District 158 considers allowing employees to review supervisors

Supervisors in Huntley Unit District 158 take note: the next time you give a subordinate a bad review, it could come back to haunt you - on your next review.

This scenario, and its potential complications, was a hot topic of discussion among District 158 board members at the board's most recent meeting.

Board President Shawn Green has proposed a 360-degree review that would allow employees in the district to evaluate their supervisors.

"There should be a review from the bottom up as well as the top down," Green said.

The board leader said the reviews would help the board and top administrators find out about issues with a supervisor before a situation gets out of hand.

Green cited a recent case in which board members did not learn about an ineffective supervisor until they started to notice an unusually high number of employee transfers out of the supervisor's building.

"There isn't this tool in place to get that information known sooner," Green said. "People are scared to come forward sometimes. Things get lost in the shuffle."

But other board members and administrators have raised concerns with the way employee evaluations would be used and have asked whether changing the current review system is necessary.

Mary Olson, director of curriculum and instruction, said it would be difficult for many employees to review their supervisors because they do not get to observe many aspects of their bosses' jobs, including confidential information about students or staff.

"It was never meant to be an evaluation," Olson said. "It was meant to be a self-improvement tool."

New board member Don Drzal said the district's existing evaluation tools are adequate.

"The mechanisms for that already exist," Drzal said. "There's no need to introduce a new tool."

Board veteran Mike Skala suggested that Green's proposal was a form of micromanagement.

"This is not board work. This is administrative work," Skala said.

But Green said that without 360-degree reviews, employees may feel they have no recourse.

"I want to see a formalized thing ... instead of just individuals who want to speak out speaking out randomly," he said.

The board is likely to take a formal vote on Green's proposal later this month.