My name is Mary Kate Schoenbeck, and I just finished my 15th year as an English teacher at Libertyville High School. Today, I stand before you on behalf of the D128 Teachers’ Union, representing the collective voice of our dedicated educators who are deeply committed to the success and well-being of our students and our school community.
It was two years ago when I first heard about the term vote of no confidence. At the time, I was serving as Union secretary, and our members began asking us about this potential action step. The Executive Board investigated what this might mean but we decided this was not something we wanted to pursue. And I am glad we didn’t at that time. There was certainly a growing discontent among our membership, but we also wanted to continue to try to work with Dr. Herrmann. In fact, when our current Union Executive Board took over last May, our new Union leadership felt the same way; we were committed to trying to foster a collaborative relationship with Dr. Herrmann and her administrative team. We also wanted to find a way to open more communication to you, the School Board, as well.
In pursuit of these goals, over the past year our Union has taken the initiative to make statements at each Board meeting to highlight the issues and challenges facing our membership. We brought up concerns over sectioning numbers. Concerns over the chaotic feel of too many initiatives at once. Concerns regarding the use of expensive outside consultants. Concerns over how the MTSS plans would be implemented next year, not to be confused with concerns over the law itself or Dr. Herrmann’s incorrect statement that our staff does not support change. We did this as an effort to shed light on the realities we were experiencing and listened eagerly to the Board meetings where we hoped to hear productive discussions regarding these pressing issues that your staff was experiencing. We brought up the same concerns at Labor Management Committee meetings and in weekly meetings between our Union President and Dr. Hermann. We even resorted to filing three grievances, something that was foreign to us since our Union had only filed one grievance prior to this year.
Despite all of this, our members continued to express overwhelming frustration and disillusionment with the current state of affairs, and they began to ask again for more information regarding a vote of no confidence in Dr. Herrmann. It became our obligation as a Union Executive Board to listen and to act accordingly. We did not take this vote lightly, nor did our membership. Our members were unwavering in their response. These were not the voices of a disgruntled few. It was a reflection of the resounding sentiment of our membership, with an overwhelming 90% of our membership voting and 99% voting in favor of expressing no confidence in Dr. Hermann.
From where I stand, the majority of your staff is once again trying to speak to you, the Board, loudly and clearly: they do not trust Dr Hermann’s at the helm of D128. This vote serves as a clear indication of the urgent need for accountability, transparency, and more effective leadership within our district. It is a call to action for the School Board to heed the concerns of not only its educators but its students and community as we saw during the public comment last meeting. While an invitation to discuss with you in today’s closed session was certainly welcomed, we know the damage has already been done and can see no way to repair the relationship between 293 educators and Dr. Herrmann. We urge the Board to consider seriously the voices of our membership, to engage in meaningful dialogue, and to take decisive action by removing Dr. Hermann.