North Cook News

A public school funded by taxpayers should not offer clubs segregated by race, ethnicity or genders, a one-time Glenview School Board candidate and father of students in area schools said during an interview.

"If we're using taxpayer dollars, why are we excluding kids from clubs?" Glenn Farkas said during a North Cook News telephone interview. "Why are we segregating by race and ethnicity when I thought the whole goal was to be color-blind."

Segregated clubs in schools are not new and Farkas alleges he's observed at least one area school offers clubs segregated by race, gender and ethnicity. That, he said, sends the wrong message to students. 

"It's telling kids that they're not welcome if they're not from one of those groups," he said. "And that's fine if you're outside of a public school district, but not if you're inside of a public school district and you're getting taxpayer dollars."

Farkas ran for Glenview Public School District 34 Board in 2013 but was disqualified from that year's General Election because a paper clip had been omitted from his petition documents.

The previous year, Farkas ran as the Republican candidate for the Illinois 9th District State Senate seat. He took 33 percent of the vote but lost to now State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston), a former University of Chicago mathematics professor who'd previously represented the 17th Illinois House District.

Illinois State Senate District 9 is located entirely in Cook County.

Earlier this year, Farkas shared in an email with the North Cook News, as well as in the separate interview, his own experience about segregated school clubs, in particular what he alleges happened when his son tried to join what then was called Youth Leadership Academy at Attea Middle School in Glenview. That had been in 2013 or 2014 when Hal Schmeisser was the assistant principal at Attea Middle School.

Schmeisser, previously a social studies teacher in the North Shore School District 112, was the Attea Middle School assistant principal from May 2012 until February 2015 when he became principal of Devonshire School in Skokie's District 68. Schmeisser is principal at Devonshire School today.

Farkas recalled conversations in person and in email with Schmeisser at the time when he said his son allegedly was turned away from joining the club because he isn't Hispanic. Farkas said he was told the club was intended for Hispanic students, many with poor English skills who were struggling in school.

Farkas also recalled replying that such a group in a school setting that excludes certain students can't really be called a "club."

"I said, wouldn't be better, if you're trying to integrate kids, to allow other kids in?" Farkas recalled during his North Cook News interview. "Asian kids, Caucasian kids, black kids, other kids into the group as well so they can assimilate better?"

He said he also had a conversation about the same topic with a school official after Schmeisser left for Devonshire school and this past year noticed the Youth Leadership Academy now has a different name. The group now is called the Hispano Youth Leadership Academy (HYLA), which meets on Tuesdays.

The name change doesn't help, Farkas said. "Which to me is even worse because now they're basically telling everyone who is not Hispanic, 'Don't join this club'," he said.

"I'm really curious about how public schools can get away with doing this."

"As we stated back in June, we welcome you to join us for an in-person interview where we can answer your questions,” Jenn Nimke, director of communications and public relations, previously said in an email to North Cook News on the subject. “You can speak with myself and the principal, as well as possibly our superintendent.”