A Walk Down Memory Lane, Part IV

October, 2007
HHS Student Threatens Gun Violence; Snow Does NOT Vote to Expel Student

When a Huntley High School student went on Myspace in October and threatened to kill his teachers and some students and asked if anyone knew where he could get a gun, the entire community knew about it. So on November 1st when the Board of Education held a closed session regarding disciplinary action for a student, everyone in the room knew to which student the board was referring.

District 158’s policy on gun violence is very clear: Zero Tolerance. So Bongo was shocked and appalled when the vote to expel the student was not 7-0. Larry Snow did not vote in favor of expelling the student. Neither did Seedorf. They both abstained, but refused to provide their reasons.

NW Herald 10/12/07

NW Herald 10/17/07

Approved D 158 Meeting Minutes 11/1/07


January, 2008
Detailed Forensic Audit Shows No Fraud: Snow Declares “Auditors are Wrong!”
Well, it cost the taxpayers more than $100,000 and 18 months of administrative time, but the school board officially closed the book in January 2008 on a targeted audit of the district’s fiscal department. The conclusion: No fraud. Sloppy bookkeeping by a CFO that no longer was employed by the District, yes, but criminal wrong doing? Absolutely not.

This is not what Snow was hoping for with his “witch hunt.” He was hoping to find a smoking gun that would send someone to jail. So what did Snow do? He did what he always does, and attacked the credibility, reputation and integrity of the audit firm. He also accused the other board members of telling “half-truths” with regard to the audit.
An interesting issue in the audit report was a discovery that more than $34,000 in rent for the house across the street from Huntley High School was owed to the District. Who lived in the house and wasn’t paying their rent? Linda Moore and her family. Snow actually wanted to have this information about the rent dropped from the audit report. Can you say “Chicago-style politics?”
So Snow wanted to omit key information that might reflect badly on a political ally and then claimed the rest of the board was telling “half-truths.” The Northwest Herald editorial board said it best when they wrote, “Snow’s and Seedorf’s hypocrisy is disturbing but not surprising. And their act has gotten very, very old.”

NW Herald 2/5/08

February, 2008
Snow Suggests Holding Board Meetings in Sun City

In late 2007, President Green had made a suggestion that “scorecards” be available at board meetings so that audience members could provide feedback on the efficiency of meetings and the conduct of board members. Snow called it a “political stunt” on the part of Green, who he said would stack the audience with his friends.

So it was surprising in February, when Snow suggested moving 1/3 of the board meetings to Sun City, which coincidentally is the home base for much of Snow’s support. Why was it “political” when Green wanted to solicit feedback on board performance, and not political when Snow wanted to move meetings into Del Webb, where non-Del Webb residents would not have been allowed to attend?

February, 2008
Snow Suggests Limiting the Number of Middle School Students Who Can Participate in Track and Field

At the Committee of the Whole Meeting in February, Snow voiced an objection to hiring an additional assistant track coach at Heineman to handle the 350+ kids who wanted to go out for track. Keep in mind that track and field is the one “catch-all” sport where even the average athlete is guaranteed participation in home meets. Unlike other sports, kids don’t have to try out for the track team. The suggestion was baffling, because each child who participates pays a $40 participation fee, which would have covered the cost of the assistant coach. Additionally, it was baffling that Snow would have wanted to limit daily physical activity for children, a segment of society where obesity rates are exploding.

Approved D 158 Meeting Minutes 2/7/08

March, 2008
Snow Suggests That Different Ethnicities of Students Should Pay Different Fees for Summer School

Sometimes, Bongo wonders if Larry Snow thinks before he speaks. At the March Committee of the Whole meeting, Larry actually suggested that different “demographics” of people should be charged different rates for summer school. Note that Snow did not say that summer school fees should be determined by financial need, but by demographics. Snow’s implied reasoning was that every family in District 158 which utilized English Language Learner services was a family of limited financial means. The suggestion was a slap in the face to District 158’s diverse population of families. While Snow thought that the ELL program fees should be reduced (ie those families can’t afford it), he thought the fees for the summer reading program should be increased (those families could afford to pay more).

Approved D 158 Meeting Minutes 3/6/08

June, 2008
Snow Puts Foot in Mouth with Everyday Math Comment

At a committee meeting in June of 2008, Snow aimed his venom at District 158 Curriculum Director Dr. Olson. Snow asked what the process was for reviewing textbooks, and then said, “When will we look at the Everyday We Don’t Learn Math series?”, implying that the existing elementary school math series, called “Everyday Math,” is terrible.

