Good evening. I'd like to call to order a special meeting of the Community Unit School District three hundred Board of Education for this evening, 10/02/2025. Madam secretary, will you please call the roll? Burkitt? Present. Fiorentino? LaMarca? Present. Linmark? Present. McKinde? Present. Neily Anne? Present. Settler? Present. The board six board members present. I would ask that we all rise to say the pledge. Good evening, everyone. My name is Colleen O'Keefe. I am the district's in house legal counsel. And if you have attended one of these meetings in the past or observed one
of these meetings online, you probably would have noticed that the board president generally presides over the meeting, and that's because board policy states that it is one of the responsibilities of the board president to preside over an open meeting as they are convening throughout the school year. Based on what we're gonna be discussing tonight and the high level of emotions that are involved in the discussion, the board has asked that I help facilitate this evening's meeting. But in order to do so, I'm gonna have to ask the board for a motion to, suspend their rules to allow counsel to preside over the meeting only for this evening's
meeting, the special meeting on October 2. So moved. Second. Madam secretary, can you call the vote? Zeller? Aye. McKendy? Aye. Amelia? Aye. Linmark? Aye. LaMarca, aye. Birkett? Aye. Motion passes six zero. The next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda. There have been no changes to the agenda this evening. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. Second. Madam secretary, please take the roll. Mckinde. Aye. Lamarca. Aye. Limarck. Aye. Zettler. Aye. Malia.
Aye. And Birkett? Aye. Motion passes six zero. Casey, I'm gonna skip I'm gonna skip this part. Okay. I I wanna just begin this evening by kind of laying out what the agenda looks like so everybody here knows what to expect, including the board. As many of you know, if not all of you know, the board did have a regularly scheduled meeting last week. At that meeting, it began a discussion on a recent social media post made by the board's president. Also at that meeting,
I think about probably 25 approximately 25 members of the public spoke at that meeting expressing their thoughts and concerns regarding the post. Since that meeting, the board has had the opportunity to process what the community has shared with them both at that meeting and through the emails that the board has continued to receive. As was explained at that meeting, the topic of a social media post made by any board member is not a topic appropriate for closed session. As a result,
this board has not discussed that topic since Tuesday. It has now, reached a consensus that it would like to continue that discussion, and that's why we're here this evening at this at this special meeting. This is the first time they will be discussing the topic since Tuesday as a group. It's my understanding that there are board members here tonight that plan to make statements, and, hopefully, they will also engage in a robust discussion, ask questions of each other, and, discuss the issue in its entirety. As you probably have noticed when we took the role, mister Fiorentino is not present this evening.
That's due to a previous engagement. He could not be here with us tonight. He was aware that this meeting was being scheduled. And although, of course, he would have preferred to be, part of this meeting and participate in the meeting, he understood the board's desire to move forward with this special meeting, including during his absence. He did provide me with a statement that he would like me to read during the discussion portion of this evening, and I will do so, as we get into that portion of the agenda. After discussion, we have, are going to open it up for public participation or public comment.
We have many more public participants than we did on Tuesday's meeting. So the board has, per policy, reserved up to two hours for public comment. I envision that that full two hours is probably gonna be filled tonight. It is important to the board that we hear you and that, we engage the community and ask you to be, part of this meeting and that's your, public participation is your venue to do so. Following public participation, the board has reserved time for a second, discussion. That would be to make any,
final comments, engage in final discussion, possibly have discussion on what they heard during public comment before they move on to the action items. There are two action items on the agenda this evening. The first is an action item for removal of board president, and the second is for censure of a board member. If you were present at, last week's meeting or you had the opportunity to view the meeting online, external legal counsel who was present and participated at that meeting explained that those really
are the only two avenues available to the board to take action with respect to this matter. I have been privy to the emails that the board has continued to receive up into, you know, minutes before this meeting. And, I do wanna just, remind the public as it's a continued ask through email that, missus Zettler either be fired or removed permanently from her seat. That is not an option available to this board. The Illinois school code is the statute that governs the operation of school boards in
Illinois, and that is not an option available to the board pursuant to school code. That ability is reserved for the, regional office of super excuse me, regional office of education superintendent, and we are part of the Kane County regional office of education. So that is the, person or body that would be capable of making that determination. So that is not an action item on the agenda for this evening. As you see as you may have noticed, the rules of decorum came up previously, and I asked Casey to kinda skip over that.
If you've been part of this meeting in the past, there are standard rules of decorum that the board president generally reads. I'm gonna briefly summarize them and then make an ask of everyone who's here tonight. The the rules of decorum simply ask that everyone present remain in their seats, they be respectful when others are talking, They listen and they avoid interruption. These rules exist so the board can conduct its meetings in an orderly fashion. The board is about to engage in a robust discussion on a topic that could
potentially lead to the removal of an officer from her position or the center of a board member. This, of course, is a very heavy and important topic. During this discussion, which I hope is robust, they may say things you do not agree with, and that's okay. You don't have to agree. But what I do ask is that you give them the opportunity to discuss the matter in its entirety, that you do not interject or interrupt. You will then have the opportunity to participate in public participation. This is not gonna be an easy or comfortable conversation for anybody up here on
the dais. Please, please reserve your comments for public participation. During public participation, you also may hear things that you do not agree with. I again ask that you do not interrupt speakers as they are participating in public comment. Doing so does not allow the board to fully hear everyone here that wants to make a statement. Additionally, we may need to stop the meeting or end the meeting. It's important that we do not interrupt each other, and we act civil here this evening. In the worst of situations, we do have our,
we do have police in the room, police officers in the room, and we have a safety officer. If you become or someone becomes a continued disruption, you may be asked to leave the meeting this evening. But we really hope it does not get there. We know that this is a difficult topic. We know emotions are high. We know everyone in this room feels strongly about the issue. All that we ask is that we come together to have a productive civil meeting. Does the board have any questions before we jump into discussion? Okay. We'll move into board discussion. I know that there were several members at the last meeting that did not have
the opportunity to either make a statement or, comment on what they heard during public participation, so it was my thought that we start with those members. I don't know if there's anyone specific that would like to start. Missus LaMarco would like to begin. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here. Before I get into my actual statement, I want to state briefly why some of us thought it was important to have this special meeting. The impetus is simply to acknowledge, move through, and possibly act on the outpouring of public commentary we have experienced since the initial
Facebook posts of Ms. Settler and Mr. Fiorentino. While we all have our individual thoughts on what has transpired over the last three weeks, I believe we all have the same goal in mind, and that is to get this Board back to a place where we can function productively and wholly as soon as possible. This is also what is best for the district overall. To begin this evening, I first want to say that I did have a statement prepared for the last meeting, but decided in the moment not to share it based upon what had transpired. Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you this evening.
As someone who has spent the majority of the last ten years leading nonprofits, as well as being a board member, I will openly admit that there have been countless times when I have had to bite my tongue, zip my lip, and not say or do something I really wanted to. For me, this has been one of the most difficult aspects of being in these roles. Because even though these are roles I have chosen to pursue, being committed and dedicated to the work these roles entail does not preclude or disallow me from being who I am, someone who has strong opinions and thoughts about all sorts of things.
What I have learned through all my work and what also brings me the greatest sense of peace is the fact that views are not as important as people. Differences do not have to equate to division. Like many of you, I'm sure I have family and friends who have a different ideology from my own. Here is what I know is true. I can be stealth in my beliefs and still respect and even love those who are different from me. I can fulfill my role as a board member with both integrity and authenticity.
I can do board work utilizing my experience and my compassion without the influence of the latest national debate blurring my focus and dedication to this district. When I saw miss Settler's Facebook post on her private page, I perceived it as her sharing a growth moment, one in which she expressed a raw initial thought and there share and then shared why her perspective had grown and changed based on the article that she shared by author, Qasim Rashid. I then read the article and found that it really resonated with me.
I proceeded to share the article from Quastim's page with my own commentary on my personal Facebook page. I shared the article as a private post on my personal Facebook page. And so for the sake of transparency, I wanna share my commentary that preceded the article. It was as follows. Quote, this is exactly how I feel right now. Thank you to the friend who posted this too. I needed to read this. We all do. Mister end quote. Mister Rasheed's article was a beautiful, honest, and raw take on complex feelings many of us are navigating,
and I would share it a thousand more times if I thought it could change the hearts and minds of more people. Now I'd like to move on to why I believe we're all here this evening. But first, let me be clear. I fully support miss Settler's right to post what she posted on her personal Facebook page. Do I wish she had used different commentary before the article? Yes. I do. Do I believe she meant to offend or upset her Facebook friends with her commentary? No. I do not. Taken in full context and in its original format, I do not understand how her Facebook post could be a catalyst for the disruption
that has occurred. However, I understand that it doesn't matter that I don't understand or agree with the reaction to her post. I have a responsibility to listen to and consider everyone's views. To all the people who have shared their thoughts about it, I want to say I hear you, and I respect your right to share your thoughts. I wish we could all learn to express our views, however, with civility and a baseline of mutual human respect. My perspective did admittedly change after the September 23 meeting.
I will publicly say now what I have already said to miss Zettler privately. I was deeply disappointed by the statement she made at that meeting. Choosing to make a statement that, in my opinion, was incendiary added fervor to what was already an emotionally charged issue. That action did not reflect effective, compassionate leadership. As I said a few minutes ago, sometimes, especially as leaders, we have to put aside our own interests and our quest to be right and do what is necessary to bridge divides and ultimately get back to the work at
hand. Further, it is my opinion that a school board, a non partisan entity by design and for good reason, is not an appropriate platform for continued discourse and heated debate regarding politically charged topics that aren't directly involved or adjacent to the actual work of the board. As someone who admirably acknowledges all of the work Ms. Zettler has done for many years and in many capacities to pursue the best interest for our district, this brings me to a very difficult place. Clearly,
sometimes our actions warrant responses and ramifications that we cannot predict. For an example of this, Google cold play couple. For me to be comfortable with the decision I make this evening, I must peel away everything else and solely look at the board as its own entity. I have to ask myself, can miss Zettler be an effective leader for this board going forward? How can the Board regain our ability to focus on our Board work? Having learned from this experience, how can the Board be better equipped in the future to deal with similar issues?
These are questions I have contemplated over the last week. I have had hours and hours of one on one discussions with fellow board members, including Nancy and Steve. My family and a few trusted friends have been my sounding board as I work through all of this. Ultimately, I am resolved to do what I believe is the best thing at this time for our Board. And let me state very clearly, however I vote this evening will not and does not entail capitulation to either political side. How I feel politically cannot and should not weigh into my decision about how our
board can move forward to do our work and best represent all our constituents. I encourage anyone who wants to continue political discourse to do so. People need to speak up now more than ever, and there are lots of ways people can engage in that realm. I'm sure I will continue to do so myself. That any of that is outside of this boardroom and does not impact my service as a school board member. It is my hope that just like in other times when we have had what seems to be a chasm of differing opinions between us,
that we all can listen and learn from each other. Again, understanding that differences do not have to equate to division. Division makes us weak. Differences can help us grow, even thrive. I choose the latter. Again, thank you for letting me share these thoughts with you this evening. Is there any other board member that'd like to make a statement or participate in discussion? I can go next. Okay. Good evening. Thank you for coming. Four months into my four year term, I remain committed to the shared goal of doing what is best for our entire
school district. I began this term optimistic about building a productive working relationship based on mutual respect with all board members and the administration. I acknowledge that recent events involving two of our experienced board members, President Nancy Zettler and Steven Fiorentino, have significantly challenged this foundation. Tonight, my focus is on the actions and resulting impact related to board president Zettler. I wanna begin by expressing my gratitude for everyone's patience during this difficult time. My relationship with miss Zettler spans several years and extends beyond this boardroom.
I consider her a friend. And I deeply admire her longstanding commitment to public education and her fierce advocacy for our students. Her legacy includes successfully leading the effort to pass two referendums to build and remodel schools and fighting against the Sears Economic Development Area Extension, which secured millions in additional tax revenue for our district. This is the legacy I hope endures. We are considering a motion to censure Nancy's president Settler for the disruption caused by her recent personal social media post.
