Letter To Editor: Pressuring School Boards Doesn't Stop Pritzker

ORLAND PARK, IL — The following is a letter to the editor submission from Dean Casper, School District 146 board member since, Linda Peckham-Dodge, District 135 board member and Chuck Augustyniak, District 140 board member.

The Covid-19 crisis has taken a tremendous toll on our school children and their parents. Earlier this summer, Governor JB Pritzker announced he was allowing individual school districts to determine their own policy regarding COVID mitigation(including the wearing of masks) for the upcoming school year.

As districts carefully crafted their Return to School plans, Governor Pritzker reversed himself and issued an Executive Order mandating all public and private schools must require all students and staff to be masked in school.

Many parents were understandably upset, and have been demanding their local school boards disregard Governor Pritzker’s mandate and implement a mask optional policy. Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Board of Education (ISBE) threatened districts and private schools who defied the mandate with potential decertification of the district or school. Several districts and private schools refused to change their policy to align with the mandate, and ISBE has placed, as of August 21st, 41 public school districts on probation with a progression to decertification.

While many parents are advocating for their local districts to legally challenge the validity of Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order. Most Education Law attorneys believe the Governor has the power to issue these Executive Orders, and ISBE can enforce them. It was by Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order that he closed all schools due to the Covid crisis on March 13, 2020.

There is wide agreement that in-person learning is best for kids. Many school board members, the three of us included, were tireless advocates for a return to in-person learning for the 2020-2021 school year. The support for a return to school, with specific safety protocols, was strong and ISBE would allow districts to return. Suddenly, on August 12, 2020, ISBE
changed course and enacted new restrictions that made a return to in-person learning virtually impossible.

For the 2021-2022 school year, those districts that ignore their legal counsel’s advice and defy the mandate are committing their students, staff, and taxpayers down an expensive, time-consuming and ineffective road. Students attending decertified districts will pay the highest price. The advocates for school boards taking legal action are not informing parents of the price that will have to be paid if successful or not. District decertification will:

- Cost as much as $100,000 in legal fees with no reimbursement - Ban students from IHSA and IESA inter-scholastic competition - Render diplomas of graduates unrecognized
- Lower Property values of homeowners
- Have a low chance of success
- Result in elimination of state aid
- Elimination of Covid costs reimbursement

If any legal challenge to the mask mandate is to be successful, we would need to convince a judge the Governor is overreaching and abusing his power. The current Covid positivity numbers from our communities do not support this argument. Covid positive rates for August 21 vs August 7 are:

Orland Park: +102%
Orland Hills: +167%
Tinley Park: +61%
Oak Forest: +159%
Palos Park: +29%
Palos Heights: +175%
Justice: +67%
Bridgeview: +256%

New cases per 100,000 are over 100 (rolling 7-day average) for all the above as well. This puts all of the communities in the high transmission zone.

We also must consider the rules for quarantining students exposed to COVID-19. With universal masking, districts are allowed to reduce the Covid exposure zone to 3 feet, and, with parents permission, “test to stay” kids that have been exposed at school. Without universal masking, we are back to 6 feet for exposure and do not have the testing option. At this point in time we need to focus on the most important aspect of our situation: having our kids in school, full time.

ESSR III grants, which reimburse school districts for their additional costs incurred due to Covid, will be suspended.