What Snow didn’t mention, is that while Everyday Math is difficult for parents to adapt to because it is “new math”, ISAT scores have increased significantly since the program was implemented several years ago.

July, 2008
Snow Praises Fund Balances Created from 2004 Referendum
Does anyone remember what Larry Snow’s platform was when he ran for the board in 2005? He promised that if elected he would reverse the referendum because it was never needed. Snow never strayed from that battle cry, even when everyone else with any financial expertise whatsoever said the referendum WAS needed and that the fund balances it created WERE vital to the solid financial footing the District now has. But in July of 2008, during teacher contract negotiations, all of a sudden Snow was singing a different tune.

The Northwest Herald wrote that Snow said the fund balances allowed the district to cover its costs before property-tax payments arrived in June and that previously, the district borrowed money through tax-anticipation warrants that could require six-figure interest payments. He also praised the fund balance by saying that District 158 earned about $750,000 in interest last year with the fund balances. “That’s a lot of money,” Snow said. “Without the interest income, we would not have been able to hire the number of teachers that we did for this last year. It is helping to keep class sizes down and pay for the last teachers’ contract,” Snow said.

NW Herald 7/29/08


September, 2008
Snow, Lead Negotiator for District 158, Leads Board into Approving Huge Pay Hike for Teachers During Economic Recession

Throughout the contract negotiations with the HEA, Snow proclaimed himself to the press as the “lead negotiator” for the Board. The three-day strike ended when Snow and his colleagues approved a new, two-year contract with teachers that this year will give them raises that are a minimum of 5% higher than the rate of inflation, and much higher than that for some teachers. Board member Mike Skala did not vote for the contract; he abstained from the vote and the discussions because his wife is a teacher.

NW Herald 9/14/08

November, 2008
Snow Disagrees with Policy Requiring Board Members to Sign in at School Offices When Visiting

In November of last year, the board held a discussion regarding a policy for board members visiting school buildings. The proposed policy stated that board members would have to sign in at the school office upon arrival at any school. Snow immediately took exception to the proposed policy and said it should NOT require board members to sign in at school offices when they visit the schools.

Why wouldn’t Snow want people to know when he was in the buildings?

December, 2008
Snow Accuses Tony Quagliano of Not Thinking It’s Important to Obey the Law

In a budget discussion at the Building and Finance Committee meeting in December, Larry and Tony disagreed on how budgeting should be done. Snow said one thing, and Quagliano, a CPA at a respected firm, said Snow was mistaken, and that District 158’s budgeting process was proper. Snow, not known for ever admitting he is wrong, fired back, “Well maybe following the law isn’t important to you, but it sure is important to me!”

This particular quote by snow would come back to bite him in the backside a few weeks later, when he was ticketed for breaking the law by driving an uninsured vehicle.

December, 2008
Board Discusses the Value of Background Checks for Board Members; Snow Votes Against It

In December, the Board was talking about whether or not they would be supporting a list of resolutions from the Illinois Association of School Boards. One of the resolutions dealt with a requirement for all school board members to have a background check. Almost everyone thought it was a good idea. After all, teachers have to have background checks. Substitute teachers have to have background checks. Custodians and bus drivers have to have background checks. It only makes sense that board members who can come and go as they please at the schools should have to have a background check.

Notice Bongo said “almost” everyone. Larry Snow voted against supporting the resolution, saying it was unnecessary.

OK, so Snow is not in favor of writing a policy which states that board members must sign in at school offices when they visit and he is on record as being opposed to background checks for board members. Does anyone other than Bongo see some huge red flags here?

Coincidentally, two months later, at a February board meeting, a resident spoke during public comment and suggested that the board should create a policy of their own which required board members to have background checks. Snow, who had phoned into the meeting, jumped right in and was noticeably upset by the suggestion.

The issue came up again in March, and each board member was asked if they supported drafting a policy that would require background checks for D 158 board members. President Green, Vice President Quagliano, Gentry, Skala and Skaja all said they were in favor of it. Aileen Seedorf said she was against it and Larry Snow refused to answer the question.

So much for making sure that student safety is priority #1.

NW Herald 3/6/09