New Bremen Twp. School Board kills law challenge

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Updated: February 10, 2012 8:43AM

The seven newly appointed members of the Bremen Township School Board on Friday night unanimously voted not to hire a law firm to challenge a new state law that will eventually abolish elections for the board.

The board’s three elected members — Joseph Bertrand Jr., Julienne Mallory and Michael Duggan — did not show up for the meeting.

Bertrand, the board’s president, canceled the meeting Friday afternoon for lack of a quorum after Mallory and Duggan said they could not attend, according to Joseph McDonnell, the township school treasurer.

Kathy Novak, a Posen-Robbins School District 143 1/2 board member who was appointed to the township school board, said Bertrand does not recognize the legitimacy of the seven new board members.

“He doesn’t consider us part of it,” she said.

Novak said the names of the seven members were not included on the agenda for Friday’s special meeting. She said she expects the elected members to try to fight Friday’s board vote.

“(They’re) going to try to say our meeting was illegal because (Bertrand) canceled it,” Novak said.

The board will hold its quarterly meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Tinley Park High School, 6109 W. 175th St. An agenda item suggests a possible challenge to the board vote Friday night.

Another of the new board members, Deborah Stearns, who’s also president of the Bremen High School District 228 Board, said Bertrand should have attended the meeting.

“I’m disappointed he’s not here,” she said. “We’ll move forward. There’s business to be done. We can’t be letting money escape this office on frivolous lawsuits.”

In December, Gov. Pat Quinn signed the new state law, which resulted from complaints by officials of the seven school districts served by the township school board.

The former three-member board became involved in multiple lawsuits with the school districts after Bertrand attempted to get the board to pay $220,000 for him in earlier board-related disputes.

Over objections from the board’s attorneys, Bertrand declared a 1-to-1 vote (he abstained) as approving payment of the legal fees. But the affected school districts successfully sued to stop the payment.

The township school board exists primarily to supervise the activities of a school treasurer who invests the seven districts’ tax revenue. The districts are District 228, District 143 1/2, Forest Ridge 142, Midlothian 143, Prairie-Hills 144, Arbor Park 145 and Country Club Hills 160.