District 12 officials aim to head off rumors

"The school district did what? Spent money how? They're cutting what programs? Laying-off who?"

"That's what I heard from a neighbor, whose cousin got it from a school employee, who read it on someone's Facebook page."

Rumors, stories, gossip. Whatever you call it, it's misinformation spread by word-of-mouth - most often through social media and the Internet these days - that can go from relatively harmless chatter to being very dangerous.

Twitter, the Internet, Facebook - they're great places for people to communicate with one another and to get updated information about what is going on around the world or in one's own community. But sometimes that "up-to-date information" is not real nor accurate.

There is a tendency to take information on the Web or written information as truth and assume it's accurate unless we specifically know for certain it is not. The author of a tweet, post or response may be guessing, making something up based on an uninformed opinion, or simply wrong.

Worse, misinformation can get passed around, take on a life of its own and then suddenly become "fact and truth."

People who author these communications seldom have malicious intent. They believe they are providing a real service to others. But too often their message gets misunderstood, misinterpreted or based on something they heard and are just passing it along, and that can have disastrous consequences.

There are times, for example, when civic action may be required to address an issue of critical importance to an entire community, but where the spread of false information can stonewall progress toward a sound, responsible remedy.

This is why people must be careful where they get their information from and make a concerted effort in verifying that information before acting on it. Acting on negative or misguided information is ultimately bad for everyone.

By now, many of the parents and residents of Roselle are aware of the financial crisis our schools face. We at Roselle Elementary District 12 began an effort last school year to disseminate factual information about our situation and the options available to resolve it.

We have remained consistent in our message about the challenges and root causes, as well as the plan to address it. Our message has not changed, nor has the urgency of our situation. Our actions also have been consistent.

While we are working diligently to provide an excellent education for our students, we have had to make very difficult choices that come when you are underfunded and under-resourced.

Last October we had a public meeting attended by more than 300 parents and other residents in an effort to head off the spread of misinformation. As administrator for District 12, I am absolutely committed to freedom of information - to sharing openly our policies, decisions and actions that affect more than 700 children and their future.

After all, parents and other taxpayers of our community deserve it and should expect no less. I believe people cannot be well-informed if they are not informed well.

That is why we sponsored the public meeting last October, plan a communitywide informational mailing and continually post ongoing, real-time information on our website. It is also why we are sponsoring another public meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016.

We want to ensure that every parent, resident, district teacher and staff member has only factual information about our schools and how the situation we face will impact the entire community. We are thrilled to have Michael Jacoby on board to do a presentation on Jan. 19.

Executive director of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials, he is highly regarded in the world of school finance and is involved in many crucial organizations and committees to improve the quality of education for the students in Illinois.

Jacoby will be talking about the data that links school district quality to home values. In addition, those who may not be familiar with our facilities will have an opportunity to see the repairs and replacements that we need to address to maintain safe environments for our students and staff.

My administration and the entire District 12 board also want to provide an opportunity for parents and residents to ask questions and voice their opinions and concerns. We are hoping to bring our community residents, who may not have children in our district, in to hear our information.

Please spread the word far and wide. Our issues impact the overall community in a very large way.

Plan on attending the meeting Jan. 19, and also periodically visit our website at sd12.k12.il.us for factual up-dates.

• Melissa Kaczkowski is superintendent of Roselle Elementary District 12. During the school year, her column runs monthly in Neighbor.