Resident withdraws FOIA request, urges transparency and equity in Flossmoor schools

Flossmoor resident Ms. Trapp told the Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education on Sept. 9 that she was withdrawing a pending Freedom of Information Act request after locating spending and enrollment data on the Illinois State Board of Education's Financial Reporting and Information System (FRIS). "I am withdrawing my FOIA, response because, I looked at, FRIS and I secured all the information I needed," she said.

Ms. Trapp said she still had concerns about district messaging and equity. She questioned a Chronicle report that said "90%" had been decided, saying she found no record of that percentage in board packets or school improvement plans she reviewed. "If you're gonna write something in the paper, please reference it when the day that the board decided," she said.

She also criticized a technology purchase she described as televisions being provided to only two schools and said that kind of selective spending "does not represent equity." "If we're gonna be fair, we should be fair to all of them or none of them," she said.

On student safety and school leadership, Ms. Trapp urged principals and administrators "to be actively involved in their buildings when the bell rings," saying assistant principals were hired to improve attendance and discipline but problems persist. She connected safety directly to learning: "When a child feels safe, they will learn. When they're worried about safety, learning is not an issue."

The board did not take action in response during the public-comment period. The comment occurred during the audience-comments portion of the meeting; no formal motions or votes followed the speaker's remarks.

District officials on record at the meeting included Superintendent Doctor Smith and other administrators who reported later in the agenda on enrollment, discipline policy and safety practices; those items are covered separately by the board's regular reports and agenda items.