I believe in the fundamental right of every citizen, including miss Settler, to to freedom of expression under the First Amendment. While we may disagree with a post, find it ill advised, or believe it missed the mark, these rights are protected. My position is that if the post in question had been made on any of the official or unofficial district related social media pages or on her public facing campaign page, I would support a censure given the disruption it has caused the district. However, to my knowledge, this was a post made within her personal social media space and did not occur
within the D300 social media community. While the post was careless given her leadership role and despite the intention for it to be private, it is clear that nothing truly is truly private on social media. I acknowledge that Ms. Zettler took accountability for her initial reaction within that same post. I will not be supporting the censure of Nancy Zettler this evening. The electorate has the ultimate right to hold any elected official accountable at the ballot box. They overwhelmingly elected her to a four year term in April 2023,
and they will have the opportunity to decide who sits in her seat in 2027. Concerns regarding the board presidency. The selection of the Board president is an internal Board matter, meaning we, the elected Board members, govern ourselves and elect officers to represent us. The Board president's primary function is to ensure effective governance, and it is in this capacity that I find some of the recent conduct problematic. The decision to remove a board member from a leadership position is solely based on their capacity to execute the duties of that office.
Specifically, I have observed the following concerning behaviors in the role of board president during the resulting turmoil. Difficulty in enforcing decorum. As the presiding officer, the board president is responsible for setting and enforcing the standards of conduct during meetings. At the last meeting, I believe the president was unable to consistently enforce the rules of decorum, which contributed to increased disruptions and a less productive environment. Absence of de escalation. Effective leadership, especially during times of high public division,
requires the ability to lower the temperature. After reviewing President Zettler's statement and watching the meeting footage, I did not observe the necessary qualities of de escalation that are essential for leading for a leader facing significant community tension. Lack of composure. A board president must maintain an unimpeachable level of composure and impartiality while presiding. I personally observed a lack of composure, including one instance of eye rolling. And reports from others with better vantage point confirmed that the president's body language and
facial expressions during public participation were not consistent with the neutrality and professionalism expected of a leader. It is for this reason and for this reason alone that I do not believe Nancy Zettler can effectively leave the board of education at this time. This decision has nothing to do with her initial post. Again, this decision has absolutely nothing to do with her initial post on social media and everything to do with how she managed the resulting situation as the board's presiding officer.
A call for community reflection. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. I hope that each of us is measured not by our missteps, but by our capacity to learn and grow from them. I am disheartened by how the local social media discourse has become a persistent source of division and hostility. This constant online conflict, often fueled by bots, fake profiles, and external agitators, is fundamentally counterproductive to the educational vision and mission of our district. While I cannot control individual actions, I urge every community member to take a moment of honest reflection on their personal
contributions to this online discourse and the impact it has on our community. My sincere hope is that we can collectively move past the cycle of unproductive argument and redirect that energy toward working with our exceptional teachers and staff to improve student outcomes. If the discourse is to continue to be political and divisive in nature, I kindly ask that it remains separate from the board, the administration, and our schools. Thank you all for being here. Let us conduct ourselves with mutual respect this evening.
When adults are focused only on winning, it is our children who ultimately lose. Thank you. Thank you. Any other board members? I prepared something to say, in the middle of the night before I left for work this morning. I didn't really like how it turned out because I hadn't had much sleep, so I'm just gonna kind of restyle it and it'll keep it shorter. My original support for the post, that miss Zeller made originally stemmed from some news that I received a few days earlier that week. I think I might have shared it with maybe two people up here.
The article she shared really spoke to what I was dealing with at that time and still am. I know we all have personal problems. We all have lives outside of our careers, our families, everything. We juggle a lot, and that is something that I was dealing with at that time, and I still am. I still will be in a couple months. That post just resonated with me. I was gonna say something last week, but I decided not to because it was fairly decisive divisive talk,
and it was better for me to just let everyone say their piece. I listened closely to what everyone said. I actually took notes on what people were saying, and I read every single email that has come into my inbox as of 04:30 this morning before I left for work. I did not get a chance to check before I came in. I'm sure there's more, but I listened to I read every single email, and I listened to everything everyone had to say, and I take it seriously. Your opinion is important, and I appreciate everyone that's here tonight. Doctor Smith, thank you for all your help over the last couple weeks,
and thank you to your team also, especially for being here tonight. Sorry you guys have to stay late, and I'm gonna cut it short so that way you guys can go home. Thank you. Anyone else? K. I'll go ahead. I'd also like to say, thank you to the community for making your thoughts known on this matter. Thank you for being here tonight, and thank you for your patience as we work through this incredibly difficult situation. Last meeting, I had the opportunity to hear from legal counsel, fellow board members, and the community. It was a critically important step in navigating the situation that we find ourselves in. I spent a tremendous amount of time reflecting on the situation and the impact it
had on the work has on the work of the board, as well as the larger d three hundred community. I wanna be extremely clear on a few points here. One, violence in any form is unacceptable and has no place in civil society. Two, freedom of speech is a fundamental right that we all share. Miss Sattler, along with the rest of the board and everyone in this room, absolutely has the right to express themselves freely. Serving as an elected official does not mean that we forfeit our rights to express ourselves in our private lives. And three, for me, this is not so much about miss Zetzler's original post.
Any action I might take tonight is based completely on her reaction to the situation that that post caused and the statement that she shared during our September 23 meeting. I was shocked and disappointed by her statement. This was our chance to refocus the board and the community back to our shared goal of serving all d 300 students. Instead of taking this opportunity to try and bring us back to this goal, miss Lutler made the disappointing choice to use language that was politically divisive and offensive to people within our community and dismissive of their concerns about this matter.
Miss Lettler's response to the situation was not what I expected from her as our leader. To me, the mark of a good leader is how you conduct yourself during difficult situations and times of division. Leaders should demonstrate genuine empathy by actively listening and seeking to understand all perspectives, even opposing ones. As members of the board of education, we are elected to serve as nonpartisan. While we each have every right to our own political views outside of this room, I strongly believe that political commentary and the use of partisan language should not come from board members while we are serving in our official capacity,
and most definitely not from behind the dais during one of our meetings. In my opinion, Nancy's statement crossed this line. I believe that the board can't maintain integrity if we do not hold our own board members accountable for their behavior. So I've been wrestling with with this question, you know, since that last meeting. How do we as a board do that? I don't feel it's the board's place, and obviously we cannot and should not overturn the will of the community's voters who have elected and reelected Nancy to serve as a board member. Nancy has every right to continue serving in that role, and her history of dedicated service to district three hundred is well recognized.
I sincerely hope she will continue to contribute to the benefit of all of our students. One of the Illinois Association of School Boards' founding principles for governance for board members is that the board take responsibility for itself. Our collective and individual conduct must always support the board's ability to govern effectively. Ultimately, I believe that, as a board, we must we must do what is necessary to return the focus of the board to all the important work that is ahead of us and to the shared goal of serving all d 300 students. Thank you. Go over to the next statement. Good evening.
I the last meeting I think I shared, my points on my like in the, like in the post today. I'm gonna focus on the topic at hand. I'm here tonight to address concerns about leadership that I believe warrant serious consideration by this board. I have seen problematic leadership qualities from two individuals, Nancy Zedler and Steven Fiorentino, that reduces productivity of the board. Good governance requires the board be responsible for itself. The board collectively, as well as individually, takes full responsibility for board activity and behavior.
I want to be clear from the art from the outset. I firmly support every individual's First Amendment right to express their views, including our board president. Personal political opinions are protected, and that's a cornerstone of our democracy that I deeply value. However, leadership positions come with responsibilities that extend beyond personal rights. A board president must be able to unite our community, lower the temperature when conflicts arise, and model the kind of respectful discourse we expect in our schools. What troubles me is not the existence of political views,
but the lack of leadership we've witnessed the last few days. First was the volatile social media post that predictably sparked significant community division. While the president had every right to make the post, it created disruption that required leadership to resolve. Second and more concerning, at our last meeting, the president had an opportunity to calm tensions and bring our community together. Instead, the response further agitated those with opposing views rather than seeking common ground. Third, there has been a refusal there has been a refusal to acknowledge how these actions
have impacted our school community or to take any steps toward reconciliation. Effective leadership requires judgment about when and how to exercise our rights, especially in roles that represent diverse communities. It requires the ability to deescalate conflict, not inflame it, and it requires the humility to recognize when our actions, however well intentions, have caused harm to the community we serve. Our students deserve a board that models constructive dialogue and unity. Our community our community deserve leadership that can bridge divides rather than widen them.
I'm not asking the president to surrender free speech rights. I'm asking this board to consider whether the judgment and temperament we've witnessed reflect the leadership at this rate need at this critical time. At this time, what we need is good leadership in both governance and productivity and a leader who has a discernment to know when to lower the temperature. We need someone who can lead by example. Even though we don't have the leader we need at this at this point, I do not want this to take away from any past accomplishments. Nancy is someone I consider a friend. She has no ounce of eight in her bone.
She's someone that values public education and does what it takes to achieve that in this community. She has been a valuable asset too on many critical occasions from the Sears EDA Extension Advocate to referendum and has served this community for decades. She has great value for diversity and works tirelessly in making sure that all students have a voice. Let's all understand that whatever the outcome of tonight's meeting is, it's not a win for anyone, but our students and community. Let's let's respect everyone's First Amendment rights tonight.
Thank you for for your time tonight. Thank you. If you don't mind, I'm I'll read mister Fiorentino's statement before I I'm gonna read a statement, shared with me by mister Fiorentino. Dear fellow board members, d 300 staff, and community, I want to start by sharing my disappointment and frustration of not being present for this important special meeting. I had a long planned family event that could not be rescheduled. I thank all of you that continue to share your op excuse me, your opinions and suggestions and potential course of action. Like many of you, I was highly disappointed and disturbed that when Nancy Zettler had the opportunity to show
some empathy and remorse, she decided not to and reacted to the contrary. Her statement included no apology or retraction and further upset many present at the last meeting and watching online. After careful consideration, I continue to believe the best course for this board, our staff, and the community is for Mrs. Zettler to step away. If she continues to be unresponsive or defiant, I recommend the board holds her accountable by removing her as president, including all committee leadership positions in an official censure. I promise to do my part to gain back the trust of our community and
represent all. I look forward to seeing how this board will act to restore respect, civility, and transparency. It is imperative that we return to focusing on teaching, learning, and our strategic plan. Sincerely, Steve Fiorentino. With that statement being read, missus Zettler, would you like to say anything? I'll wait till after public participation. Okay. Any further discussion before we move into public participation? Okay. Then we're gonna move to the next item on the agenda, which is public participation. I do. Let me pull up the list. Please hold. Diane's We have had 39 people sign up for public participation this evening.
Each person will be called individually to the podium. We ask that you state your name and your relationship to the district. Each person has been provided guidelines for public participation. As a reminder excuse me. As a reminder, minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The board does not engage in dialogue with speakers, and comments are to be limited to three minutes for up to a total of two hours of public participation. We wanna note that the open meetings act provides any person the opportunity to address the board under the adopted public participation policy.
That being said, the board would like to advise the public that they will not consider statements read during public participation that are not authored by the reader to be credible unless the board has previously received the statement in writing from the author. Additionally, the author should indicate that he or she has granted the public participant the authority to read the statement. With that, we're going to ask the first public speaker to step forward, which is Mike Berry. Good evening. My name is Mike Berry. I am a community member and taxpayer inside of District 300.
I would like to start my statement by, explaining a little bit what the First Amendment of The United States does guarantee us and how much I respect that. Right? It does guarantee us the freedom to say whatever we want. It does. And that's a wonderful thing. And it guarantees freedom from prosecution. It does not, however, guarantee freedom from accountability. When Nancy made a Facebook post that I interpreted as the celebration of the assassination of a political opponent, it was irresponsible, divisive, and inflammatory. When she had the opportunity to apologize or show remorse for her poor judgment, She doubled down on her statement during the board meeting on September 23.
Her complete refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing in this matter has not only placed many of the students in this district in danger, it is a slap in the face to the Illinois Educator Code of Ethics and the Illinois Association of School Board's Code of Conduct. Nancy's comments are in clear violation of her oath and would be grounds for removal from the board, in my opinion. Any board member who votes for Nancy tonight to remain as president and to not be censured is complicit in creating an environment of danger for our students. The financial implications of her action have also been severe.
