Beecher City, Cowden-Herrick Boards Hire Legal Counsel in Masking Battle w/State

Both the Beecher City and the Cowden-Herrick Boards of Education Wednesday hired legal counsel to represent their districts in the debate over whether the State has the authority to order masking in schools.

At Beecher City, there was no vote on amending the district's Return to School plan. The Board did vote 7-0 to hire Silver Lake Group as special legal counsel to represent the District.

The goal of the motion is to determine whether the Illinois State Board of Education has the authority to affect the district's recognition status for failing to follow the guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Governor's Office regarding masking.

At Cowden-Herrick, there also was no vote on amending the back to school plan, but the Board did vote to hire Silver Lake Group, Ltd. It was noted that the services to the Cowden-Herrick district would be provided by Silver Lake Group free of charge to the district.

The Illinois State Board of Education has both the Beecher City and Cowden-Herrick districts on probation, as are the other area districts who have not complied with the mask up guidelines.