An inside look into the D158 Parent Union: Discussions on school topic concerns, public criticism, and more
Brandon L McBryde Seen at the 2021 D158 Parent Union picnic
HUNTLEY – My Huntley News previously reported on a picnic hosted on Oct. 2 by a group that calls itself the District 158 (D158) Parent Union.
The Parent Union originated as a private Facebook group back in 2020 to provide a space for parents to discuss pandemic-related matters occurring within Huntley Community School District 158, according to D158 Parent Union member Jill Cataldo.
Since that time, the Facebook group has branched out to be more open to the public.
Cataldo shared that over 100 people attended the Parent Union picnic where individuals got an opportunity to enjoy some outdoor fun while discussing topics of concern at D158.
“So, for example, two of the things that are our top issues right now is raising awareness of two Illinois House bills that are on the table. One is called HB4135, is the first bill, and the second is HB4151,” said Cataldo.
According to the Illinois General Assembly, if HB4135 passes, it will give the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) the ability to revoke recognition status for schools that fail to comply with public health requirements issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
School boards would also be prohibited from passing any resolution that contravenes any of the public health requirements.
“Now wherever you sit politically issue-wise, we want local control. We want to support our school board. I don’t believe someone hours and hours away downstate can dictate what goes on here in Huntley and Algonquin and in Lake in the Hills,” Cataldo said.
D158 Superintendent Scott Rowe had briefly commented on HB4135 at the Sep. 16 Board of Education (BOE) meeting.
“We’ve always advocated for our preference to have open control. It’s not a concern for us how this bill would necessarily impact us because we follow the guidelines of IDPH or local departments as well as ISBE,” said Rowe. “However, [when] making decisions about the status of in-person or not in-person or how we respond to things, that’s always preferred to be local so that’s the only concern we have.”
HB4151—the other Illinois House bill on the Parent Union’s radar—will prohibit individuals from displaying signs, engaging in oral protest, education, or passing leaflets or handbills within 300 feet of school premises, from one hour before the start of the school day until one hour after the school day ends, according to the Illinois General Assembly.
In addition, protesting individuals will be prohibited from approaching within eight feet of a person who is within 300 feet of school premises.
Anyone found violating HB4151 could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor if HB4151 passes.
“It’s kind of a strange issue because our district is very proud and has publicly said they are trying to create activists. You know, they’re trying to have the children and the students be aware of the issues in our world. We’re all for that,” said Cataldo. “We really, really believe the freedom to assemble [and] protest is protected under the First Amendment and we are supporting the students’ rights to do so.”
While there may be many supporters of the D158 Parent Union, there have been parents that have outright disapproved of the messages the Parent Union promotes, which Cataldo finds confusing.
“I think a lot of that is very misguided. It’s strange to me that the people who are the loudest and I think it’s a handful of people, it always seems to be the same names, none of them have ever come out to any of our events. I have extended invitations. I know a lot of other people in our group have and I think, you know, our world is very, very divided right now,” said Cataldo. “I think that’s a problem for a lot of different areas, but if they really looked at some of the things that we’re advocating for, I don’t know how any parent couldn’t advocate for them.”
Cataldo says that anyone from the public is welcomed to join the Parent Union meetings that take place at the Huntley American Legion (11712 Coral Street) each Wednesday before a scheduled D158 BOE meeting, which occurs on the third Thursday of every month.
“I would invite [people] honestly to come out and attend. I think they’d be very surprised at the topics we discuss and like I said, especially in the case of these two Illinois House bills, anyone who listens to what is actually coming up the pipe should be alarmed on either side of the equation,” said Cataldo.
She continued, “Wherever you sit politically, protesting, walkout, these are all things we support all the students doing if they feel passionate about an issue and they’re criminalizing this. It’s going to stifle free speech not only from the parents’ side but especially from the students’ side.”
As an added note, Cataldo stated that parents from other local school districts have taken an interest in starting their own Parent Union groups.
“District 300 also has a parent group similar to ours and we learned at our picnic [that] Crystal Lake is forming one. So, we had people from Crystal Lake D47 come to the picnic. We had people from Hampshire D300 come, and the D300 people come to our meetings once a month too because they want to see what we’re doing and then take it back to their [group],” said Cataldo. “These concerns are certainly not limited to D158.”
For more information on the D158 Parent Union, visit district158parentunion.org.
