Harrassing school leaders hurts all

A small, but vocal group of parents in St. Charles Dist. 303 has been putting pressure on our administrators and school board to bend to their will, under the guise of keeping the district accountable to "all students." Notably, these groups are dissatisfied with the district's adaptation to hybrid in-person learning, rather than full time in-person, but are also upset with use of district funds to pay for technology and staffing to safely facilitate in-person learning.

While these groups take issue with the use of district resources, what is the taxpayer cost for managing their grievances? Between March 27, 2020, and February 10, 2021, Dist. 303 has spent $16,494 to address complaints brought by these groups. These expenditures only hurt our community and the students these groups claim to represent.

Objectively, Dist. 303 has one of the most versatile plans in Chicagoland, facilitating in-person/hybrid early in the school year. Our administrators and teachers have quickly built and adapted to a comprehensive plan that reaches all students and even fast-tracked plans, at the behest of these parents.

These groups have actively harassed board members and their families, to the point of one member resigning their post. With board elections only weeks away, they are attempting to recall five duly elected school board members, because their local political views are not aligned. Now they are taking issue with state-mandated equity. These groups have used FOIA requests as a means to apply pressure on the district. The Freedom of Information Act is important and is how I obtained these numbers, but over $16,000 of funds spent on grievances is an overreach rather than an exchange of information.

We all crave pre-COVID life and education, but we are smack in the middle of a global crisis. At what point is one a zealot rather than an advocate?

Lauren Carter

St. Charles