School board candidate: Court case has no impact
CHAMPAIGN -- A candidate for Champaign school board says a nearly 10-year-old neglect case filed against her is a nonfactor in her run for school board.
Lynn Stuckey is one of five candidates running for four open seats.
She was the subject of a neglect case in 2000, and again in 2002, that alleged she exposed her son to an injurious environment that put him at risk of emotional harm. The case was initiated because Stuckey continued to breast-feed her son until age 7.
"I don't think anything related to (the case) has anything to do with the school board race," Stuckey said.
Anyone who thinks she shouldn't be making decisions affecting children are wrong, she said.
"I think I've been through a lot. I've learned a lot. It definitely gives me insights," Stuckey said. "It's been almost 10 years. It has nothing to do (with school board.)
"It was never about me beating my child. It was never about him not doing well in school," she said, adding that her son, now 16 and a high school junior, is in honors and Advanced Placement classes and competes in two sports.
Stuckey said her experience with the legal system gave her insight into what families in crisis go through, and how it can affect children.
Asked if it would affect her decisions as a school board member, she said, "It's not going to impact every decision. Will it impact a decision in a discipline case? It's hard to say."
"Has it impacted my world? Heavens, yes."
She said she wasn't ever intimidated by the court process.
"I knew I had rights, and I had every intention of vigorously defending them," Stuckey said.
But the experience made her more cynical toward power structures, she said, "and how the judicial system steamrolls certain parties."
In Stuckey's 2000 case, her son was put in foster care for several months. Stuckey was put on court supervision, fulfilled the requirements of the court and the case was closed in August 2001.
A second petition was filed in 2002, after Stuckey appeared on "Good Morning America" to be interviewed about breast-feeding. The segment included footage of Stuckey breast-feeding her son when he was 7. The court stated during a hearing that Stuckey was unaware the footage, from a German documentary, would be shown on the show.
She retained custody of her son in 2002, but he was made a ward of the state. Stuckey again fulfilled all her obligations and the case was closed.
They ask if her court experience would affect her performance on the school board. But the court experience is just a footnote to a much larger issue. I don't sense much regret from her or see any signs that she's changed her mind on the issue. I don't know how it affects her decisions on, say, Central or school of choice, etc, but this is very disturbing.
That is definitely an interesting perspective. In the spirit of healthy disagreement, allow me to state my own point of view.
The School Board exists to keep the Administration accountable to their jobs, and to be accountable to the stakeholders, the residents within the School District. It is my understanding (and I could be wrong) that the School Board is supposed to act on behalf of the people, to represent the people, to listen to the people. Section 200 of the BOE Policies state:
"The Board's powers and duties include the authority to adopt, enforce, and monitor all policies for the management and governance of the District's schools." Section 200.01 goes on to explain a little further. Section 100 states:
"By custom and tradition local boards of education have responsibilities to the local citizenry they serve and, by ethics, to the professional personnel they employ. Recognizing this three-dimensional concept of source of authority and responsibility, the Board of Education of Champaign Community Unit School District No. 4 is the policy making body for the District's schools and serves within the framework provided by law, the will of the local citizenry, and the ethics of the professional personnel employed by the Board of Education."
I do not argue that Lynn is impeccable; yes, we should be concerned about who sits on the Board. But I also want us to be very clear about what the BOE is supposed to do. It is good that we have high standards for those that represent us, and I hope we use those high standards to measure everyone we vote for.
Sorry for the relatively long post.
-- charles schultz
For those readers interested in making an informed decision on who they believe is the best candidate for the school board, refer to this article:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/education/2011-03-31/qa-champaign-schoo...
I plead everyone to recognize Heckel's story about Candidate Stuckey as a smear campaign to instill fear in voters. Are you brave enough to reject this tactic and demand quality candidates with extensive knowledge of Champaign schools?
the truth is a smear? are you kidding me, this is the kind of person you want on the school board? the Consent Decree and schools of no choice already ruined the school system here, do we need someone like this on the board? maybe its what this community deserves given what we have allowed to happen with unit 4
Someone who...what? Had a DCFS case that was ultimately determined to be unfounded? And thus expunged from the record (though the internet has plenty of info on her situation). So anyone who has a neighbor with a grudge isn't fit to run for office? Keep in mind ANYONE can start a DCFS case against ANYONE ELSE.
Also, if you look at the record, you'll note that Ms. Stuckey won her case, and that the state of Illinois paid a lot of money for something she ultimately won. She broke no law, and has no DCFS record.
OK....she has no DCFS record!?!?! This fact does not indicate that she is of sound mind. Anyone who watches or attends U4boe meetings regularly would know that this woman should not be governing our school system. She is a frequent public speaker and often has comments that are way off base on a multitude of issues and topics.
It's scary how many people are defending her through the comments posted here. The other four candidates are much better choices for our school system.
The DCFS case scares parents to wonder when this candidate was so stubborn insisting her child be breast fed to age 7, (Outside the norm), would she again be so stubborn insisting on all the children or teachers do something that is again outside the norm causing a similar course to be repeated on the school board. Changes are good but society is more accepting of smaller steps.
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