DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – The Illinois Attorney General Public Access Office confirmed to WAND News Thursday that it is reviewing a request to investigate executive sessions held by the Decatur Public School Board.
The investigation comes after a series of e-mails sent to WAND News show DPS Board President Beth Nolan claims the board “unanimously approved” a $30,000 bonus for Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Dase in closed session weeks before the item was on the board agenda, and before it was ultimately voted down in public session.
Nolan sent an e-mail at 9:11 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19 saying “during the last closed session, the board unanimously approved a bonus to Mr. Dase in the amount of $30,000.” The e-mail goes on to say “please work with payroll to make this happen” before instructing that the item be added to the consent agenda for the next school board meeting.
In the e-mail chain sent to WAND News from community members, a district leader replied to Nolan’s e-mail saying the “board has agreed to pay Jeff a bonus; however, the board has no authority to act in closed session.” WAND News reached out to the school board and district spokesperson, Denise Swarthout, for comment. She said the following:
“The Board of Education came to a consensus during closed session on Oct. 13, 2020. President Nolan then requested that the bonus agenda item be added to the open session agenda for the Oct. 27, 2020, board meeting, at which point the Board of Education voted down the proposed bonus for Assistant Superintendent Mr. Jeff Dase.”
In a follow-up phone call for clarification, Swarthout told WAND News she was not in the meeting but despite the wording in the e-mail from Nolan, she said the board did not act, but instead can discuss the bonus. Under Illinois law, executive sessions are required to be recorded and retained. WAND News requested a copy of the recording regarding the bonus and was denied.
The bonus for Dase sparked outrage among the community, with several people spending nearly 90 minutes at that meeting on Oct. 27 expressing concern about it before the school board voted to 7-0 to not approve the bonus.
During that meeting, board member Regan Lewis said the item being added onto the agenda was “sloppy” and, on the morning following the Oct. 27 meeting, board president Nolan said she told WSOY-AM that the item was “not fully vetted.”
In a reply to all board members requesting comment and clarification if action was taken, board member Courtney Carson was the only one to reply. In a phone conversation, Carson said he was not present for the meeting on Oct. 13 that Nolan references and said any decision “could not have been unanimous”.
“It is heartbreaking,” Carson said. “I have been transparent my entire life. I knew there was something wrong with the entirety of the conversation and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.”
Decatur Education Association representative Andrew Matthews talked with WAND News Thursday night.
"This is an unfortunate time for DPS," Matthews said. "We are hopeful the board can come together and provide the real leadership needed. We all deserve answers. What we are seeing now is problematic."
WAND News has requested public records of the district and school board related to the bonus to try and get answers. Those requests for public record include e-mails sent amongst the board and district staff regarding the bonus, along with copies of rubrics used to determine bonuses.
Based on comments from the district, it is unclear if a decision was made in closed session violating the open meetings act. WAND News did ask for clarification from board members present but has not heard back.
Dase makes $156,715 per year in a five-year contract with the district.
