Is it standard practice to take potential Superintendent candidates out to eat at really nice restaurants for their final interviews? We moved here from out of state, so maybe I just don't get it, but something seems wrong about taking 308 monies to wine and dine anyone in another district other than their own, if at all! All the states I've lived in, those kinds of interviews are held in district offices! I'm glad a few people found out about this so they could speak up! Glad Mr. Walsh rescheduled, but it would be nice if he could just do the right thing to start with! Somehow this Board President should have some kind of accountability, shouldn't he? Are there no checks and balances in place to keep him or other board members from just doing whatever they please with our tax dollars?!?!

Maybe the person responsible for teaching Walsh to press the "record" button couldn't make it?

This board seems pretty good at making news and not in a good way. Geesh you would think the search firm would have advised them about how to do this.
That being said It's not uncommon to take out the finalist for an interview. You want to be able to have a conversation in a relaxed atmosphere while also making a good impression. A little bit like a first date for lack of a good analogy. Keep in mind it's not just the board interviewing the candidates but they are also interviewing the board and trying to get a feel for how they would be able to work with them and the community. I will say it's just plain stupid to meet outside of the district. If you're going to spend money at least support the business that pay taxes in the school district. I'm sure all the restaurants in the district will feel real good about being bypassed by the school board, no chance that will come back to bite them.

The board has yet to have a single interview with the candidates in an actual D308 facility, and then Walsh thought it would be a good idea to take the finalists outside of our school district for a finalist meeting? Talk about a complete lack of respect to the students, families and constituents within our boundaries. Not to mention the obvious fact that it's a slap in the face to all of our Businesses here within the district.

Just add it to the pile. Heck of a job, Walsh!

Gonna have to agree with the four commenters above me. IMO it shows a lack of judgement when this goes down while the school district struggles in a uncertain economic climate. Jeeeessshhhhh!

Sure nice of him to remember all the little people who are eating P.B.J's if we're lucky. I suppose this was on his tab?

I have to say this is the straw that broke the camels back for me. There are so many of us who are beyond struggling. We're working 2 jobs just to keep the roof over our heads and food on the table. He has the gall to take my hard earned tax dollars to flipping Naperville. That money could have been spent here providing a smidgen of relief. What's wrong with the eateries here, not rich enough for their blood.

Ticked, I'm beyond that. I've had my fill of the nonsense that's flying rampant in this district. Excuses, I've heard them all and I'm not buying one of them. I've got news for you I will NEVER EVER VOTE YES for another anything to suck more money out of my pockets. I can't even afford to take my own kids out to eat so I'm sure as hell not flipping the bill for anyone else, my family is going to come first for once.

One thing I still have is my vote and it's not looking good for the gaggle we got now.

I really don't see the big deal in this. Do you really think they want to interview someone in an Oswego eatery? I cant imagine what the busy bodies in town would be doing if they recognized the school board during an interview. They would be taking pictures, spying, calling the paparazzi, and probably interrupting them. When they announced last week that they were doing interviews at tap house people threw a fit. So that leaves olive garden as the lone nice dining place and there is no private room there. Maybe they should have conducted the interview at sonic while sitting in one of the board members SUVs. It is obvious that there is no way to make people happy in this town.

These guys just can't be this incompetent, can they? Didn't they run on fiscal responsibility? They only seem to be "responsible" (sarcasm intended) when it comes to cutting things for students or workers.The last board meeting, a member kept saying something to the effect of They'll work with us times are tough, every time she wanted to cut something. Hold your meetings in 308 with public notice not at Biaggos or the Tap House. Times are tough board, I think we can cut a dinner at Biaggos. I've been on dozens of interviews. They were in offices. Not restaurants. Ask this board to put its senior members in charge:
http://www.change.org/petitions/board-of-education-of-community-unit-school-district-308-request-a-change-of-leadership-of-the-oswego-cusd-308-board-of-education

O200 I suppose you'll find the 5x your share in future tax bills to be acceptable too. This is going to happen when so many of us just walk away from our homes we can no longer afford because of our tax bills. I have 1100sq.ft. not a McMansion and it's my tax bill that's killing me. Been here all my life and this is by far the worst I have seen across the board.

Mr. Walsh how do you plan on operating those additions? We'll guess what, you'll be out of luck and money when you come to the taxpayers for more!!! We have been spending past our means for years and you sir have just iced, decorated and delivered the cake. I sure hope you enjoyed it because the only other treat you'll experience on the tax payers back is stale donuts that were confiscated from my new way of food shopping " dumpster diving" or as it's called now " freeganism".

And for the love of God where's the rest of the BOE?

And we wonder why this town is broke.

I'm a first time poster, and let me tell you, I'm a little afraid of what kinda of flaming I'll get, but here goes. Taking the candidate out to dinner anywhere just isn't necessary. We have plenty of beautiful district facilities that can be used for this meeting. After all the comments on all the various school subjects, you kinda have to be completely out of touch to think that this would fly right now. People are struggling! They certainly don't want to hear about THIS school board spending more money, unnecessarily. And Jane, you wrote,

I can only imagine how this makes our community look to these candidates. I'd be leery if I were on the other end of some of these moves. Makes you wonder what kind of a community you are considering, and how well the BOE has the pulse of those it serves.

