June 27, 2022 Koppers Campaign Newsletter
Kristen Koppers for Regional Superintendent of Schools
After five months, it has come down to one day. Tomorrow is the official election day in the 2022 primary. It’s been a long five months from petition signing, to filing, to events, to meet and greets, to speaking engagements, to online bullying and harassment from my opponent’s side. It’s definitely been a long road, but I was not going to quit when I had a goal in mind, save the children.
Tomorrow is an important vote. This vote is not only for the office of Regional Superintendent of Schools for Grundy / Kendall County, but there are many contested races we must win as we go into the general election in November.
I cannot begin to thank EVERYONE who has supported me from day 1 when I announced running for this position. There have been so many people by my side who have supported me from my husband, to my family, to my friends, and to my supporters, who are parents and stakeholders within the communities.
I have even had to endure online bullying and harassment from those on my opponent’s side as they cannot accept another candidate running against him. This position has not been contested in over three decades. This is three decades of not giving the people the choice to CHOOSE who they want to advocate for them. Additionally, there have even been two CURRENT school board members in the Kendall County area who are posting against me with “untruths” and against my ability to do the job. Needless to say, these are the ones who need to be replaced during the 2023 school board election as they have shown they do not represent our children’s best interest.
I decided to run for this position because my opponent was not doing his job. My son was quarantined as a “close content” in Minooka 201 in September 2021. However, they could not tell me where he was at the time of contact. The school district decided to quarantine approximately 405 students in ONE week, this included whole classes and busses for 10-14 days. (Some even have been quarantined multiple times). Despite the district having remote education the prior year, they did not offer it to the students who were in quarantine. Not only was this detrimental to them but the district violated state law and ISBE authority.
After attempting to contact Dr. Kristopher Monn, Superintendent of Schools for District 201, District 201 school board, Grundy / Kendall Regional Superintendent of Schools, Grundy County Health Department, Grundy County States Attorney, IDPH, ISBE, and the Governor’s office, I received no help and no return calls/emails. There was no one to advocate for my son and the other children.
The following is an email that was sent to Dr. Monn just after my son was required to quarantine on September 2, 2021:
Good morning,
I am writing to you today because I have not received the 48-hour required court order letter from the Grundy County Health Department signed by a judge requiring my son, Jakob, to be suspended for quarantine for ten days, which expired yesterday at 1:20 pm.
The Illinois State law (20 ILCS 2305) requires that a parent consent (which I have not given) or a signed letter of quarantine is required in order for and child to be in quarantine.
I contacted the Grundy County health department yesterday and they could not provide the confirmation of reported number of students in quarantine throughout Minooka 201 School District but was referred to IDPH. Moreover, their website could not provide the same numbers as the district has in regarding number of students who are positive. In any case, the number of quarantined students has not been reported.
Additionally, I am still waiting on the letterhead signed by you on where my son was at the point of contact and how far away he was from the infected person as he was in school 2 full days after contact.
I am not sure if you are aware that 105 ILCS 5/22-12 states that it is a class A misdemeanor for preventing or inferring with a child’s attendance due to threat, malice, or intimidation preventing any child from receiving an education as this was done on the phone to me on Thursday, September 1, 2021, around 2:00 pm when I asked for the letter indicating my son was to go into quarantine.
Sincerely,
Kristen Koppers
Unfortunately, a blanket form letter was sent to me from Monn. In his email dated September 8, 2021:
At this time, pursuant to the Grundy County Health Department’s directives, Jakob is excluded from in-person instruction until September 13, 2021. School staff will follow up with you in a separate email regarding remote instruction and class assignments during this period.
Yet, there was NO remote instruction for my son. Not only did Dr. Monn lie to me, but he lied to the other parents who requested the same information as me. Remote instruction was not given to the students until or around September 17, 2021, five days after my son was “able” to return to school. My son was forced into a quarantine suspension from September 2 - 13 missing six total days of school with no instruction.
It was not until I provided the ISBE requirement for remote instruction to Dr. Monn that did he allow it for all quarantined children in the district. However, this was not done until mid-September where approximately 1,900 children did not receive between 5 - 10 days of an education.
I attempted to contact the current Grundy / Kendall County Regional Superintendent of Schools, Christopher Mehochko. The email was dated September 2, 2021:
Good evening,
My son attends Minooka 201. Today he was involuntary required to quarantine for 10 days. Apparently, he was in close contact of someone who tested positive of Covid. Per the state law the school cannot require him to be in quarantine unless there is a court ordered document from the health department signed by a judge stating that he has to be in quarantine.
The school has 48 hours to get the documents to me or he is able to return to school. The school is currently violating the Illinois state constitution as well as 105 ILCS 5/22-12 “preventing or interfering with a child’s attendance at school” by threat or intimidation. I told my sons principal that I do not consent to his quarantine and that he shall remain in school.
The school board of Minooka 201 nor the superintendent are following the state laws. Many parents in the county are frustrated and upset that the children are being used as pawns.
Additionally, my son will receive NO education during the 10 days as there is no zoom or teaching. He is only allowed to do the work on his own through Google Classroom. I feel this is unacceptable where he forced into a quarantine with no education for 10 days.
Sincerely,
Kristen Koppers
To my dismay, I did not receive any response from the multiple times I contacted my opponent. This began my fight to save the children. It was not about just the illegal masking; it was about the rights that have been taken away from the children. It was about an opponent who chose not to do his job. It was about the fact that his responsibilities have not been met.
The parents of Grundy / Kendall County have the right to have a person in this position to advocate for them. I know I was not the only one who was left in the dark.
While I know that I cannot change or fix everything in the educational system, I know people who can as they get elected this November. We are on the right track to save education and save the state.
I cannot thank you enough for all those who have supported me throughout this campaign. It is because of YOU that I will continue to fight for our children.
Please join me this afternoon for an ice cream social and have a scoop on us.
To donate to my campaign, please visit my website: Koppers for ROE24
Best,
Kristen Koppers, M.A., M.Ed., NBCT
Thank you Kristopher for all the support since January with the late nights, the constant campaigning, emails, phone calls, events, and meet and greets. Thank you for standing by my side.