Story about another Boy at Bolingbrook

Casson Hale was denied an opportunity to be submitted for scholarships when Mr. Mitchems secretary disallowed due process. 

Similar to our Devon Hodges story, this young man was allegedly running for the scholarship against Mr. Mitchem's son and the secretaries daughter.  While we wait on the hard hitting story, we will shed light into the situation.

Typically when an incident happens at BHS, a report is filed and the incident is brought to a Dean for investigation.  However, one day Mrs. Pawlowicz, Mr. Mitchem's secretary, was in the hall when a group of boys called her a Bitch.  She claimed she got an ID from one of the boys stating it was Casson Hale.  This is an allegation that the Hale family denies, claiming "What ID?"  The sad thing is that Casson might not have even been in school that day.

So instead of following the channels, she abused her privilege of vetting students for scholarships and removed him from the list.  time went by and when he found out, it was too late.

So Bonnie Alicea has offered to investigate this story for us and has submitted the following FOIA.  We will bring you more news as it arrives.

This is an official FOIA request. 

According to the Bolingbrook Patch on June 21, 2011, Casson Hale was denied eligibility to scholarship funds.  In this article, it points to:

1.     One of the boys supplied Hale's ID.

2.    The scholarship committee had already awarded the scholarships to other students

3.    Casson Hale’s application was deemed ineligible for as many as seven scholarships.

4.     Mitchem said he consulted with the scholarship committee and poured through each of the scholarships Casson Hale’s application was pulled from, comparing his application to that of the students who won the scholarship.

5.    In the end, Mitchem determined Casson Hale lost out on $500. He said in most cases, students who had yet to receive a scholarship would have won out over Casson Hale, who had already won several from the community.

6.    Pawlowicz was able to flag Casson Hale's application because she helps vet the candidates for the committee, Mitchem said. To be eligible for a scholarship, students must meet certain qualifications, including having a record of good behavior.

7.    “The mistake by the school was that assumption that it was him,” Mitchem said. “Had we not jumped the gun, what should have happened was the boy with Casson’s ID should have been written up on a referral, which would have been submitted to the dean [of students]. Then the dean would have called the young man in and he would have told him, ‘It wasn’t me.’ "Then we would have begun an investigation and ultimately determined it wasn’t him.” 

In lieu of this above reporting, I wanted to FOIA information about the above.

1.      Documentation of the incident written by Pawlowicz where the false ID was supplied, and actions taken to determine who the misbehaving children were. Is there proof that this ID turned in even existed?  If so, I want this document.  Is there a formal procedure in place for documenting incidences?  If so, I want this document as well.

2.     Date, time, and meeting notice of the scholarship committee, and name of board members that awarded the scholarships.  I also would like to know if teachers, administrators, or staff was there to give verbal or written input.  Therefore, meeting minutes, agenda’s, videos, emails, or tapes would all be sufficient for this FOIA request of this meeting.

3.     I would like a list of the scholarships and total amount to be awarded for each.  What were the requirements for the scholarships?  I would like this document.

4.     I would like a list of candidates that were considered by the school and the final list of whom was eligible.  The goal here is to determine how many students were removed from the opportunity by either Mr. Mitchem or Mrs. Pawlowicz. 

5.     Did anyone confirm Mr. Mitchem’s determination of the $500 that he claimed this boy could have won?  If so, I would like to see the document that shows someone else assisted in this decision.

6.     How many applications for scholarships has Ms. Pawlowicz flagged this year, and for the previous 5 years?  A list would be fine, but a number is all that is needed.

7.     Documents to show a meeting was called to discipline all parties involved.  This can include letters, emails, post it notes, meeting minutes, and formal documents that would show that someone was held accountable for this mistake.

I think it is fair to assume that the allocated time frame of 5 days would work in this matter.  I think it is also fair to assume that if it exceeds 50 pages, that it is requested for a waiver or reduction of fees since it is in the public's best interest and the purpose is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose or commercial benefit.