District 205 Board of Education President Kara Caforio and District 205 Superintendent David Moyer both made statements at the beginning of the special board meeting on Aug 20. Caforio and Moyer made their statements before board members voted unanimously during the meeting to place a referendum question on the ballot in the general election of Nov. 6, 2018.
Caforio: Shortly before the last meeting [on August 14], the board of education learned that Dr. Moyer had applied to become the superintendent of a large out-of-state school district. Dr. Moyer promptly withdrew his application. Concerned about the potential loss of Dr. Moyer’s leadership at this critical time for the district, the board delayed voting on the referendum in order to meet with Dr. Moyer. On Thursday of last week [August 16], Karen Stuefen, chair of the performance management committee, and I met with the superintendent, and on Friday [August 17], the board held a special meeting with him.
As a result of these productive meetings, the board is confident in Dr. Moyer’s commitment to District 205. The board recognizes the major milestones the district has made under his leadership and is in alignment with the vision for the district.
At this time, I would like to provide an opportunity for Dr. Moyer to address the board and the District 205 community.
Moyer: I’m extremely proud of the work of my administrative team and teachers to advance the vision of ensuring that all students graduate from high school college-, career- and life-ready, and our mission of accelerating learning for all students.
I’ve worked very hard to facilitate the development of a master facilities plan for the district that would require a referendum because I believe it is necessary and the right thing for this community. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many community members who have supported our work over the past three-plus years.
This past week I’ve been reassured that the District 205 Board of Education shares the vision and mission that our educators have worked so hard to implement and fulfill. Independent of the success or failure of any future ballot initiative, knowing that the board is committed to our efforts to ensure District 205’s place as a national leader in future-ready learning, I can comfortably say without hesitation that I am committed to seeing this work through and reaffirming my commitment to District 205.
Caforio: The vote which the board will take this evening is the culmination of three years of intense engagement with the school community to shape and define the future of District 205. Through this process, we studied many components of a referendum. Perhaps appearing too cautious at times to some stakeholders, this scrutiny was essential to present the best possible question to the voters, especially given the cost and generational impact of a referendum.
We were elected to lead our community and oversee its investment in our schools. The board does not take this responsibility lightly. The process to date has been a collaborative undertaking, and the potential of this referendum extends far and long beyond this generation of students, and is larger than this board and school leadership.
The future of our schools belongs to the community. Regardless of the outcome, the board is now prepared to take a momentous vote tonight, and with that we will continue with the meeting.