Over the last several weeks, district staff have had to spend their time responding to emails, fielding phone calls, and fulfilling Freedom of Information Act requests. She has also incurred legal fees that I'm sure are very substantial. This is not a responsible use of district funds and it has caused a major disruption to the education of 23,000 students. She has also opened the district to an immense financial liability related to lawsuits. Any student who is attacked or retaliated against in any way by a student or teacher and references karma would open would be open and subject to this for this
district to be sued. Nancy's refusal to resign shows that she does not care about this district or its students. Nancy only cares about Nancy. I strongly encourage the board to do what's right for this district and the community as a whole, and censure and vote to remove her as the president of the school board. Thank you. Thank you. Our next participant is Melissa Ryshevik. Reycevich. Sorry. And again, I think you guys already know where I stand on this one. I find it very ironic. First of all, I have two children in D300 schools. I have two two sisters who are D300 teachers.
My sister-in-law teaches an Aurora, group. I'm a D300 alum. I find it very ironic that, I personally think this is a witch hunt against Nancy by a group of bad actors, people who have personal vengeance against Nancy, and there's a history there. And I Mike, I respect your view. I appreciate everything you bring here. But unfortunately, the voters spoke, and the voters unanimously voted for Nancy and for the majority of people on this board, with the exception of Fiorentino. And this should be left simply to vote.
Your the Trump view and the Kirk views are not popular here. He was not a good man. He was a terrible man. He had nothing but hate speech. Nothing but hate speech, and that is what we're speaking against. Hate speech. He is a misogynistic racist racist. Okay. I am gonna I'm gonna ask sorry. Stop the disruption. Hate has no home here. I find your irony laughable and absurd. And that's really all I have to say. It's just you guys are creating problems where there aren't problems,
and I think you're sad you didn't win the election. Too bad. We'll vote. The next speaker is Ally McPartland. Hi, guys. I'm Ally McPartland. I'm a parent here in this district. When I sat down to piece together my thoughts before addressing you today, the first thing that I considered was what it must be like to be sitting up there. I do not envy you, and I thank you for your public service. To those of you with whom I have had a relationship outside of this board, I have never known any of you to back down from your convictions, and I don't expect you to start now. Today, you will be asked to vote your conscience.
I hope your conscience will demand that you stand behind the woman that you elected to be your board president, even in her singular moment of public frustration. We all know Nancy Zettler is tenacious. We all know that people don't always, like, receive her tenacity well, to put it that way. When you faced the kind of vitriol that Nancy has faced, you'd be inhuman if you didn't ever feel angry or defensive, Even as a board member, at some point, we all need grace. I believe that the attributes that make Nancy a fierce advocate for her beliefs outside
of this board are what also make her a fierce advocate for our children in her role on this board. I want to take a minute to talk about the root of what you have been asked to consider here, which is the cause of the disruption that you must weigh in your decision making process. In so doing, I believe that you must also consider the way that Mr. Fiorentino has contributed to this disruption. The two cannot be divorced. When Ms. Zettler first posted to social media, she posted a message that should not have garnered criticism at all.
In fact, as you acknowledged, several of you responded approvingly to her post, and I thank you for acknowledging that this evening. But when mister Fiorentino chose to excoriate her on his public board member page, he should have known exactly the kind of disruption that would have caused. For more than fifteen years, I have volunteered with Nancy Zettler in one capacity or another. We have not always seen eye to eye. But in that time, through no fault of her own, I have seen her treated in abhorrent ways. Whether it's people hating her for running a referendum to raise taxes to build a
new school, as one of you mentioned, or parents who vilified her for following the guidance of professional agencies during the pandemic, Nancy has weathered it all, not for the sake of her own reward, but for the sake of our kids. I trust you to not diminish that in the heat of this moment. And after having heard from you, I thank you for proving my faith was not misplaced. Ultimately, your job is to do what is best for our kids. And I am here asking you to prioritize all the ways that Nancy has shown up for our kids and to show our kids that standing up
Our next speaker is Jessica Jacob. My name is Jessica Jacob and I'm a parent in this district. First, I want to recognize the position you're in. These are not easy decisions and I don't envy the weight of the pressure that has been put on each of you. Serving on this board has never been simple, but right now, the stakes feel especially high. I want to thank you for your time and energy you've already given to this district even when it comes at a personal cost. But I also need to remind you respectfully that you didn't run for these seats to do what's easy. The voters you put the voters who put you here expect you to stand firm
when things get messy. They expect you to choose principle over pressure. They expect you to do the hard thing even when a loud mob demands the opposite. Nancy Zettler deserves your full support. She did nothing unlawful, nothing that made her unfit to serve. The Supreme Court has been crystal clear. Lawful speech does not lose protection just because others twist it or react badly. Punishing her for that would not only be unjust, it would set a dangerous precedent for the district and every elected body behind it. Plenty of people in this community took no issue with Nancy's statement at the last
meeting. She was being attacked, yelled at, her life was previously threatened, and it caused her voice to elevate in order to be heard. Currently, the leadership in this country warrants responses that include truth and strong accountability while still being respectful. This will look differently today, and referring to this as astroturfing is the most appropriate way to refer to it. The real disruption did not come from Nancy's private post. The real disruption came from Steve Fiorentino, knowingly amplified it on his public page to the very audience he knew would explode.
He stoked outrage, misrepresented facts, and used his position to escalate the issue. This wasn't leadership. It was gasoline on a fire. To ignore that while placing blame on Nancy would be turning the truth upside down. I've heard from countless community members since the last meeting. People who voted for you, who trusted you to be their voice, they saw hate and venom spewed in this room, and they also saw too much silence from this board. Many are afraid to speak publicly because of the threats and harassment aimed at anyone who stands with Nancy. But make no mistake,
the silence does not mean support for removing her, it means fear. And fear is exactly what this angry mob wants to spread. And to be clear, the silence does not mean the community is on their side. In just days, over 500 people added their name to a petition supporting Nancy. This is not a small number and it shows plainly that the loudest voices in this fight are not the only ones. If you remove Nancy or weaken her position in any way, you are not protecting this district and its children. You're rewarding bad faith tactics and are telling bullies that if they scream loud enough,
they will get their way. This is not the message District 300 should send. When voters take issues with their representatives, there's a place to resolve it, the ballot box. Not here. The next speaker is Emily Bowe. Hello. My name is Emily Bowe. I am, from Aurora, Illinois. I've been reading about this online. And to be honest, this is the scope of what I know, from what was presented online and what I've heard tonight. I have heard many of you say that this was a very good friend of mine, that I've supported her,
that she's worked tirelessly in this community, and yet you're throwing her under the bus. You've listened to angry people, rude people, bullies, people holding signs that are disrespectful, snickering, saying rude comments, being disruptive, and I've not seen one of you say something about that. So I can only imagine what she's faced the last meeting, and if she raised her voice and she didn't have a good reaction to that, like, I've never met her, and I'm angry for her. I think that a lot of you should be ashamed of yourselves
to have worked side by side with somebody like her and do nothing to stand up for her. Self care is a real thing. We're all under a lot of pressure. You guys talk about suicidal ideation. I see your sign. I see you. Thank you. Thanks. You guys allow people to bully each other in here, and it's it's disgusting, to be honest. I have a minute and a half more. Right? Yep. Cool. Thanks. For her to apologize for her public post would need to say, you know, I I thought one thing is a knee jerk reaction because these people are hurting
a lot of my friends. The LGBT community is being affected, targeted probably by some of the people in this room, if I had to guess. There's a lot of people here. You have a lot of kids in schools who are afraid to walk down the hallways because of these parents probably, and what these parents are teaching their children at home. And if she is standing up against that or she rolls her eyes, I'm not sure that we can, control what our face does in the face of extreme someone said that her life was being threatened.
Who is doing something about this? Is anybody silencing them? Is anyone saying, like, hey. That's not okay. You're not allowed to say that. You're not allowed to do that. So if she's afraid for her life and she's rolling her eyes because of some of these mean people in here are threatening her, who can blame her? Leadership comes from us grabbing someone's hand and saying, hey. You're not alone. Did anybody do that for her? Did anybody look in her direction and say, like, you're okay. This isn't this isn't the end of the world. Did somebody call her? Next speaker is Phil Chester.
Hello. I'm also from Aurora. I also have just, become aware of the situation in the last week, and I feel strongly, to support president Zettler. And people already brought up the the first amendment and free speech. Obviously, that's not on the table here. You know, we can have difference difference, different opinions. And, I think that any there I haven't heard, any valid reason for her to be removed or censored, given the nature of this situation. I believe that the board should stand behind her and be strong and vote.
Tonight, with courage and to not remove her and not censor her. Thank you. The next speaker is Brandon Weinhammer. Hello. My name is Brandon Weinhammer. I grew up in this community, lived here almost my whole life. I went to Neubert, Donnie Middle School, graduated from Jacobs. I'm a taxpayer. I wanna thank you Nancy for the great education my children are now receiving. After last school board election, I made the decision to pull my children from District three hundred and send them to private school. I wanted my kids to get educated, not crammed into overcrowded classrooms and indoctrinated by your radical agenda.
I couldn't be happier with the choice both struggled in public schools and now they're both consistently getting high honors and awards for community service and Christian leadership. These are future leaders of America. I also want to touch on your character because this is something that shouldn't be overlooked. Your comment, karma is a dollar sign I T C H, shows that you have no regard for human life. We all make mistakes, but the fact that you doubled down at the last board meeting and refused to give an apology is further proof that you are not a leader.
Your comment promotes violence and you need to resign. Do the right thing, our community deserves better. Patrick, Leslie and Tola, you are no better for supporting what she said online. Erica Kirk forgave her husband's assassin, she said, because that's what Charlie would have done. Charlie never promoted violence. He was a true leader. So following Charlie's example, I wanna end with this. I forgive you, Nancy, for your vile comment about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. However, you must resign. Our next speaker is, Mr. Rasheed.
Good evening. Thank you all for giving me a few minutes to speak. My name is Ghassan Rasheed. I'm the author of the article that President Zettler shared. And I wanna read just a few excerpts from that and then share a few more comments on why I firmly believe that we should continue to work under the leadership of president Zettler. I started this article by saying I'm hesitating to publish this because emotions are high and social media is volatile. I preface my entire comment with this framing because I knew people were in a
very difficult situation. And I said, but I'm doing so anyway. Why? Because I believe in erring on the side of empathy. Because empathy is only human. The great thinker, Hannah Arendt, is reportedly to have said, the death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism. Now as a human rights lawyer, as a practicing Muslim, I can tell you the number of death threats and hate comments I've received from people quoting Charlie Kirk is more than I can count.
The number that I continue to get from Charlie Kirk supporters is more than I can count. I've had to sit in federal court and testify against a man who wanted to kill me and my children because they believe the things that Charlie Kirk and people like him taught. So if anyone should have said, I'm not going to have empathy for this man, it should have been me. But what I responded instead was despite his hatred for me and for my faith, I returned to what my faith teaches me. It teaches me that let not a people's enmity incite you to act other than
with justice, be always just. And that's why I closed that at the end of the day, this is a moment to double down on our empathy, to expand our spheres of compassion, to deepen our service to humanity, to increase our engagement with those willing to engage, to refuse to give up hope for this country and for this world. That means for people who are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, believer, non believer, gay, straight, black, white, brown, you name it, our humanity must lead. And I see somebody in president Zettler who, by the way,
I have never actually met before. And I see the work that she has done for this community for a long, long time, and I ask you as leaders to stand behind that work, to stand behind that leadership, to stand behind that example. Why have empathy even when people make mistakes? It's not for them. It's because we are human, and we recognize that we are better and stronger when we lead with that empathy and compassion. So I ask you to look at her record of empathy and compassion. Look at why she shared that post and lean into that to truly make this
a more Our next speaker is Darlene Warner. Test. Okay. Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinion. My name is Doctor. Darlene Warner. I graduated from what was Irving Crown High School in 1973. I'm a parent of three who graduated from Jacobs High School. I was a teacher of children with special needs at the Delacy Center and an assistant principal at Golf View. And I claim the title of longest serving principal at eighteen consecutive years at any school in the history of d three hundred since its inception in 1948. And I proudly and successfully served the students at Newbert Elementary School.
I've been a taxpayer within the boundaries of d three hundred for almost forty years. I also worked with Nancy on the referendum. And for you to say it was only her doing is a misnomer. It was a group effort. She did a good job. So did a lot more people. To say I have been invested in and proud of my participation in district three hundred, for sixty five of the seventy years of my life has been a point of pride up until now. Her words, Callisi declared, murder was karma. They were offensive. They were a betrayal of the decency, empathy, and leadership that our children deserve from elected officials.
