Expect a few changes if you show up to Wednesday's town hall meeting in Huntley Unit District 158.

Board members met Monday night to discuss the format for their final two town hall meetings, which have been intended to persuade voters of the need for a 55-cent tax hike.

The two town hall meetings to date, however, haven't been as effective as they should be, board members said.

The meetings are "to see to it that the referendum passes," board member Kim Skaja said. "I don't think we're doing everything we could to get through to people."

To improve communication, the board will first cut down on the time allotted for the opening presentation.

At the second meeting, the presentation took almost an hour, leaving less time to answer questions from the audience. Board members would like to cut that down to 10 for 15 minutes.

Board members are also doing away with their independent moderator. Rather, they hope to more quickly to cover questions, by having board member Derek Martin take over the moderator duties.

Participants will also be limited to two questions, at least until everyone is given the chance to talk.

The most talked about issue come down to how large a role to give Paul Halverson, the district's assistant superintendent of fiscal services.

Some board members felt they should take a more active role in answering questions. Others felt that Halverson's expertise was better suited for the task.

"We didn't step in enough at the last meeting," board member Rosemary Herringer said.

"It basically became Halverson's meeting, rather than the board's meeting," Martin said.

But don't expect Halverson to take a back seat at the final two town hall meetings.

"I feel very comfortable speaking," board member Mike Bachrodt said. "But if an expert's there, why not defer to the expert."

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