Dist. 125 candidates differ on parental advisory proposal

Three candidates running for the Stevenson High School board favor creating an official parental committee that would advise educators about book choices and other curriculum matters.

This concept has been rejected by the school board, which prefers to leave reading-list decisions to teachers and department heads.

But that hasn't deterred candidates Charles Cardella, Kim Brady and Kathy Powell, who say a formal advisory council would act as a resource to help identify books that might require alternates because they are offensive to some members of the community.

“Our hope is that a diverse parent advisory council would be able to reflect the various perspectives of the district residents so that sensitivities could be identified beforehand and accommodated with alternate choices,” a statement on the candidates' website reads.

Cardella and Brady expanded on the topic in a recent interview at the Daily Herald's Lake County office.

Brady insisted he opposes giving such a group veto power over reading-list selections, but he said more parental involvement is needed when it comes to curriculum.

“Let us have input into the process,” he said.

Cardella expressed similar thoughts during the interview, which Powell did not attend.

The other candidates — three veteran incumbents and a newcomer running with them — staunchly opposed the proposal.

“Do we want to have different curriculum committees for all of our departments? There are 11,” incumbent candidate Terry Moons said. “I don't believe that has a place in the academic development at Stevenson.”

Seven candidates are running for four seats on the Lincolnshire school's board. All seats have 4-year terms.

Brady, Cardella and Powell are running together. Moons' campaign allies are incumbents Bruce Lubin and Merv Roberts and newcomer David Weisberg.

Reading lists at Stevenson are created by teachers and department leaders, as is the case at most schools.

Cardella and other community members have publicly expressed concerns about materials students have been asked to read at Stevenson. A book called “The Flamingo Rising” and a short story called “The Casual Carpool” have been the most common targets.

In the interview with the Daily Herald, Brady said an advisory group would let parents be more involved in curriculum choices. Parents shouldn't be able to override or veto choices made by teachers, he said.

“I believe there should be boundaries,” he said.

He suggested the group should meet once a month to advise the school board.

“I think that could be a start,” Brady said.

Like Brady, Cardella stressed the council he wants wouldn't choose or reject books. It would be a resource “of diversified district perspectives” that would help identify “sensitivities,” he said.

“(It would) help teachers anticipate which books or reading materials might need alternative choices provided,” Cardella said.

Weisberg said parents aren't qualified to make curriculum choices. The people who should be making such choices already work at Stevenson, he said.

“I think Stevenson has a terrific bullpen of quality teachers that are a lot more qualified than I am to pick curriculum,” he said. “I don't think the parents should be micromanaging the school one bit.”

Roberts served on the school board in the 1980s when parental curriculum committees advised the board, and the relationship didn't work, he said.

“It was a distraction to the teachers,” he said. “It was a parents advisory committee, and the parents thought their advice should always be taken.”

Parents can get involved at the school by volunteering at the school, joining booster club programs or taking part in academic task forces.

“There are lots of opportunities,” he said.

Moons said alternative reading options already are in place if parents find books inappropriate for their kids. Parents also can express concerns to teachers, department heads, an assistant principal and the principal, in that order, she said.

Lubin also opposed the advisory-council concept and said parents have ways to express concerns and opinions about curriculum choices, including open houses and focus groups with administrators.