St. East - Parents want safe, equitable schools

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Parents want safe, equitable schools

Thursday, July 05, 2001

By ERIC WALTER

Kane County Chronicle, editorial@...

Members of SCCEE plan to rally in support of state officials involved in the

mold situation at St. East. The rally begins at 12:30 p.m. today at

the Regional Office of Education, 210 S. Sixth St., Geneva.

ST. CHARLES - After attending many committee and school board meetings, and

leaving with a sense of frustration or walking away angry, parents like

Kerrie and Rich Balance decided it was time they took action.

The Balances, who were the driving force behind the creation of St.

Citizens for Equality in Education (SCCEE), want to see every student in the

St. School District back in class in a safe and equitable learning

environment on Sept. 4.

Kerrie Balance said the couple had reached the point to do whatever they

could to make sure students were treated equally and returned to a healthy

school in the fall.

Despite studying the district's contingency committee's scenarios and

talking with Raczkiewicz, director of elementary education, Kerrie

Balance said they were left with many questions.

Kerrie Balance called the district's " Dunham solution " - remediating and

cleaning up the Dunham wing and placing about 50 mobile classrooms on the

East campus - " totally unacceptable. "

" Eight weeks from tomorrow (Tuesday), our kids are supposed to start

school, " she said.

The group's focus is to have a safe school that will offer all high school

students the same educational experience, as well as extracurricular and

athletic activities, Kerrie Balance said.

SCCEE hopes to see " total quality assurance " in all the district's schools,

according to Geoffrey McGowan, an attorney with Geneva-based McGowan and

Hull.

McGowan said the Illinois State School Code and the Illinois Constitution

provide all students and teachers with certain rights, including due process

and the right to a healthful environment.

One specific portion of the state school code requires the district to

maintain a " safe supply of drinking water or (the school) should not be

open, " or otherwise take care of repairs and improvements, McGowan said.

" That means, we have a school board accountable to each of us, " he said.

While McGowan said the group does not want to take the school district to

court over the issue, he warned that if parents did not act, the decision on

East's future " would be left to people who might not have our kids best

interest in mind. "

Content © 2001 The Kane County Chronicle