Why don't we want any prospective candidate to know what their getting into? They are going to be paid a salary that will elevate them financially above most people that live here, so why do I care how it looks? They are going to find out pretty quickly anyway. That person will be one of the few in this town NOT struggling. I would want them to know that we care about and watch spending very closely, and if they cannot work under those parameters, then this is not the job for them.

Is it the fact that they are taking them out of town, or that we have to wine and dine them. I have a problem with both. I don't care what practices were used in the past. How may people get a free meal at an interview. Just interview them at the board room or facility in the district . We don't have to wine and dine.

School Board, what's the matter with you?? Use one of the many FREE school buildings in Oswego for interviews and for all school business. How tough is this to understand? Cater in a meal if you really need to feed the candidates.

Who's paying who here? Why would any candidates have to be wined and dined? Isn't that person going to receive a HUGE paycheck? With all the unemployment, one would think the candidates should be the ones who wine and dine!
GET A CLUE BOE!!!

Seems to me that with all of the "assistant superintendents" that this school district has that they should all be in training for the top job. Promote one of them, instead of going outside of the district and paying for a search firm to fill the superintendent post. If these administrators are not qualified, then downgrade their positions to "managers" of something.

Yes, the BOE want to be involved in interviewing principals! Interviews were scheduled for May 10th to interview principals for Long Beach, but had to reschedule because some members of the BOE wanted to be included in the interviews. They obviously don't trust the people in the district to do anything on their own without the BOE being involved. A little weird if you ask me.

Anywhere I've ever lived, the district does the recruiting, interviewing and selection of their administrators at all levels. The BOE is in place to review, confirm and approve of those selections, NOT do that themselves! BOE members are typically not as well qualified to do the job of hiring but are in place as a way of still being involved. Who has given Mr. Walsh and the rest of the BOE that right? And if he/they have chosen that for themselves, we have a serious problem with them overstepping their boundaries and even violating the law, if I'm not mistaken? They just seem to keep doing what they please assuming none of us can or will do anything about it? We have to find a way to intercede.

While I agree that it is probably unwise to spend money at an establishment outside of the Oswego school district taxing body, I am less concerned about the $500 dinner bill than I am about the entire interview process.
The BOE has set-up candidate interviews that exclude any members of school administration, community or parents. They have made the decisions to hold these interviews in closed session. While I understand the need for confidentiality there are ways to hold interviews with various district stakeholders that will still allow for a confidential interview process. The public is not being given any opportunity to follow along with the process. In what meeting did the BOE decided to interview candidates at Biaggi's? I do not think that deciding when and where to hold interviews would be covered under
:5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), Personnel Matters and 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2), Collective Negotiating
The BOE seems to making many decisions under this provision and it seems to me that they have adopted a very loose interpretation of the statute.
We as tax paying citizens should be more concerned with the lack of transparency and leadership this board has shown. What is their vision for the district, what are they looking for in the Superintendents they are hiring. It appears that their main goal is to hire only those that are beholden to the BOE. What is the climate of the district going to be when your Superintendents have been put in place to answer to the BOE.

Only one BOE member is an educator. Do they hold such little regard for those that work for our district that they feel their input is not needed to choose the most qualified candidate to lead our district.
I have to question the abilities of all the BOE members that would allow for this farce of a process to continue. Setting meetings, cancelling meetings, not knowing how to turn on a tape recorder. This would all be funny if it were not for the fact that this board has taken it upon themselves to be the sole arbiters of the direction of this district. The hiring of the Superintendent is a process that should be done with the most thoughtful, careful consideration. The leadership of the Superintendent is meant to guide the 1,667 staff members that have been tasked with educating our children. While I may be frustrated and appalled at the behavior and lack of leadership Mr. Walsh has shown, it is my children who will bear the brunt of the incompetence of this board.
Our children, our teachers our parents and our community deserve better.

All of these are links to Superintendent searches conducted by Ray and Associates.
This is what transparent interviewing looks like.

http://www.browardschools.com/superintendent/resume.htm
http://cmcsd.colfax-mingo.iowapages.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/022811specbrdmtgpdf

http://www.dekalbsuperintendentsearch.com/
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=268070916554013

This is what the BOE should be doing. Instead we get this quote from Mr. Walsh

"Asked if community stakeholder groups will have an opportunity to meet with a field of narrowed candidates after the initial interviews, Walsh said the board has yet to make that determination."
“We will follow a process that will be beneficial for the district in identifying a qualified candidate,” he said.

How is it not beneficial to have community involvement? I'm beginning to think it is not beneficial to have the community involved in finding out what your true agenda is.