She did not demonstrate self control. Her statement was hateful, uncalled for, profoundly childless. It was not karma. It was cold blooded. We know that. To frame it as some twisted form of cosmic justice reveals a level of pettiness and malice unbecoming of anyone, let alone the president of a school board, entrusted with shaping the moral compass of thousands of students. I need my water. I'm so dry. Can somebody bring it to me, please? This isn't edgy commentary or just an opinion on her personal page because she is a public figure. Thank you,
Michelle. It's a public endorsement of violence that poisons the discourse in our community and sets a dangerous example for the very young people she claims to serve. It doesn't matter that it was on her personal page, but I have to go faster because I'm not gonna have time. And she refused to apologize, digging in her heels as if doubling down on bigotry will somehow vindicate her. This isn't leadership. It erodes trust in our schools and distracts from the real issues that you have not been able to get to. They don't her actions don't reflect just on her.
They shape how our children, including her own, view compassion, accountability, and civic discourse. She has failed not only d 300, but every student in our community. She's not just expected to execute the job of her office. In Illinois, school board members are public officials subject to ethical codes and laws that govern both their official duties and, to some extent, their personal conduct when it reflects on their position. These standards ensure public trust, transparency, and accountability, particularly in how personal actions might influence perceptions of their role in d three hundred.
These are valid reasons for her to be removed. The Illinois Association of School Boards Code of Conduct explicitly addresses The next speaker is Erin Kelly. Good evening. My name is Aaron Kelly. I am a parent in District three hundred. I'm here this evening, as I was asked by Doctor. Scarpino to read his statement on his behalf as he could not attend. Good evening, Doctor. Smith and board members. My name is Doctor. David Scarpino, and I have been a member of this community for over twenty years. I am the past school board president, former associate superintendent of schools,
and the past principal of Hampshire Elementary School. I am also a former superintendent and administrative mentor. During the meeting, or during the September 23 board meeting, the board attorney addressed the topic of censure and listed several justifications for it. One included, quote, a board member's conduct caused a significant disruption to the function of operations of the school district to include board operations. The work of the administration work at each building, does it impact the community? Has it impacted your students? Following the attorney's address, the board member in question read a prepared speech,
which included, quote, I'm sorry that the district has been distracted by recent attacks on me, the board, and the administration. I'm sorry that resources meant for running the district and to give our kids the best education possible has been spent the past two weeks on dealing with this manufactured disruption. This was not a manufactured disruption. Here are the facts about the significant disruption and the lack of good judgment caused by this Board member's conduct. More than two fifty emails from community members, at least two public protests over 80 phone calls, two front page articles in The Daily Herald,
and eight Freedom of Information Act requests. These facts provide clear evidence of a significant disruption to the operations of the school district. Furthermore, the Board Attorney said, advice to the board would be to communicate in a manner that puts the District three hundred students and community at the center of your decision making, not an individual board member, end quote. There has been a major there has been major disruption and lack of good judgment caused by this individual and to keep them in their current position is unconscionable. The extent of the disruption and the lack of good judgment demonstrated by hundreds of
emails from concerned community members, public protests, numerous phone calls, front page news articles, and multiple Freedom of Information Act requests underscores the gravity of the situation. The impact on school district operations is clear and significant, making it untenable for this individual to remain in their leadership role. I urge the board to review the September 23 meeting recording starting at sixteen minutes, where you will hear clear evidence of substantial disruption and lack of good judgment. Thank you. Our next speaker is Aiden Constanti.
Hi. My name is Aiden. I'm 11 years old, and I used to be a student at Gilberts Elementary School in District 300. Right now, I attend a private Catholic school because I didn't feel safe or supported in my old school. I'm here be I'm here today because of something I heard from a board member, a comment made about Charlie Kirk after his tragic assassination. That comment really hurt a lot of kids like me. I saw the clip of him being shot, and it was incredibly upsetting. What you said felt like you were mocking something very serious, something that traumatized thousands of students across the country.
It was heartbreaking. I don't understand how someone whose job is to keep us safe could respond in that way. That's not what leaders are supposed to do. I hope you take some time to think about your words and affections or about your words and actions affect kids like me. I wanna thank my mom and all the parents and board members who are trying to do the right thing. They give me hope. And I hope one day you can work on being more understanding and kind too. Thank you. Our next speaker is Dan Donahue. Hi, Dan Donahue, Batavia. First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was
not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. Tonight they are coming for the school board president. They have already come for books, facts, history, teachers, principals and students. Our educational institutions and structures are being dismantled for project twenty twenty five. Universities are being intimidated and shaken down. They are bending the knee in disgrace.
Our constitutional rights are being trampled. The parallels to Nazi Germany are horrifying. We all have to ask, what side of history will we be on? What will our children say when their kids ask, why didn't we do anything? How do we look to our parents and grandparents who fought Hitler and fascism? The Greatest Generation, we're Antifa. General Eisenhower, General Patton, we're Antifa. We must all stand up to the bullies that spread hate, fear and division. We cannot give in to fear. Support the Constitution.
Support freedom of speech. Support your fellow Americans. Support empathy and hope. Support education. Support families, students, and love. Take a stand. If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. George Washington. Without fear of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech, Benjamin Franklin. 180,300, that's the number of teaching positions that will be lost under Project twenty twenty five.
Elimination of Title I affecting 2,800,000 students. 800,000, that's the number of preschoolers, toddlers and infants who will lose early learning services under Project twenty twenty five's elimination of Head Start. Thank you. Our next speaker is Alina Murphy. Hello, I am Alina Murphy I'm a parent in District 300 Nancy, you are right about one thing. You do have freedom of speech, and so do I. But you do not have freedom from consequences, backlash, or in this case,
damage control that is now disrupting your entire school board. And before you blame that disruption on concerned parents, let me remind you, your words were not You were being solely judged on your own words. And can we please stop pretending that you wanted to post, you wanted your post to truly be about extending empathy and reconsidering your first reaction. You wanted to say that first part. You wanted to say that. You wanted to look cool, score points with your like minded friends, show what side of the aisle you're on,
whatever. Because if it was truly about that, about empathy, you would have just reposted his message and that was it, and say nothing else. So give up the act that this was meant to be a good message, especially for students. If you would just admit that part, this would not have gotten this out of hand. And at the last meeting, you had every chance to take responsibility and own your mistake. You had the chance to possibly regain an ounce of respect and trust back from parents. But instead, you double down and you play the victim. Let me get this straight.
Okay. So Charlie Kirk gets assassinated in front of the world. You take to social media to voice your vile opinion, and now that you're facing backlash for that vile opinion, you're the victim in all of this. Does that make sense to anybody? Okay. And what's worse, on top of that, you dismiss parents who raise concerns by calling them astroturf groups? These are not fake people. I am a real parent that is very concerned about my child's safety. Okay? To mock us, belittle us, and so clearly gaslight parents who are actually parenting is unacceptable,
especially in your position. And to those who are backing Nancy, by the way, you can still support her by admitting that she messed up. Support her by telling her the truth. Hey, Nancy. People are offended by that first part of your message. Maybe it would be a good idea for you to apologize for that part, so this doesn't get any bigger. Okay? Encourage accountability. Encourage humility. And most importantly, keep your insensitive comments off of Facebook. Private page or not, you are a school board president commenting on a public execution that happened on a
college campus, AKA a school. People are watching what you say. And just to be clear, this is not about taking you down, Nancy. This is not about Democrats versus Republicans. This is about holding leaders of our school board district accountable. The next speaker is Cindy Ignolfo. Cindy here. Hi. I'm Cindy Ignoffo. I'm a Christian and a concerned grandmother with children in the District 300. I'm a voter and a resident in the District, and also a precinct committee person,
a PC, in Precinct 4 Of Dundee. And as you know, I'm the link between the voters and the candidates that want to be elected. I provide information about the candidates and make recommendations to the voters as a trusted voice while I bring petitions to be signed for candidacy. I do my best to address the issues and concerns of the voters in my precinct. And I believe this issue with Nancy speaking about karma in the aftermath of a
campus school shooting will prove to be foreshadowing when it comes to her own reelection or possibly sooner. With half of the country in shock at such a tragedy of someone they love being struck down in such a violent manner, Nancy Zettler decided to trample on their hearts with her insensitive statement that karma is a bitch. Insinuating that what goes around comes around. And that he somehow deserved it. Yes, I read the rest of the post and it was not much of a comfort
because when you start with a statement like karma is a bitch, I already know who you are. But it's not just what Nancy said in that post that has upset everybody. Hey, we all say dumb things sometimes. And it was Nancy's response to defend her words instead of issuing apology. Usually, when we come to our senses and realize that people were hurt by something we said, and it's brought, you know, so much attention by multiple people,
you know, multiple voices, everybody being here, you know, you kind of say to yourself, Boy, I messed up bad, and I better make this right. Not Nancy. Nope. She stated, I will not apologize. Blah blah blah. This just reinforces the fact that this person has bad moral character and bad judgment and does not have a finger on the pulse of the district that she oversees. And I'm not going to say the rest, but thank you. The next speaker is Leslie Russo.
My name is Leslie Russo. I'm a parent in Algonquin or a community member. My kids are grown and gone. And I wish someone had had me speak when I was 11 years old, and they would not be so nervous now, maybe. I first met Nancy Zettler when I was in, 2005 when my oldest child was in kindergarten and she was co chairing Advance three hundred, the grass root roots community organization that was supporting two essential referendums aimed at addressing overcrowding rapid residential growth and aging school infrastructure in our district.
Nancy committed countless hours over many, many months working to secure the $185,000,000 referendum that ultimately funded the construction of Hampshire High School, Gilberts Elementary, and Gary D. Wright Elementary, as well as expansions and renovations at countless other schools. The second referendum that passed funded additional staff to meet the district's growing needs. These were transformative milestones for our community. And yes, the entire community was involved in this, but it was led by Nancy. She played a central role in making this happen.
I often wonder if the families attending those schools today fully realize the work and leadership that was behind them. It was a community driven effort, but it was led by Nancy. In 2010, when the district needed community support in opposing the extension of the Sears economic development area, a move that meant continuing diversion of much needed tax revenue, the district leaders again turned to Nancy. She organized rallies, knocked on doors, educated residents, met with legislators, and traveled to Springfield several times, all on her own time and at her own expense.
Her efforts contributed significantly to the district's ability to obtain millions of dollars in additional tax revenue. Nancy has a decades long track record of putting students and public education first, and her commitment is personal. Her mother was a teacher, her daughter is a teacher, and for as long as I've known her, Nancy has given selflessly of her time and talents to this district. She's earned the respect and gratitude of this community and yet, far too often, she's met with personal, very personal attacks instead, which bring us to this current controversy. The outrage over a personal Facebook post is not about the post itself,
it's part of a pattern. The same voices that oppose Nancy during COVID have seized this moment to reignite their grievances. This reaction is not about upholding standards, it's about settling scores. Removing her from her position over this would not only be disproportionate, especially when a censure is available, it would risk further dividing the community that deserves unity and focus on our students. Those who took the time to read Nancy's entire post will recognize this quote by Mr. Empathy is our inoculation to hatred and fear. It is not weakness, it is strength.
It is not The next the next speaker is Paula Merrington. Hello. My name is Paula Merrington. My pronouns are she and her, and I'm a parent in a neighboring district. I'm speaking today in support of Nancy, someone I have known for at least the last eight years. Removing Ms. Zettler from her position as board president over personal remarks outside of her official duties on the school board is without any legal precedent, and the First Amendment implications here are very clear. When the board does not follow Illinois law or at the very clearly defined First
Amendment of the Constitution, what arbitrary rules will a d three hundred school board follow in the future when someone does not someone says something within the confines of the law that someone in the community just does not personally like? What comes next? I strongly urge the d three hundred school board, the d three hundred school district, and the d three hundred superintendent to follow the Illinois school code 105 ILCCS, sorry, and one of the very fundamental principles on which this great country was founded,
that of free speech. And let Nancy continue to serve the community that she loves in the position of d three hundredth board president. I also ask the board, please examine your own contributions to the chaos in the last week. The witch hunt and fiasco should have been shut down immediately. As soon as it started, you all allowed this to continue. Thank you. The next speaker is Jody Kanakula. Hello. My name is Jody Kanakula. My pronouns are she and her. And I am not a community member here, but I have family who are community members here and send their children to this
district. I'm here today to urge the board to protect our constitution and the right to free speech. Nancy Zettler is a diligent and hardworking board member. She made a comment as a private citizen on her personal Facebook page, not as a board member. And as many of you have said, you agreed with that. You agreed that was okay. And with all due respect, to then say, It's not about that. It's about leadership. That really is throwing her under the bus, and it's an excuse for you to capitulate to the political bullying.
