Elmhurst Alderwoman Frustrated With D-205 Officials

ELMHURST, IL — If you're struggling to get information from the Elmhurst school system, you're not alone: An Elmhurst alderwoman says she's having trouble as well.

Alderwoman Dannee Polomsky, who has children in Elmhurst School District 205, said she has taken no position on classroom settings during the pandemic.

But she is seeking information through a public records request for the district's advice to teachers on how to handle remote learning.

She said she has not received all that she requested and filed a complaint with the attorney general.

In late October, the attorney general's office asked the district to conduct another search of its records. It said the district did not demonstrate that it conducted a reasonable search before.

The attorney general's office asked the district to provide an update to Polomsky. She said she has not received one.

Among the documents sought by Polomsky on June 9 were communications between the superintendent and other top officials pertaining to any document in the "Remote E-Learning Resources for Staff and Elementary Principals" folder or a similarly named file.

In an email to Elmhurst Patch, Polomosky said she wanted to learn how the district instructed its teachers to operate during remote learning. She said she heard a teacher had said the district barred teachers from teaching live online in the spring.

"(Y)et I understand depending on who you ask from administration or the board, you may be told this wasn't the case. I don't know what the expectations were. And I have had more questions since then," Polomsky said.

Polomsky also sought any proposals, plans, direction or suggestions considered for potential remote instruction during the 2020-2021 school year.

She said she had earlier asked the district questions about remote learning instructions, but was told it was only obligated to provide information through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In July, the district responded to Polomsky's complaint filed with the attorney general, contending it followed the state's records law.

"(Superintendent Dave) Moyer engaged a thorough review for documents responsive to the request and ultimately found the district was not in possession of any responsive documents," attorney Emily Tullock said in a letter.

The attorney general disagreed with that assessment.

"The School District's brief statement that the superintendent performed a search is insufficient for this office to conclude that (its) search was reasonably calculated to locate records responsive to the full scope of Ms. Polomsky's request," Assistant Attorney General Christina Lucente-McCullough wrote.

The school district's administration couldn't be reached for immediate comment.

Polomsky recently expressed her frustrations about the lack of a response in a letter to the editor in the Elmhurst Independent newspaper.

"Any member of the public should be able to ask questions and receive answers," she said.