board needs to maintain openness

When Tony Quagliano was vice president of the Huntley Unit District 158 school board, he was a reliable source of information on the district's inner workings and decision-making processes.

While some of Quagliano's colleagues refused to return calls, answer questions on the record or broach certain topics, Quagliano often spoke with a refreshing candor that helped set a tone of transparency.

But now Quagliano is gone.

At the end of last month, the school board appointed Kevin Gentry as the new vice president.

While Gentry, a certified public accountant, will bring some of the financial knowledge that made Quagliano an asset to the board, it remains to be seen if he can match his predecessor's openness.

A brief conversation I had with Gentry this week did not bode well. I asked about renewing Superintendent John Burkey's contract, a relatively benign topic, an opportunity for a board member to say, "Burkey has done an outstanding job boosting student achievement. We should extend his contract for another two years."

But all I got was silence.

Gentry declined to comment on the uncontroversial issue, with the exception of this enlightening tidbit: "It has been a topic."

You don't say.

While Gentry has refused to comment in the past, that was before he was board vice president and before Quagliano was off the board.

I hope this will not become a pattern. Especially in light of past missteps, District 158 needs leaders who will be strong advocates for openness and transparency.

Gentry would do well to follow the example of his predecessor and not current and former board colleagues who have chosen to comment and return calls only when it is politically expedient.

Wait a minute, you say. Was Gentry the only board member who declined to comment on the apparently explosive topic of Burkey's contract?

Nope. Not surprisingly, Aileen Seedorf gave him some company.

Seedorf, you may have noticed, is rarely quoted in the newspaper. The reason for this is simple: she refuses - as a matter of course - to answer even the most routine questions on the record.

Instead of answering my questions about Burkey's contract, Seedorf, like Gentry, shared some insight: the board needs to review Burkey's past performance in making decisions about his contract.

You don't say.

Are some board members living in an alternate universe where public officials can make meaningless statements while keeping their motivations and intentions secret from the very public that elected them?

District 158 board members - and any other local officials who are reading this, for that matter - need to give more than just lip service to the goals of transparency and accountability.

The public deserves better.