I need to tell you, while I was sitting waiting for the meeting, I heard somebody say, they need to know they are being watched. You need to consider that when you consider what you're doing here today. Do you wanna be watched? Do you want everything you say to be judged? Because if you let this go, they're gonna come after you too. Please protect the constitution. Please do the right thing. The next speaker is Holly Jabrowski. Good evening, board. My name is Holly Hasten Drovsky. I am a parent and a taxpayer here.
I am also the so called manufacturer of this crisis, but we all know that's not true. I didn't go digging for your words. The screenshots of your post were sent to me by another parent, one that was too afraid of the backlash that you and your supporters would have to share it publicly themselves. That fear is real and quite understandable. We saw how critics like Mr. Fiorina were targeted by Jessica Jacobs and others who spoke here tonight. It's likely that that's possibly why he's not here. I am sad that you missed coffee with me.
It would have been an interesting discussion. I'm not a group. I'm not a cabal. I'm a parent, and I'm a mom. I'm a mom who was mortified by the moral depravity of your response to a murder of a young man in the prime of his life, murdered for daring to have conversations with people. And, yes, I did read your full statement, sir. But tonight is not about empathy. It's about accountability. Miss Zettler, in your non apology speech, you claimed freedom of expression and intellectual property. And, yes, you have all of those rights. But you should also remember your constitutional law class.
The First Amendment restricts the government from prosecution of speech, not citizens. You may speak freely, absolutely, but we, the people you claim to represent, have every right to hold you accountable for your words. And your words do matter. You've called parents many things, particularly online. You've called your parents and constituents fringe groups, astroturf groups, asshats, morons, and even Klansmen. And that's what you've said publicly. I can only imagine what's been said privately. That is not leadership. That is contempt for the very people you are supposed to represent.
You mocked so called groups that try to vote out elected officials. Good. That's how a free society works in America. We don't silence people with violence. We persuade. We organize. We decide at the ballot box. Charlie Kirk was silenced with a coward's bullet. Parents are here, standing face to face, three minutes at a time, to express grievances like civilized adults. That's not a mob. That's democracy. And that deserves respect, not ridicule. So let's be clear. If you agree with miss Suttler, for all by all means,
please continue to vote for her. If you don't, then show up at the ballot box. Run for office. Get involved. Beat because outrage alone does nothing unless it changes the next election. Our next speaker is Denise Theobald. Hello. My name is Denise Theobald. I don't live here in District 300, But I was really, quite perplexed at the outrage from President Suttler's comments on Facebook, because I thought it was really thoughtful for her to share
that post that really showed insight to say, hey. I I feel like maybe I have these emotions, but was able to share a post that showed empathy and where we should all be as human beings, to show each other that humanity in a horrible time. I don't align with mister Kirk's beliefs. I believe they were dangerous in many ways. But, of course, I felt horrible at the situation, and that's what what was conveyed there.
So is this really about leadership, though? I do wanna say what I've also seen is there was a rally call for hate, maybe from some of the parents in this district, but from so many far right, radical, extreme groups. We have Awake, Illinois, a group that spews hate towards the LGBTQ and trans community, one that's been designated as a hate group. We have the Three Headed Eagle Alliance, a far right group, who actually invited Stuart Rhodes to this community and screamed about freedom of speech.
That's great if you want a convicted felon, an insurrectionist, but they were able to do it. They were able to invite him and do it. So I find it a little hypocritical. There's also multiple GOP groups, such as King County Speaks, and, literally the Republican parties who were calling for people to come here. And the hate in those Facebook group groups were just astounding. President Zettler's record on representing and protecting all kids, and I mean all kids, has been commended over and over again.
Not like the political groups that have called people like me vermin, supporters of death and cult, and these groups that feel the LGBTQ community, especially the trans community, should not exist. She's a fierce supporter of these communities. So it really wasn't about her post, was it? It was convenient. See, look, look. Let's let's jump on it. Imagine, I want the board to imagine, being attacked knowing that the backbone of these attacks are from so many of this. This is a movement. It's dangerous. It's not just concerned parents. I'm sure president Zettler will talk to those concerned pet,
parents. But they have been rally called here, and it's always The next speaker is Michelle Hippler. Good evening. I'm Michelle Hippler. I'm a community member today. My son has since graduated 02/2008. As I sit here and wrote this, this afternoon actually, I thought about the reasons involved in what's going on today. I was at the last board meeting and I did speak. But there's more than even our education of our children that I hope the Board of Education even takes into consideration. I live in this community for thirty four years.
If we don't get our education under control in this community with D300, our house values are gonna look like crap down the road. And I would hate to see that. I still live here. I'm not prepared to sell my house yet, but that is taken into consideration. I'm feeling compelled to point out though that Nancy was given the opportunity to apologize where she felt there was no need to apologize, yet she mentioned she feared for her life and her family. I would think she should and would. If she was that concerned about it and no remorse of apologizing, she has no regard for human life,
not much different than those that unfortunately sit in jail for taking someone else's life. This speaks volume as to her character and her ethics in that we strive to teach every day to our teachers, or help our teachers do it, to our children, and even to each other. She also tried to share that her Facebook page was hijacked. Once again, these are the consequences one takes using social media, may it be personal or not. What a ridiculous comment so that the reality is that she needs, unfortunately, to apologize and step down.
I pray that the Board of Education three hundred understands that the position she has put out to our children in our community today are now taking away what you guys do as real work and need to be working on, and not be here sitting at another special meeting regarding Nancy Ziegler. I hope that you guys really, really take it into consideration that a special meeting had to be taken to understand what your community is saying to you tonight, which by the way, a special meeting was initially asked for and it was not granted.
It ended up being a district three hundred board meeting that you spoke, that we all had the opportunity to speak at last week. This woman crosses the line with her values and ethics, and has no business being in our school system of any capacity. She totally disregards you as the board, as your president. I pray that as a Christian, that she understands and hears the words that most people are saying is, had she just simply apologized, we would not be spending tax dollar monies and be here tonight. Thank you. The next speaker is Michelle Filio.
Hi. I'm Michelle Filio. I am a new parent to the district. I have two, daughters in this district, and I am actually concerned if she is removed or whatever the plan is here. I'm concerned because I feel like she is working hard for children like my children in this school district. That she's been working hard for many years, to help support all of the children in this school district. Our nation was definitely founded on certain principles, and one of those is the First Amendment.
Yes, she had every right to share her, on her private social media, her feelings. Many of us are frustrated and upset with the things that are going on, but at this point, I've only heard word of the one person being shot, when so many of our children in this country have also been taken down by gun violence. And none of the people here so concerned about this one person have said a single thing about all of the children. And the fact that our children had to do,
what's it called, the drill, the active shooter drill, just recently, last week. It's disheartening that they don't have any concern about that, and they're actual children. But this one single man, who, yes, should not have this should not have happened to him, but he supported gun rights. He supported people that had guns like that. It's an amendment right. We should have gun rights, but he supported violence, he supported hate. Everything in his life was hate. I actually want to say,
that I'm sorry. Many community members support you. You were voted in. You are a very well respected member of this community. Please do not succumb to bullies. This country has been filled with them, and it's hate, and it's toxic. Please, please uphold the parents who are so grateful for her and for all of you who support our children, who work tirelessly for them. Please support her, and don't throw her under the bus. Thank you. The next speaker is Arti Maumdanar.
Good evening. I'm Artie Maldenor, community member here at D300 Data six, pastor in the local community of Carpentersville starting in Pingree Grove. And I just want to say thank you to everybody here. Thanks to our law enforcement for always keeping us safe. And thanks for the opportunity to speak to you tonight. I wrote and contributed to an article that you can choose to read or not on where I stand, on what my ask is of you, but that's not why I'm here. We all took the pledge of allegiance, and it really struck me
that we all, in good faith, said one nation under God. And I'm struck by that statement because that is the statement, if we're honest, we have drifted the farthest from. We've tried to build schools and communities, even this nation, as if God was an option and the result is everything that you see and feel in this room: division, confusion, chaos, anger, malice, all of it name calling, vitriol, on repeat. Let's be clear, and let me say it plainly. There is no unity. There is no freedom.
There is no empathy. There is no justice. There is no peace, and there is no future apart from the Lord Jesus Christ being the centerpiece of this place. I have one minute, and I just wanna say this. The Bible says, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and that there is no salvation in anybody else than in Jesus Christ. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. If we continue to ignore him or greater yet,
we continue to exchange him for a god in our own image or our opinions or some other twisted demonic ideology, we will continue to raise kids that are worldly, street smart, but lost, connected, but hopeless, and successful in the world's eyes and have a plethora of money in their bank account, but spiritually bankrupt before the god of this universe. And we cannot afford that. Our schools should not just produce achievers. They should raise up leaders with character who trust and depend upon the lord Jesus Christ alone because there is no other god.
I rest my case. God bless you. Okay. I'm I'm I'm gonna jump in, and and again ask the group. Please refrain from commenting, from cheering, from adding to a public statement. We appreciate your applause afterwards if you agree with it, and we have allowed that to continue. But it's very difficult for the board to hear the speaker when you interject yourselves into what he or she is saying. So please refrain from doing that moving forward. We have, asked from the board member to take a five minute recess to use the facilities. So we're gonna,
ask for a motion for a five minute recess. We apologize for the delay. Don't move. Second. We'll be back in five minutes. You hit the gavel? We're gonna reconvene the meeting if everybody would like to take a seat. Can everybody please take a seat? We're gonna reconvene the meeting. Can I have a motion to reconvene the meeting? So moved. Second. Yep. Will you take the role, please? Sure. Marca, aye. Amelia? Aye. Zeller? Aye. Linmark? Aye. Burkett? Aye. McKenday? Aye. Six board members present. Thank you. We have 17 speakers left. And the next speaker is Rebecca Morgan.
Good evening, District three hundred Board of Education members. My name is Rebecca Morgan, and I'll begin by stating this clearly. I am not a member of some imaginary astroturf angry mob. I'm not an insufferable moron, but I am an independent, free thinking, concerned parent, and I'm actively involved in my community. I'm someone who cares deeply about the well-being of our students, the integrity of our schools, and the values that should guide this board. I'm here tonight to affirm the principles that every board member pledges to uphold.
Principles clearly outlined in the Illinois School Board Governance Code of Conduct, and that code states, a board member must act with integrity and accept responsibility for personal decisions and actions. Recently, our school board president, Ms. Zettler, her conduct had called this standard into question. We are here because she made a post that was not only deeply inappropriate, but at worst, it could be interpreted as an endorsement of violence. When given the opportunity to demonstrate accountability, she reposted someone else's thoughts and words to excuse her own.
Yes. I read the post. She deflected blame, and then she claimed victimhood. That is not leadership, and that is not acceptable. The code of conduct also reminds us that school board members must respect the dignity and worth of all people, and model stability and integrity in all interactions. These are not just aspirational words. They are binding expectations of this board. Miss Zettler has attempted to frame her post as a personal post. But this defense fails under ethical and legal scrutiny.
There is the 2012 case of The United States versus Muragildo, where they ruled if privacy settings are ineffectual, the user has no justifiable expectations that his friends will keep the profile private. This is also supported by Davidson, Berson, Randall in 2016. Let me also be clear. There can be no unity without accountability. The community cannot move forward if its leaders refuse to acknowledge the harm that their words may cause. Healing begins with responsibility,
not denial. The conduct further states that board members must place the education and welfare of all students above personal and political agendas. That includes protecting every student in the family in this district, regardless of beliefs, backgrounds, or their political views. The next speaker is Jim Malone. Good evening. My name is Jim Malone. I'm a district 300 taxpayer. I've been for twenty six years. I have no children in the district, which means I put in a 100% and take zero services out.
