Parents say District 46 slow in posting information online

Questions about whether timely information is coming from Grayslake Elementary District 46 have been raised by some residents who say they are trying to keep up on what elected board members are doing.

Some who spoke at a recent District 46 meeting contend minutes of such sessions are posted on the school system's Web site too late to be useful. Minutes are a summary of comments and votes made at public government meetings.

"As a board, we all thought we were doing a pretty good job," board member Karen Weinert said in response to the gripes.

But parent Heather Lennartz said officials have not been performing well when it comes to the level of detail in meeting minutes or the timeliness of when they appear on District 46's Web site. She said some minutes this year weren't posted until at least two months after a meeting.

Lennartz took issue with minutes from the March 16 meeting when board members agreed to eliminate 29 positions at District 46 for the 2009-10 academic year. Officials cited declining tax revenue caused by the recession as the main reason for the cuts.

Official District 46 minutes summarized the action as approval of a "2009-2010 staffing plan with the verbal changes of the reduction of one administrative position and five secretarial positions, as presented." Lennartz said the District 46 minutes never noted 29 positions were trimmed.

"I don't think you're communicating effectively with the public," said Lennartz, whose comments to board members were echoed by other parents.

Veteran board member Susan Facklam said errors or other problems in meeting minutes can lead to them not gaining timely approval. If a vote on the minutes is delayed so corrections are made in time for a vote at the next meeting, she said, that forces the document to be posted later than the public would expect.

"Sometimes, the timing is out of our control," Facklam said.