Third Geneva D-304 board member resigns

GENEVA – Geneva District 304 board member Tammie Meek resigned last week. She is the third school board member to leave this year.

Meek, who was elected in 2021, said in her July 12 resignation letter that she was moving out of the district to Michigan.

“It has been my pleasure and honor to work with and work to represent the interests of our stakeholders throughout Geneva,” Meek’s letter stated.

“The district has the most amazing of resources in its people – including the teachers, administrators, support, nursing, technology and facilities staff – who work tirelessly for the good of Geneva’s students while benefiting from an engaged surrounding community,” Meek’s letter stated.

In February, former board president Taylor Egan and board member Alicia Saxton resigned in the same week.

The board appointed Molly Ansari and Paul Radlinski in March to replace Egan and Saxton.

Board President Michael McCormick said the district would be seeking new candidates to fill Meek’s position.

“We will have a period of time to get applications in,” McCormick said. “We’re not asking people on the (previous] list to reapply, just to let us know who is still interested.”

McCormick was referring to the applicants for Egan’s and Saxton’s posts.

“Being on a school board is not an easy gig at this point in the world,” McCormick said. “I am cautiously optimistic that we will have a good pool to pick from.”

Meek’s replacement will have an opportunity to stand for election in the April 4, 2023, consolidated election, as will Ansari, Radlinski, McCormick and board member Larry Cabeen.

Egan did not provide a letter nor gave a reason for her resignation.

Saxton had blamed poor decision-making on the district’s leadership for that Monday’s classes being canceled as an emergency day so the district could respond to a downstate judge’s ruling on the mask mandate in schools.

“This morning we received 85-plus emails from outraged parents. I am not sitting back any longer and letting my voice be stifled because of a fear of speaking out,” Saxton’s letter stated. “In my opinion, this was an extremely poor decision and illustrates the district’s lack of planning. We have had two weeks as a district to formulate a plan, and instead of planning, COVID task force meetings were cancelled and nothing was done.”

Following the board members’ resignations came the resignation of Brenna Westerhoff, the principal of Geneva Middle School North, on March 2, and Laura Sprague on April 8. Westerhoff was on paid leave from December to June 30, 2022. Sprague had been the district’s spokeswoman for nearly five years.

The district hired Sandra Manisco as communications director on May 24 to replace Sprague.

In April, the school board appointed Dave Carli as principal of Geneva Middle School North, effective July 1. Carli had been Geneva High School’s athletic director.