Just thought I would let that I have no problem with that by the way, because we need an educated community. I also serve on the board of trustees for the village of Carpentersville. I'm here to stand in support for board member and president Nancy Zettler. I'm also here to stand in support of the first amendment. That's what we should be teaching our children, not this. This is a waste of my taxpayer money, and I'm not blaming any board member. We all know why we're here and why we're wasting our money. This is a terrible example for our students. Just because you don't like what someone said,
you can fire them? That's not the first amendment. That's what we should be teaching our children, not how to be bullies. If you don't like what someone says, you gather up a bunch of people and yell at them and get them fired. I ask the board to do the right thing. Stand up for the first amendment. Thank you. The next speaker is Gigi Land. Good evening. My name is Gigi Land, and I'm a parent of two children in D300, and I'm also the PTO president at our elementary school, although my words are not reflective of that board. At the last meeting, Nancy Zettler had the chance to demonstrate leadership,
empathy, grace, even the smallest acknowledgment of her part in the harm that her public commentary was causing. Let's be honest. This is not the first, second, third time that she has ignited division. Even if she's believed that she was right and she has every right to her opinion, she could have recognized that her post contributed to disruptive division and distrust and taken steps to deescalate. She could have chosen chosen humility. Instead, she doubled down. She intensified her rhetoric with no sign of reflection or responsibility. That is not leadership.
That is escalation. And when a board member magnifies conflict, instead of calming it, it shows the community exactly who she is. There's also a glaring double standard that I need to address. I know for a fact, and you could ask me later how I know, that students in d 300 have faced consequences for what they post online, and I'm not talking about my students. Students are taught that abusive language, slurs, and derogatory remarks are misconduct. The d 300 handbook explicitly prohibits verbal abuse and name calling. Students are expected to respect self, respect others,
respect environment. There was no respect for miss Zettler last week or in many of her posts. If our students are disciplined for derogatory comments, how can we possibly tolerate the same behavior from board members, leaders who are supposed to model integrity? And as I said last time, I am not an antagonist for either side. And I can truly understand how the board feels bombarded when there are some complaints from parents that have become quite frankly absurd. I've seen outrage online about high school seniors learning, like, words like salacious or lascivious.
These are not vulgarities. They're academic terms, part of a rich vocabulary. When we cry outrage over every little thing, it distracts from the real issues and makes it harder to take legitimate concerns like this seriously. I am calling on everyone in this room and in this community to take a step back and reset. Both sides here are too far entrenched to compromise. We see it in congress, opposing sides refuse to work together, and nothing gets done. I cannot change that nor do I condemn those who blame national leaders for setting the tone. But I do believe that change begins locally. And that is why I'm here,
focused on what I can influence in hopes that responsible, accountable leadership at the community level will ripple outward. This is a moment for common sense, for dignity, for leadership that models the values that we claim to expect from our children. Tonight is the board's chance to show that respect and accountability matters. Anything less only deepens the distrust already dividing us. And to everyone in this room, we all have a part in this. We need to reset, refocus, and remember what matters. The next speaker is Erin Niese. Good evening, members of the board and Doctor. Smith. I'm here again because silence is not an option.
I didn't come here last week because I'm on a political party or I have some kind of passion towards anything. I came here because I love children. I've dedicated twenty years of my life to education. I spent ten of them here in this school district. The only thing that I care about is the safety of students. When I read Ms. Settler's re posted whatever post it was, it said that what happened at a school shooting was karma. That is why I'm here. I'm not here because I care about political views. I don't care. All I care about is that every single day,
the thousands of students, my three daughters included, in this district, my friends, my colleagues, are safe. When I got up here to speak on behalf I'm not a part of a group or astroturf. I don't even know what that means, truthfully, and I'm a reading specialist. You can laugh now. You couldn't laugh at me last week, but now you can't because that was funny. I was met with your bullying. You I rolled You did. My friend over here admitted there was an eye rolling. You rolled your eyes. I had to stop my speech. You're rolling your eyes right now! You are rolling your eyes right now. It's someone who cares about children.
I voted for you, Nancy. I voted for many of you up there. I can tell you it's not going to happen again. I am disgusted that we can liken a school shooting to karma and then say, oh, but I have this beautiful poem from mister Rashid, and it's okay now. If I said something as an educator on my personal page that went against anyone's beliefs, I would lose my job. This gentleman I was just speaking with that has your back and he's for free speech agreed with me. I have freedom of speech,
but I am held accountable. You had the right thing to do last week. You could have easily said that you apologized for the way others interpreted it, not your words. Had you posted just what he wrote, people would have not even turned an eye. I was drawn to it because you likened a school shooting to karma. That is the bottom line. You are responsible for my three children that come to school here, And it was okay for a person to shoot another human being in front of
thousands of children. I promise if you laugh right now, I will I promise I will make it my vision to never see you on this board again. This is serious. You are responsible for my children, my friends, my colleagues. This is not a political thing. And then instead of that, you choose to roll your eyes at me, to laugh while I spoke. This is a leadership thing. You are not fit to be a leader. We spent $2,000,000 on a program called Leader in Me. $2,000,000. The next speaker is Sarah Patty. Good evening.
My name is Sarah Patty. Thank you for the opportunity to allow me to be heard tonight. I'm a mother of a child in D300, and this is my first time actually speaking at a board meeting. Life and love are the most precious gifts that we've been granted. Nancy Zettler provided a clear glimpse into her primary thought process, justifying death and hate. She expressed her ideology as being more important than human life. Nancy's first thought after an inconceivable assassination of a man in front of thousands of students wasn't about the terrible loss of human life.
Her thought her first thought wasn't even the concern for all the students who were subjected to watching this despicable act of murder. Her first thought was to justify the assassination through her own ideology. The issue is extremely straightforward. It's not time to hide behind procedures and technicalities. Action is necessary. Failure to suitably address this issue will only shine more light on Nancy's devious ideology. Authority figures within the district who stand idle regarding this massive issue will still need to wake up and look at themselves in the mirror every day. We call upon all individuals holding significant positions within the D300 hierarchy to properly address
this situation in order to preserve the integrity of our community's education system. In the essence of cherishing life and love, Nancy Zettler most certainly should not reside with any position which impacts or influences our community's children. The next speaker is Teresa Naff. Hello. My name is Teresa Naff, or Terry Naff, and I thank you all for your hard work, and I know this is extremely difficult. I was here last board meeting, and I was so upset by the behavior that I couldn't even hardly speak. It was very difficult. I've been an educator. I'm a community member.
I've been an educator for forty years. I taught middle school for thirty four years, and I loved it. On the first day of school, I told my students, we're not gonna worry about a lot of rules, we're gonna focus on one thing, respect, and I wrote it on the board. And I told them that I would respect them, I expected them to respect me and each other, and there would be consequences. We would talk about it and examine it if they didn't. And if I've witnessed it, I would take students aside and we would talk about it. And I'm not seeing respect from a lot of groups here, and that just makes me very sad. I work in a community with nonprofit groups.
I'm not here representing them. Just I'm speaking for myself. But working in nonprofit groups, I see a lot of people who work together cooperatively with respect for each other, and they care about kids and teachers and community. And it's just a wonderful feeling. So this to me, all this negativity and the hate and the anger, is so upsetting. Very upsetting. We all get angry. I mean, I've said a lot of things in anger that I regret, and we're human. But you have to get beyond it and make amends and try to do better the next time. And how you deal with anger speaks volumes about your character.
I was not happy with, President Zettler's statement at the last meeting. I thought that she could have done better. I still think that she has her freedom of speech. I was a little disappointed at her statement because I don't think that it helped the situation. I was really upset, and this doesn't seem to get brought up a lot, with, board member Steve Fiorentino's, post. I think he stirred the fire. He added fuel to fire, and I think it was, I think that was intent. That's just my opinion, but that's what I think. It was not the proper venue. If I have a problem with a neighbor or a colleague, I go and talk to them first.
I don't put it on social media. That's just not right. This is a difficult situation. I don't envy you all this. I know you don't take it lightly. I know you're very concerned about it. I know we all have to work forward, move forward and work keeping respect at our center of our dialogue. And I just think it's so important that it doesn't have to do with politics or religion or any of that. It's about respect and caring for each other. I care about kids. I care about this community. And I thank you for letting me speak tonight. Thank you. The next speaker is Danielle Wolk. Hello, everyone. My name is Danielle Wilke, and I'm a resident here.
I also want to say that, I am also a family nurse practitioner. I've been practicing for about a decade. I have literally dedicated my life to helping others. We all know that the First Amendment protects people's right to free speech. But in today's world, we need to remember why free speech is so important. Freedom of speech is considered one of the most important rights in a democracy because it protects the ability of people to share ideas and pursue truth. It's often called the cornerstone of liberty because without freedom of speech,
it's hard to protect or even talk about other rights. There are limits to freedom of speech, which includes incitement to violence, like an insurrection. True threats, like to the homeless. Obscenity, which is the legal definition of obscene based on the Miller test and must take the entire communication into consideration, not isolated passages, CP, commercial speech regulations, time, place, and manner restrictions, and national security. Nancy Zettler's remarks on her personal social media page is protected under the First Amendment.
Censorship of speech simply because it offended some people is not consistent with the First Amendment. In fact, the person she refers to in her post would agree. If I were up here right now and I were to cry and I told you I was a Trump supporter, how many people would think, oh, what a snowflake? And then if I told you, you know what? I'm a leftist, and I cried. How many of you would you think, what a snowflake? My best friend is on the complete opposite of me when it comes to our
political views. But somehow, we make it work. Somehow we find a middle ground. And I think it's from what a few people have said, and that's about respect and just understanding that we are all human. Nancy, you are human, and you deserve a little grace. So in summary, I support Nancy Zettler as our district three hundred board of education's president. Thank you all. The next speaker is Matt Kotopka. Good evening. My name is Matt Kotopka, a committee member and a parent. I stand here again to demand the removal of board president, miss Zettler,
as president. Her disturbing attitude and actions show she cannot lead fairly and have broken the trust placed in our leaders. As discussed at the last meeting, miss Zettler called parents and community members, including me, astroturf groups, claiming our concerns were manufactured. I'm not part of any fake group, nor are the many parents I've met here. Her dismissive words insult their genuine worries and show a lack of respect for the people she serves. She also claimed her earlier post was private. But as an attorney, she should note the case law states that Facebook posts, even to friends only, are not private speech.
This excuse dodges accountability and deepens the divide in our community. The IASB code of conduct requires board members to represent all school district constituents honestly and equally without favoring any political side. By dismissing our concerns, refusing to apologize, and hiding behind a false claim of privacy, miss Adler shows bias and inability to serve all families thoroughly. This breaks her promise to act with integrity and sets a poor example for our students who need leaders they can trust to be fair and honest. Miss Adler, I obviously don't wish any harm on you, but your divisive attitude is part of what's wrong with our country.
That's why the bullets are flying. You don't seem to see people with different views as equals, but members of one of the fringe groups. I hope you reflect and change your ways. Carrying this much negativity every day must be happy. As a Christian, I'll pray for you, but our students deserve better. I demand you as president, and I will continue fighting for change. I urge this board to vote to remove miss Edler as president, to show our kids that leadership means fairness and responsibility, not excuses and division. Thank you. The next speaker is Christine Tapert. Good evening. I come to you as a parent who raised two boys in this school district.
And I graduated from '91 from Dundee Crown and my husband graduated in '83 from Jacobs. I am the epitome of, you know, living here my whole life. Never leaving the area. I have personal experience with this. Let me explain. My son was in high school. He made a post outside of school. Outside. And not on Facebook. It bled to Facebook, but not on Facebook. That post was taken by another person. Comments were added that were more inappropriate, which made the post worst.
I have to tell you as a parent, it was a it was an inappropriate post. And to protect my son's privacy, I'm not gonna tell you, but I know that there are people here, including Kathleen, we met over that. That post was taken. Comments were added, which made it more inappropriate. My son was suspended for ten days. It's called the Lexus Nexus, what happens outside that carries into the building and disrupts the learning environment. This has disrupted it. There is a lot of kids, Nancy.
It's not okay that you feel that because he used his voice, whether he was speaking his truth, whatever truth that might be, that he lost his life. That's not karma. That's evil. That's evil. When somebody can't use words and chooses to take up violence on another person, that's not karma. Nancy, I know that you've done a lot of good things. I've raised my kids here. I am don't believe in permanent removal, but I believe in a suspension. This is a teachable moment for our children.
