Former St. Charles School Board member Carolyn Waibel reveals more details about what led to resignation from board

Former St. Charles School Board member Carolyn Waibel is providing more details on what led to her decision to resign from the School Board on Tuesday.

Citing “unrelenting harassment” by community members, St. Charles School Board member Carolyn Waibel on Tuesday submitted her resignation. Waibel said she believes the harassment began because of her stance on COVID-19 mitigation measures.

“I was vocal about following the mandate because it’s the right thing to do to follow policy,” Waibel said on Friday. “But it’s certainly gone past following the mask and quarantine policy at this point. It’s very personal. So I really have no idea any more.”

Waibel said she thinks some of the harassment is related to her desire to make sure that any discussion of issues remains civil.

“I have tough discussions about parameters and boundaries and what appropriate behavior is,” she said. “And there’s a particular group of parents that don’t care for that. They believe in a boundary-less style.”

Waibel was first elected to the School Board in April 2017 and was reelected this spring. During Tuesday’s St. Charles School Board meeting, she described some of that harassment to her fellow school board members.

“Someone has harassed me in my face walking into meetings when I was on a walker, I’ve had dead animals thrown into my driveway, my house has been vandalized, I’ve been followed and videotaped in a grocery store shopping with my son, my home was broken into, my car was vandalized and these people continue to libel me,” Waibel said during the public comment portion of the meeting.

The Kane County Chronicle has filed a Freedom of Information request to obtain police reports she filed with the St. Charles Police Department.

During the meeting, Waibel criticized the other board members and the district for not doing enough to protect the safety of school board members.

“This board and this district has not protected its own,” she said. “I call for immediate action. There are other boards in this state that have the courage to take care of their own people. This board is not one of them. I’m ashamed to be on it.”

The district did not respond to her comments. Waibel said she continues to be harassed following her resignation.

In an apparent reference to her last name and the weeble wobble children’s toy, a post on social media showed a picture of a weeble wobble with the face of Adolf Hitler. The post is accompanied by the caption, “The weeble has fallen! Nice work!”

In her resignation letter, Waibel talks about how proud she was to have served on the board.

“My experience with this school board has been a growth experience, for which I am extremely grateful,” she said in the letter. “I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the students and watching them soar off into the world year after year has definitely been the highlight.”

A copy of her resignation letter is posted on the district’s website.