Macomb, IL. (ECWd) –

Last night we learned the Macomb Community Unit School District #185 has suspended all of the Board of Education’s policies, regulations, rules, or any other authority currently granted to the Board governing all school operations and has “transferred” and delegated all of those powers to the Superintendent.

Read the Resolution (HERE).

The board lacks the statutory power even remotely resembling what they have done, it is almost as if this board has said “Do what you want, we will approve it at the next meeting“,

This has been going on for some time during the pandemic and always “expires” at their next meeting, where they promptly approve another one.

This, in our opinion, is an illegal abdication of the board’s powers, responsibilities, and duties under Illinois law, and an illegal assumption of those powers and duties by the superintendent.

See Board of Education v Cahokia District Council No. 58, which states, when referring to abdicating contracting issues to the union (and could be applied to all statutory duties of a school board):

• It has been held that school boards have the power to enter into collective bargaining agreements. (Chicago Division, Illinois Education Association v. Board of Education (1966), 76 Ill.App.2d 456, 222 N.E.2d 243.) It has also been held, and uniformly so, that a school board may not contract to delegate or surrender a duty conferred upon it by statute or to surrender discretion granted it by statute.
• These functions must be exercised by the school board, which cannot abdicate its responsibility by referring these matters to such devices as arbitration (Cook County College Teachers Union; Lockport Area; Johnson), specified evaluation procedures (Illinois Education Association v. Board of Education; Wesclin), and other contract solutions (Weary).
• It removes from the board, and therefore from public control, a significant element of discretion in selecting its maintenance personnel.

Yet, this appears to be precisely what this school board has been doing.

If this school board is unable or unwilling to govern itself in accordance with established state laws, they should simply resign en masse and allow those willing to do the job to take their places.