If our children make posts, we we say if you have nothing nice to say, you keep it to yourself. Right? We teach our kids that we have to respect other kids. My child was suspended for ten days. If my child was suspended for the exact same thing that's going on here and we don't do something, this is a this is a teachable moment for these children. This shows them that while you have the first amendment right to speak, this wasn't done in school while he was a student.
It was not done in school. Where was his first amendment? When I went to school to say, hey, I'm his parent. It's my job to raise my children. He comes from a two parent home, mother and a father, churchgoing. Okay? My parents were married for thirty nine years. So he and his grandfather was the deputy sheriff of King County. The next speaker is Wendy Rudd. Hi, yes, my name is Wendy Rudd, and I am a District 300 parent of two girls that graduated in 2018 and
2020. And I just wanna say I support the First Amendment rights. There's just many public figures making comments that not everyone agrees with, especially when the full context isn't shared. And we may not agree with them, and sometimes we turn them into something that they're not also. So I think the biggest thing is how we respond to things, and, then it's the difference, how we respond to things is the difference. Turning this statement into a scandal and escalating it to this point is a response
that's responsible for taking the time away from the education of our kids and what is supposed to be being done by the board. It's not the statement itself that has caused this. It has been the response. I think, the board needs to look beyond this scandal and what it has become politically, and take a look at it and make a decision based off of the years that Nancy has given based on her performance. And that's all. The next speaker is Kelly Giordino. Like many parents, I am a former d three hundred student,
a parent, of d three hundred students, and also a sister whose brother was, in Charlie Kirk's opinion, acceptable collateral damage. When I heard him say that, those words broke my heart. My heart ached. But I never ever once, in my evening, in my own mind, denied him the right to say the things that he was saying. He had the right. He said those things on college campuses. He had the right. As distasteful as Nancy's comments may be to some, there's no violation of the code of conduct.
It's your interpretation of her statements that have brought us to this point. If the community no longer wants her in office, fine. Vote her out. That's why we vote. But don't try to run her out of office because you're personally offended by her comments. Heck, maybe we should take all this energy and redirect this energy to stopping school shootings. Do something worthwhile. Just remember, every compromise we My time. Every compromise we make to our right of free speech will, in fact, come back to haunt us.
Because, as we all know, karma. The next speaker is Leo Bernardi. You've reached number 34. My name is Leo Bernardi, and I'm a member of the district resident of the district, I should say. As a member of this board, you took an oath of office that includes, as part of the school board membership, I shall accept the responsibility for my role in the equity and quality education of every student in the school district. Let's remember the history of District three hundred over the last twenty or so years when schools were crying for equity? How fair was it for some students to walk through snow and rain to get
to temporary classrooms outside their schools? How fair was it when some schools were squished into closets as a classroom or at class sizes in the thirties for elementary classes? Who stepped up and led the education of the community regarding why a referendum was needed to ensure there was equality for all our students? And let's not forget the support the community had to assure teachers, paraprofessionals, and staff receive fair and supporting wages. We saw which leaders of the District 3 hundred community stood and supported those important
assets for our students. Again, the oath you took states quality education for every student, not quality education based on voices who indoctrinate people to believe that a person's soul is more important than another's. A person's soul is regulated to birthing because of their chromosomes, Or a person's soul should not be recognized because of their background, but to provide a quality education for teachers, staff, and paraprofessionals who nurture, mentor, foster social and emotional development, and protect all of our students in their care. We have read and heard many voices lately,
and the question that comes to mind is, if we are teaching supporting the students of district three hundred hundred not to be bullied, then why would this board cower to bullies? If we teach our students who will become the pillar of our community to stand up and support one another against bullies, then what happens if someone takes an easy way out of a situation even if it's not the best choice to make? Think about the leadership over the last twenty years that has quieted the voices of different bullies. Are you going to support that leadership or support the voices that will divide us,
turn us against each other? As a community. Where were we twenty years ago when the school needed schools? Where were we when teachers were fighting for better pay? It's easy to let bullies win, but is that the oath you took in providing the equitable and quality education for all students? Thank you. The next speaker is Amy Gorecki. Hi. My name is Amy Gorecki. I am a community member and taxpayer. It is shameful of Nancy that we are all here. She should have resigned after last week's meeting in accordance with the rules guiding rules
of ISBE's code of conduct. No one wants to be here tonight. No one wants to be giving up their night and have their tax dollars going to waste this waste of time. She has had since September 23 to make the right decision and resign or at the bare minimum, step down as president. As every board member has said in their opening speech, everyone has the right to free speech. No one in here is arguing that Nancy does not have First Amendment rights. And if I'm wrong, please stand up. See? We can all agree on something. As a professional,
I know I have a responsibility to conduct myself in a certain manner while online, even on my private pages. In fact, I have to do continued education on it yearly in my position, and that's not a public one. Maybe this is something that should be instituted going forward for the board. As every board member said, Nancy, as a leader, needs to know how to cool the temperature and bring the community together, which she has immensely failed to do. Nancy sat up there and rolled her eyes and called her concerned community a small astroturf group.
And now her friends in the community are calling us a loud mob and bullies when all we are doing is standing up for what we believe in and asking for accountability of a community leader. Again, showing just how divisive that one post has become and how negatively it is affecting the community. Nancy digging your feet in the ground and refusing to resign is doing much more harm than the good that you have done in the past. To the rest of the board, I do not envy you. You have a very hard choice to make tonight. We all know that Nancy is your friend,
but friendship should not overrule your elected positions. The ISBE code of conduct needs to be your guide tonight, and everyone up there should be fully aware of what that is and make the choice based on those guidelines. Thank you. The next speaker is Charlie Rahi. You may be pronouncing that incorrectly. Hi. I'm Charlie Ray. I've been a member of this community, for about a decade and a parent in this community for about a decade. When I first saw a post in the Hampshire community group, my knee jerk reaction was shock. The small section selection repeatedly shared by what I considered trusted prominent voices in my
community surprised me. As I looked a little bit deeper, I came across articles and other social media groups where screenshots of only part of the post was shared. The comments painted a dark picture stained with hate. With my gut knotted, I decided to read everything Nancy shared to see what she could have possibly said to deserve turning the community against her. For a moment, I thought there was a miscommunication. A thoughtful plea for empathy in the face of violence couldn't have people up in arms.
It shouldn't. Suddenly, the cropped image of Nancy's post made more sense. I looked into the names connected to the articles, the groups, a five year old petition for the same reason by the same people, and the new Turning Point chapter at Hampshire High School. That's when the dots began to connect. I think we're on a slippery slope right now. If we follow through with this, where does it end? I think we know nothing she could have said in the previous meeting would have satisfied those causing the true disruption. Nancy isn't awaiting judgment because of an inappropriate post.
It's because of what side her politics fall on. This is five years in the making from the same group seeking revenge because of circumstances out of the board's control. Oddly enough, they don't seem to have a problem with masks now. If Nancy loses her elected position today, it won't be because her private call for compassion went unheard. It's because we gave merit to threats of a group of community disruptors who have distorted words and contemplation she shared. I've heard a lot about her disruption tonight. But while the loudest among us demand action, Nancy looks after a much larger demographic than those here today.
Part of that demographic, too afraid to speak here today likely because of the intimidation tactics, like the cowardly act of taking a photo as I sit here, like that woman and her friend were doing to me, even though they could have waited for a YouTube video. I'm married but flattered, thank you, the silent majority likely feels seen by Nancy's kind words to not lose our empathy, something we are in danger of doing here today. Shout out to Gilbert's Elementary, doctor Z, missus Troy, and especially missus P, who is quite an amazing social worker at Gilbert's Elementary.
Thank you. The next speaker is Sharon Fetting. Good evening. My name is Sharon Fetting. I've been a resident for twenty years, and my kids have graduated from Jacobs. First off, I think the board members should need to keep their speeches to three minutes. We are parents who do not want a representative who celebrates someone getting assassinated at a school event while having a public debate, period. Nancy is the one to blame for the circus. We all know we all know nothing will happen to her. Hopefully, parents will remember this when voting comes around. We have to remember, I we have to remember,
I have never forgotten the COVID debacle. COVID showed their true colors if you were paying attention. The person who talked about being bullied, that's exactly what she did to our kids during COVID and continue with her woke policies. This board has lied to us and manufactured emails to make it look like they were being bullied a few years ago, so you have no credibility with us parents who have been paying attention. This was on Steve Fairtown I don't know how to say this last name, board member page of one of Nancy's friends who spoke here tonight. Hold on. Let me find it.
Steve, stop it, or I'll make sure you never win another seat. I have so much dirt on you. It's not even funny. You play both sides. It's It's disgusting. Grow a backbone and pick a side. Sit this one out. That sounds like bullying to me, flat out. That's really all I got. I just voter out. I know you won't. Parents have been paying attention. Hopefully, when the voting starts again I don't know. You got three years. I don't wanna pay attention that much anymore. I just know that when voting does happen to vote all you guys out because your vote policy oh, quality education? You guys are not paying attention to what's going on at school.
Your kids are not getting quality education. Scores have dropped. Like I told you before, Pritzker lowered it. So it looks like you're doing better. You're not. Wake up. We've been paying attention for the last five years trying to protect your kids too. So it's not just one-sided. We're trying to protect all of them. Voter out. That's it. God bless America. God bless Charlie Kirk, who's not a racist. Thank you. Everyone, we're we're so close to the end. There's two more. Can we just let's keep it together for two more. Next speaker is Irene Wagner. Good evening, everyone.
My pronouns are pissed off American. I want to start off and take and thank mister Sprintino, as I did not have a chance to thank him last time, for having a backbone and sticking up for himself, as none of you have done anything to stick up for the school district. I want to start off and say, Nancy, your character is everything, and you lack character. You lack accountability. You lack respect. You have no morals, no values to stay in the position you're in. I have never met anybody so vile as you. I sat in this room last week or last board of directors meeting and watching
your face, the facial expressions you made, body language, said it all. You have no respect. And the only thing you have to do, take accountability and apologize. That's all. You didn't do none of it. You made excuses. That's a five year old child. You're a grown adult. Take accountability for your actions. You need to step down. Some of you, you other ones have to step down as well because this is getting ridiculous. I've never been so disgusted with the behavior and the things that came out of you, but Nancy is sad. That's all. That's it. God bless America.
Our final speaker of the evening is Kathy Schlosser. Hello, my name is Doctor. Kathy Schlosser. Just about everything I've said has already been said, but I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a resident of Algonquin. I lived in Lake In The Hills for over thirty years. Four of my children went through District three hundred schools. Three of them graduated from Jacobs, and every day I'm thankful for that. Okay, two of my kids, one is an architect and one is an animator, I owe to the art department and having AP Studio because many schools don't have
that. I am also a Christian, and frankly I'm a little nervous up here because I don't see a lot of the teachings of Christ being shown here, and it's upsetting to me that people are supportive of an individual, who did not follow the teachings of Christ and spread hateful rhetoric. And when Nancy, an elected official, who I also voted for, okay, made her statement, I didn't necessarily see it on social media or anything.
I am a nurse, and because those are my values, I feel nursing is a sacred profession, and I try to live by my values, and someone I worked with asked me if I knew what was happening in my own community. And I'm ashamed to say I didn't, despite having been a member of CORE many years ago when my kids were in school, so I know what it's like to pass a referendum. Many of the schools that your kids are in right now, I helped, pass that referendum. In any case, she told me what Nancy said and I told her, I go Well, is that's how I felt when I heard that.
So thank you Nancy for saying that, because I too felt it was karma. Karma is the law of cause and effect. It's not a statement of opinion, okay, of anything. And he said, and I quote, I think it's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every year so that we can have the second amendment to protect. He's talking about our children, okay? Our children in this school. And if you think the children aren't watching, they are. And they are scared of doing those drills and so on,
and this man supported that over them. He supported gun rights over them. It was karma, I'm sorry to say, okay? And I think it's more important to look at her whole career as opposed to Charlie Kirk's. And I'm shocked. Who are my community members? Were you this upset from school shootings? Do you think Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Good. Yes. But you're supporting him more than you are supporting the school children.
