Schools
M159 Board Officer Wishes Ford the Best
Mokena School Dist. 1959 Vice President Jim Andresen said the board had no agenda that worked against the recently resigned Member Mike Ford.
The work that Mike Ford did while serving on the Mokena School Dist. 159 Board of Education for the past two years is much appreciated and will be missed, fellow board members say.
Ford resigned June 5 when he could not satisfy requirements to move back into the district in time to meet a deadline. Ford said in late February he sold his home in Mokena far faster than he had anticipated. The stipulations in the sale required that he and his family would have to vacate and move in temporarily with his in-laws in unincorporated New Lenox. His plan was to find a new home within the boundaries of the Mokena school district.
Board Vice President Jim Andresen told Patch, "It's unfortunate we won't have the opportunity to work together on the board."
READ: Mike Ford’s Resignation from M159 Board Viewed as a Loss
Despite the fact that Ford is in negotiations to buy land and build a home within the district's boundaries, the time frame failed to meet the 90-day stipulation. Andresen said the school board's attorney advised both he and Board President Danielle Didrickson that Ford was required to move back into the district within 90 days of his announcement March 15 that he had temporarily moved out.
Contention blossomed when Ford said he wasn't informed that the 90-day clock had been ticking since March 15. He added that he wasn't aware of the stipulation until mid-May. He was given a June 10 deadline to re-establish a residence within the district.
"This was nothing personal, agenda driven," said Andresen. "You need to be a resident to be on the school board and he's not."
Andresen further commented that Ford never presented plans for a new home within the district. "We tried to give him every courtesy to meet those residency requirements. Ultimately he chose to resign.
"We wish him all the best," Andresen said.
In his letter of resignation, Ford stated said he thought 180 days, six months, would have been a "more reasonable" accommodation, considering the current real estate market.
Member Pat Markham suggested that a better move on the part of the board would have been to give Ford 90 days beginning in mid-May. He added that the board was under no obligation to accept the attorney's guidance.
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