CONTROVERSIAL VOTE AND A RESIGNATION! THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES...

Aisha El-Amin, Ed.D.
School Board Member D#168

OPINION EDITORIAL
By Joseph Wiszowaty

The phrase “cut and run” sounded good in the political debate of the 2004 re-election of George Bush.  Something that reminded me of the phrase were the events of this last week when Aisha El-Amin resigned her seat on the Board of Education for District 168.

First let me say School District is solvent, no thanks to the efforts of El-Amin, after all they were solvent before she got there.  This was truly attributed to the efforts of Dr. Rudy Williams and continued under Al Travaglini and the board under Arleta Bazile, Suzzanne Arnold and Sharon Davenport.  Balancing the budget, well we’ll see what Leak can do with that!

So how did I draw the comparison of cut and run with El-Amin?  Well consider the fact that El-Amin was a staunch supporter of Dr. Donna Simpson-Leak the incoming Superintendent of Schools and was in fact a “swing” vote in the split 4 to 3 decision.  El-Amin stated she was “enthusiastic to have Leak as head of the school district” according to published reports.  I don’t know Dr. Leak, I look forward to getting to know her better and seeing what she’s got, but the controversy surrounding her previous employer just smells of Henrietta Turner and Robert Fox.

El-Amin allied herself with board members Jimmo Kasali, Mary (Hanks) Howard and Delores Green to vote for Leak’s contract.  Let’s face it folks, anyone who has been to a School Board meeting knows Kasali seems to have been out in right field in the sun all day.  He rambles on and on about whatever his mind seems to want to discuss.  Anyone who would ally themselves with Kasali is worthy of serious examination!  Taxpayers, residents and all should be asking these individuals some serious questions on where their minds are?

El-Amin has been rumored to be moving from Sauk Village for months now according to some close to her, so her resignation came to me as no big surprise. 

What El-Amin has left the taxpayers with is the legacy of a split board of education and a controversial vote for a Superintendent of Schools for the next two years.

Sauk Village is no stranger to controversy!  If people remember, the late former School Board President Patricia Hasse said in November, 1989 that one of the best things she did while she served on the School Board was to hire the disgraced School Superintendent of School Thomas Ryan.  One person voted against him, Marion Rauner!  In the end who was on the right side of history?  In the end, some may soon forget El-Amin making the controversial vote and resigning quickly after, but history will never forget… thanks for the memories!

I called Dr. Leak to welcome her to her new job on what was to be her first day May 27^th… she hadn’t made it in for her first day of work yet.  That was at 2pm!