District 204 Parents Allege Cover-Up Of Reopening Plans: Lawsuit

NAPERVILLE, IL — Some parents have filed a lawsuit against Indian Prairie School District 204 alleging Superintendent Dr. Adrian Talley and board members "engaged in a coordinated cover-up of COVID-19 planning as it relates to school reopening," according to a news release.

The suit alleges district officials violated the Open Meetings Act by holding closed meetings regarding its 2020-21 reopening plans. The complaint further alleges district officials improperly withheld documents requested by parents via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The lawsuit states, "The School Board should have deliberated on the reopening of the schools during the COVID-19 Pandemic in a public forum due to its potential impact on the public."

Brad Wachter, a district parent and plaintiff in the lawsuit told Patch he and other parents first became concerned when they noticed the District 204 Board of Education conducting closed sessions before nearly every public board meeting.

“That’s really a bad sign because these closed executive sessions are meant to be only 'as needed' and only [long enough] to cover the topics that are qualified to be covered in closed sessions," Wachter told Patch.

He said he also noticed that board members often would not debate or vote on topics related to reopening at their public meetings.

“[It was] [a]lmost as if they all knew ahead of time what was going to be talked about by the administration and had already signed off on it," Wachter said.

Wachter filed three FOIA requests to access electronic correspondence that had taken place among board members and Superintendent Dr. Adrian Talley regarding plans to reopen schools. The lawsuit asserts that each request was denied by the district because they "imposed an undue burden."

Wachter and the other parents allege these requests were "improperly denied," according to a news release. Wachter told Patch he and the other plaintiffs believe the emails would show a pattern of Superintendent Tally and board members discussing upcoming changes to schedules for schools in the district.

Wacther told Patch he feels "[t]he board is trying to avoid public scrutiny by hiding what their true position is on the topic of school reopening," which has been a polarizing issue for district parents.

"With the scrutiny would come accountability," Wacther added, saying he believes board members have been hesitant to take a stand due to the upcoming April 6 election.

“If they never need to be seen in public voting or having a debate, then they can remain neutral," Wacther said.

“We don’t want neutral board members. We want board members who support the community one way or another. Even if they took a position that was contrary to what we wanted, at least we will know where they stand."

For Wachter, the issue of transparency in District 204 extends past the allegations surrounding the district's reopening plans. He told Patch, "The transparency issue transcends to any future important issue for the district or the community."

District 204 spokesperson Janet Buglio did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment early Thursday.

Also on Patch:

Districts 203, 204 To Resume 5 Days Of In-Person Learning