If Mr. Walsh stated that, then he must believe in town hall meetings. It's a great idea. I wonder how all the other board members feel about being in them. Since Mr. Walsh is 1 of 7 members, I wonder if he can hold one if all the board members don't agree to it. I don't think he can force other members to join him if they don't want to, and it would be odd to hold them if only certain members show up. I think all members have been to majority of meetings and have voted on almost all items. Jill Ko

Interesting and well-written article from a gentleman from Georgia. It seems we aren't the only school dealing with this issue, but they seem to have a legal case against their school board. It sounds like micromanaging the Superintendent violates Georgia law. Any chance we have the same legislation here and just don't know it?
http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/2012/may/15/jeff-meadors-have-school-boards-overstepped-their/

I'm really getting a kick out of these comments, especially those claiming the current Board is inept or incompetent. How long have you guys lived here? If more than 12 years how can you say this board is any more ignorant than the last three or four? Remember those boards are the ones that did EXACTLY the same thing this one is doing, but they did it behind closed doors. So be glad this one is displaying their ignorance in public! All I hope is that the finalists are NOT retired superintendents from out of state districts so we can end the double dipping.

As to community involvement....again you must be new....where was the community involvement in the selection of Dr. Behlow or O'Donnell? It seems that the new members of the Board who were swept into office under the concept of finally bringing accountability to what was largely a rubber stamp for the whims of the Superintendent or more accurately the "Associate" Superintendent ( good riddance) have fallen out of favor with that same public who now claim they are micromanaging. I suppose after 10-15 years of no management what they are doing would seem like micro management. If the Board hires the Superintendent that means they have an obligation to see that he/she does the job to whatever level they deem is correct. The Board does not work for the Superintendent. The Board would not be involved in the hiring of the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum if the old one has actually done her job. She was a hold over from the Behlow/Colvin days and probably should have been replaced sooner.

John,
We may very well be in the place we are because of past board actions but we can't travel back in time. I think it is important to learn from the past. As a community we have very little recourse. There is no recall option for the board members. Laurie, Dave, Mike and Lynn will be up for election in 2013 and the community will be able to voice their opinion of these members at that time.
I understand that we are in a financial pickle so to speak, what I want to see is a BOE that figures out a way to provide the best education for our students given the circumstances. These are not easy times and we need creative, visionary leadership to inspire and guide the district. We need to all work together and get everyone on board. This BOE seems to be holding their own private party. If this was the case in the past then shame on all of them. It does us no good to assign blame at this point. I would like to see some solutions that go beyond cut, cut, cut.

So Maryz, if we dont cut and we don't raise taxes where does the money come from? Who is first in line to say NO I don't want thia program or that program who is the first to volunteer? No one because I want to cut what you want and you want to cut what I want figuratively speaking. So what's the answer. All I am asking is where were all of you when the last boards which contained Behrens and Cullick were spending and granting every whim of the superintendents? No where. Now its suddenly time to say stop. Its too late. Its a good thing the third HS was stopped. Why was it a rush to get it going? Becauae the bond referendum was nearing expiration. Did they ever say that? Nope. So if it had gone thru guess what. We'd be facing yet another referendum to the operating fund to run the place. Building rederendum money can't be used for anything else. There will be one soon anyway and its associated tax hike when the empty JHS come on line. What actions thar happen today will be felt down the road. We still have a lot coming down hill before its over. Also none of the board members but Mike have any financial background of tje type necessary to oversee a multimillion dollar operaton.

Also having lived here through many boards I see their reasoning which appears to be micromanaging. They saw a total lack of oversight by those before them and like us got so sick of it they ran for election and in their minds are taking control of the situation. Does that mean its right or within guidelines? Maybe not. But as someone who begged and fought boards to get working urinals in my sons school only to be ignored while new schools grew like corn and programs were added and core curriculum neglected because its what thw community wants...I sure can sympathize

if the school dist wants to save money ? dont add on fill in the pool at oswego east and use the field house for class rooms .cuts will be made get ready the cow has dried up people with kids in school get ready to pay .i dont mind paying for education but that is it any thing else parents can pay

Funny that there is a petition circulating asking the Board officers to step down. You'd think there was real concern in the community. I'd ask the so-called "community" to take a long hard look in the mirror. How many from the "community" show up to public meetings when the topic was how many schools we need to build? Thirty over three meetings ( I know because I was at all of them). The work of that committee directly fed into the referendum committee. How many of the "community" showed up to those public meetings? About the same number. Now....lets announce a public meeting for boundary change how many show up? 200. Lets dump the 4 Block Schedule...how many show up for that meeting? 200. So WHY would a Board ever think the "community" cares about the money it blows? No one bothers to show up when it concerns money, but by golly move the line on a map and it's suddenly a uproar. I charge that the "community" needs to get it's priorities in order. If you don't like the cost now...you should have shown up then. This board while blazing it's own trail of ignorance, is also strapped with the crimes of the past boards which were committed while the "community" stood by.

After patiently reading the posts to this article, I find it amazing at the lengths at which the posters go to state their case. More to the point, John Spasojevich seems to be the individual with the most anger. This board has demonstrated time and again that they are ill-prepared to handle the responsibilities of their elected positions. Beginning with the boundary issue, followed by the resignation of Dr. O'Donnell to the entire interviewing debacle, to this latest public display of being ill advised. Eric Weiss should have Mr. Walsh on speed dial.