District 113 Board Addresses Wolters Field Lights

The process of assembling a Wolters Field Advisory Group, a joint effort between the city and the school district to address issues with the field, most notably the lights that surround it and their hours of use, was discussed at a recent Board of Education meeting. 

Members are appointed by and District 113 board president Harvey Cohen. Four names of potential committee members were brought to Cohen, who expressed dissatisfaction with at least one or more of the individuals at the board's Nov. 21 meeting.

“I am disappointed with some of the individuals selected by our mayor and would like to search for more who have expressed interest in the schools," Cohen said. "I suggest this item be tabled until I can meet with the board and find other individuals willing to serve on the committee.”

Cohen did not elaborate on which of the individuals he didn't approve of, but said he wanted the group to be made up of those who will do their best to improve the district rather than hinder it.

“I would look for those who have evidenced an interest in helping and benefitting the district," Cohen said. "There are some on the committee [currently] I can’t disagree with more ... but I believe their motivations are in the best interest of the students and I approved them.

"But dissenting voices should be building up the district," Cohen added. "They shouldn’t be tearing it down.”

Though neither the board's nor the city council's approval is required for selecting new members, Cohen said he didn't want the decision to be solely his and the mayor's. He added that he would set up a meeting with the mayor as soon as possible to discuss the matter.

Board discusses 'sexting'

Board members also talked about their experiences at the Illinois Association of School Boards conference the previous weekend. One topic that came up was "sexting" -- sending inappropriate materials via phone and social media.

"Most kids don’t realize the conseqeunces of sexting," Cohen said. "It is a felony. They’d have to register as a sex offender, and therefore can’t become a lawyer or teacher or law enforcement officer."

He also reminded administrators that if they were to find something inappropriate on a student's phone and forwarded it to their superior, they can be considered guilty of distributing pornographic material.

Search and seizures in schools

In other business, the board discussed a possible policy change regarding searches and seizures in the schools.

"I think this is a piece where we need to be very direct with what the law says," said . "We have signs in parking lots saying vehicles are subject to search and seizures. It’s not going to be unreasonable. There’s going to be some rationale behind it.”

said he was concerned about students' rights being violated and asked that the policy be considered more by the policy committee.

disagreed, saying the old policy left too much of an open door.

"At some point you need to have some kind of boundary," she said.

Board members asked to forward their concerns and questions on the matter to the policy committee well before their next meeting.