I'm I'm gonna ask for decorum in the room. I'm I'm gonna ask for decorum in the room because we're gonna transition back to board discussion, and that cannot happen if there's commentary from the audience. K. We're gonna move back to board discussion. This is really your platform to continue the discussion, so I will turn it over to whoever wants to pick the discussion up if they have anything else to say. Nancy, would you like to say anything? My glasses. Okay. Alright. Alright. I Understand I am in no way questioning or weighing miss Settler's value to the board. I am confident that however our vote goes this evening,
miss Settler will continue to be a dedicated advocate for this district, as well as a hardworking, committed board member. Please also understand that sorry. Please also understand that no board officer position, including president, has any more authority, weight, or influence than any other board member. All board members are equal parts of the board entity. Board officers do have more responsibilities when it comes to communication. Additionally, the board president is typically the first liaison to the superintendent and then responsible for
disseminating information to the board as necessary via one on one discussions, always keeping in mind, of course, OMA restrictions. While it is not the board president's role to make sure the board members are always on the same page in regards to decision, because believe it or not, varying opinions is a very healthy thing for a board, it is their role to make sure we each have the information and the discussions necessary to make those decisions and ultimately cast our individual votes. Based on all of that,
it is my opinion that a board president also needs to be able to, as a baseline, have a relationship with each board member that includes mutual trust and respect. You. Anyone else? No? Missus Eller? You know, I know what I wrote, and I know what I meant. And I also know that that was and I don't care if everybody thinks that it's, you know, it's gonna happen, so you shouldn't do anything. When stuff like this happens, it's meant to, squash people wanting to speak up. And when somebody takes your private your private per,
private statement on a page and I would have published that thing, honestly, publicly too. But I was it were those were thoughts of mine that I held with private. Okay? And somebody in this room tonight admitted that she got a hold of my my post, the entire post, and that she post she that she ended up posting it, but it wasn't posted the way I wrote it. Okay? So you guys I mean, I you could have your opinions. That's fine. And everybody you know, believe it or not,
I listen to everybody in this district when they speak. Okay? But also, remember that there are 20,000 kids in this district with, you know, families, and there are a lot of stakeholders and everything. And we cannot ever do anything in this board just because a small group of people demand it. And the and over and over again, the past several since I've been on the board, I have been called a groomer. I was trying to kill your kids. I was, you know, just not not listening to you,
that I was doing things, that I was making decisions because your kids were your kids. I've never done any of that. And you can and and I've listened to that. And I honestly, at this point, I'm almost impervious to it because it's been said and done so many times to me. But that's not why I wrote this this piece. That I wrote that this piece because of my struggles. Okay? My struggles with my own inadequacies. I admitted in that piece that I had a knee jerk reaction at the beginning of this that I wasn't proud of. And I looked to do what I could do to make my to to make
myself not feel better, but make myself well, help me deal with my trying to deal with my feelings about mister Kirk. He was not. He he said into some awful things. And his and, like, his murder. I was not happy that he was murdered. But, anyway, so I wrote I I read that article, and I attached it to that. And the whole thing was that I like, I'm struggling to make this to make these changes and things like that. And other people I know were too because a lot of people, a lot of people felt the way,
I felt. And we're we are dealing with, with real real problems with, I don't know what the word at this point is, but, resolving my conflict, I guess, is the best way to say it. But I'm not going to apologize for that. Yes. Please. Please Refrain from comment. This is missus Zettler's opportunity to speak. Everyone in the room has had the opportunity. It's now her time. I'm not gonna apologize for my original post. To me, it's it it was written it was written from my heart. And if you don't like the way it's read,
that's great. You don't have to. But, you know, time and time again, people who didn't like what was going on or like what I said or whatever came to these meetings. During COVID, we had meetings like this all the time. We had people that were that are in this room that would do things like go after LGBTQ kids in this district, go after LGBTQ, employees with this district in this district district, file false police reports trying to get them fired, doing things like they're doing today saying, they didn't say what we like, so you should fire them because it's not appropriate. Okay? And I've spent a lot of time pushing back on that,
and that's part of the reason that a lot of people don't like me. A lot of people in this room. I don't care. I am not here to please you. I am here to protect our kids. I'm here to make sure they get a good education. Everybody's kids. I don't care what a kid's parents' politics is. I don't care if their kid comes here and yells at me. I am interested in making sure every single kid that goes through this district at any time gets the best possible education they can. And, honestly, a lot of people in this room have, over the years has have, you know,
didn't think it that they that other some kids in this district should get the same, education that other people's kids did. Okay? I've pushed on that, and I will continue to do that. What these guys decide to do tonight is not gonna change any of that. But that's enough about me. My concern is what's going on in this community and this country with people selectively deciding who they're gonna get and who they're gonna destroy. I was did some research. There on September 14, a man named Thomas Devoir, who was the lawyer who sued us over COVID,
representing several people in this room, a failed candidate for attorney general, posted this on his public Facebook page about me. During COVID, d 300 threatened and in intimidated families. I saw it. As such, it should price should should surprise no one that this lady is a flaming liberal who is proudly and publicly showing her satisfaction that Charlie was murdered. I never did that, number one. This lady is everything that's wrong in publication public education. Children are at risk of being brainwashed with the psychotic liberal garbage as long as
people like her are allowed to remain. Too far too far too long, the d three hundred board has been unaccountable. Today, that ends. Replying to this post, another person, I'm not sure she's here today, but she was here the other day, a former, client of mister Devore's in a lawsuit again against d three hundred and other school districts during COVID, said join us in demanding, Community Unit School District three hundred school board president Nancy Zettler's resignation. We don't want people, advocating for our children that condone shootings and or and or violence against people like her. Again,
I did not do that. Now the thing that bothers me the most about this is that it is inflaming people who either don't wanna understand or just don't understand. Because like the one woman said tonight, she did she saw something that was passed on and passed on and, you know, all this other stuff. They're not seeing my original thing. And this is being promoted like I'm I hate Charlie Kirk, and I'm glad he's dead, and I was celebrating, etcetera, etcetera. But like I said, my problem isn't that was isn't as much about that, as it is about what's happening with other people in this district.
There are other people that have been attacked in the same way. They have gone people have gone and picked up things off of people's, Facebook and social media, and they've taken it, and they've tried to get them, fired. They've tried to get their, like, internships, like, canceled and things like that. This is inappropriate. This is inappropriate. And it doesn't really matter if we're talking about, first amendment rights or not. And it doesn't matter you're wrong about, first amendment rights are only related to government. You're wrong about that. But anyway, anyway, this I'll give you an example. A one time candidate running against Lauren Underwood,
which means he's from this area, said, peacefully find posts of every single teacher across America that celebrated Charlie Kirk's assassination. Take screenshots. Take videos. Send us the evidence. I don't care how long it takes. We will expose every single last one. And they would lose their job. Lot of them do. Joe, can you please, please refrain from adding comment to the room? Throughout this entire thing, I've gotten, a lot of educators have reached out to me, and they're scared. They're scared that they have to first of all, don't don't say anything because somebody might not like it and they're gonna come after
me and try to get me fired or worse. Okay? That's inappropriate. And I'm not gonna stand for that. I'm not gonna stand for that. I will do everything in my power to protect the teachers and the staff of this of this community, in this of this district, everything in my power. And, you know, I mean, don't come after our teachers. Don't come after our staff. Don't come after our administrators. Don't come after other board members. Okay? Because I'll be the first one that's gonna come after you if you do. Alright? So what what they What what the people on this board,
they and a lot of them are my friends. Well, I think I would say everybody is my friend. Okay? We obviously don't agree about a lot of things, but I will tell you right now and I don't you know, that's a decision they have to make. I'm not saying they don't support the teachers and everything like that. But, I think one thing they will tell you guys is that I always stand up. And I always a lot of people don't like it when I do. Oh, well. I stand up for the right people, and I stand up hard for the right people. And, so whatever they do tonight, we will work it out. We'll be able to function. We will. I'm not going anywhere. So Hearing missus Zettler's comment,
is there any further discussion from the board? Can we clarify what exactly we're voting on? Because it has been over a week, and I think there's been a lot of confusion as to what we're proceeding with tonight. I think it would help a lot if we just went over it again, just for clarification for us and for everybody. Yes. And the next item in the agenda is action items, so I can do that when we get there. But before we move there, is there any further comment to be had in discussion? Missus Lindmark? I just hope we can move on from what was said in the post because for me, it isn't about what she said in her post.
We need to move on as a community. I watch the faces in the front row. Thank you. Because you guys have sat through this, some of you, for the last five years, and we aren't doing our best. We just aren't, and we can do so much better for our kids. So I hope everyone can just cool it after tonight, honestly, please. Okay. I I think that brings board discussion to a close. We can move on to the next item on the agenda, which are the roll call action items. And I can explain again the two items that are up for possible action.
The first is a motion to remove missus Zettler from the board president seat, from her office of president. That in no way removes her from the board of education. Neither of these motions will do that. As I explained at the beginning of the meeting, the board does not have the authority to do that. The second motion is a motion for censure, and that is essentially a motion that the board would consider. It's it it's a I could equate it to a a reprimand of a board
member asking her to to do better and be better, and specifically, that would be based on the disruption that resulted from her Facebook comment, the disruption to the district. That's what you would be looking at there. One motion doesn't preclude you from acting on the other. Both motions will need to be moved and second into seconded to move forward. So if and any questions or concerns about the process or what either of them mean? Okay. So we can begin with the first motion.
Is there a motion to adopt a resolution to remove missus Zettler from the presidency seat? So moved. Is there a second? I do have a, proposed resolution that would need to be read, and I'm gonna pass that down to the board because they have not they have not seen this. And I will read it out loud and that's the resolution that would be voted on this evening, because the motion has been moved and seconded. After I read the resolution, we'll open the motion up for further discussion. This is the resolution the board would be voting on this evening.
Whereas the board of education, here and after the board of community unit school district three hundred, Kane, McHenry, Cook, and DeKalb Counties, Illinois, here and after the district, is committed to effective governance in the leadership of the district. Whereas the president of the board serves as the presiding officer, spokesperson, and primary representative of the board and must be able to lead and collaborate with the full confidence of fellow board members. Whereas, recent circumstances have resulted in the current board president being unable to fulfill this essential leadership and collaborative responsibilities of the office of president.
Whereas, the board recognizes that continued service of the current president in this role is not in the best interests of the board. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the board that one, board member Zettler is hereby removed from the office president of the board of education effective immediately. And two, this action does not remove board member Zettler from her duly elected position as a member of the board of education and she shall continue to serve as a board member with all rights and responsibilities thereof. And three, the board fully recognizes the First Amendment rights guaranteeing freedom of speech and association.
In adopting this resolution, the board of education in no way intends to infringe on board member Zettler's constitutionally protected freedom of speech and association rights. And four, the board shall elect a new president in accordance with board policy and applicable law. Is there any discussion on the proposed resolution? The motion has been made and seconded. I would ask that the roll call be taken. Lenmark? Aye. McKendy? Burkett? Aye. Lamarca? Aye. Amelia? Aye. Zettler? No. Motion passes. The second motion before the board is motion to censure
board member Zettler. Is there a motion to adopt a resolution to censure Mrs. Zettler? Hearing no motion, the motion would die and would not move forward. We can move on to the next item on the agenda and that's organization of the board if necessary because the first motion was, voted on affirmatively, the board will now need to reorganize and elect a new president. Because the office of president is now vacant, the board must fill the position. Is there a nomination for the office of president? I nominate Christine Birkett.
Missus Birkett is nominated for the role of president. Are there any other nominations? If there are no further nominations, nominations for the office of president are closed. As Mrs. Burkett being the only candidate nominated for the office of president, it is declared that she is elected by acclamation and such election shall be recorded in the minutes. Now, the office of vice president is vacant. Is there a nomination for the office of vice president? Mrs. LaMarca is nominated. Are there any other nominations? If there are no further nominations, nominations for the office of vice president are closed.
Missus LaMarco being the only candidate nominated for the office of vice president, it is declared that she is elected by acclamation. In such election, she'll be recorded in the minutes. As a result of that election, the office of secretary is open or vacant. Is there a nomination for the office of secretary? I nominate Tola McKenday. Missus McKenday is nominated. Are there any other nominations? If there are no further nominations, nominations for the office of secretary are closed. Missus McKinday being the only candidate nominated for the office of secretary, it is declared that she is elected by acclamation and such election shall be recorded
in the minutes. That brings the organization of the board to a close and we move on to the next and final item on the agenda, which is adjournment. Is there a motion to adjourn this evening's meeting? So moved. Second. Madam secretary, please take the role. McKendy. Aye. Amelia? Aye. Zettler? Aye. Lynn Mark? Aye. LaMarca, aye. Burkett? Aye. Thank you.