Candidates for Libertyville School District 70 and Hawthorn School District 73 school boards met virtually last week in a forum to discuss various issues facing each of the districts.
The forum, hosted by the Libertyville Township Democrats, was livestreamed on Facebook and also featured Oak Grove School District 68. Issues discussed on the night ranged from the districts’ responses to COVID-19, how to create more inclusivity in the schools and the goals of each candidate.
District 70
Nine candidates are vying for five total spots on the board, including one two-year term. Six of those candidates were on tap for the forum Wednesday, including current board member Wendy Schilling, and Lauren Marks, a school-based speech pathologist, each who are competing for the two-year term. Brain Lawton, a stay-at-home father, Jennifer Khan, a mother in the district with volunteer experience, current board member Angela Balanag, appointed in November, and Callie Johnson, a school nurse, each competing for a four-year term, were also in attendance. Evan Williamson, Colin Lane and Travis McGhee were not present.
The rift caused by whether to open up the schools despite the coronavirus pandemic was front and center during D70’s forum. Dating back to last year, some parents and members within the district have been at odds over the timelines for hybrid and remote learning. This spawned into protests and multiple public comments sent in to the board from parents.
While that rift was discussed, and many candidates expressed a wish for the community to come back together, there was agreement among the six candidates on wanting to open the schools full-time sooner rather than later. D70 is slated to welcome its elementary level students back full-time in April, which many of the candidates, including Balanag, said was still not soon enough. Schilling voted against the proposal to open school full-time next month, saying she wanted to open in March.
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Other items discussed surrounding COVID-19 include the need to address the lost learning from this year, and address the mental and health-related issues students have dealt with in the past year. Budgetary issues were also discussed.
Inclusivity was a question brought up as well. Khan said it was important to work with teachers to learn what needed to be done to provide more inclusive learning. Lawton also hit on the gap between high-income students and low-income students. Marks and Johnson talked about the need for a committee to be created geared toward inclusivity, equity and acceptance. The need for data and metrics was also brought up.
Other questions asked included candidates’ opinions on what characteristics made a good board member, and what made each candidate unique.
District 73
District 73 has four candidates running for three spots. Those candidates are current Board Vice President Wesley Ann Polen, Michael Engle, a remote sales team lead and parent within the district, Karl Borchers, a human resource specialist, and Alma Miranda. Everyone except Miranda participated in the forum Wednesday, Feb. 24.
Each candidate found agreement on many issues, including the district’s facilities master plan and its importance. Each candidate also said it was important to keep listening to the health experts, saying the pandemic has been uniquely challenging to the board and district.
Polen specifically hit on the achievement gaps within the district. Along with continuing programs that meet students where they’re at, she said, she also wants to create an environment of high expectations for students.
“All students can learn,” she said. “And this is a mindset that everyone at Hawthorn needs to have.”
Engle kept returning to the importance of providing students the necessary resources to succeed, whether in terms of the achievement gaps or more specifically, the coronavirus pandemic. On the pandemic, Engle said it impacts everyone in different ways, so it’s important to provide both health-related help and mental help to students.
“You certainly don’t want to discredit when people talk about the mental toll this takes on students,” he said. “I think that’s very real.”
Borchers answers featured a lot of looking forward, including being prepared for the upcoming contract discussions with Superintendent Peter Hannigan. He also hit on how technology needs have changed from the pandemic, and wanting to continue its influence.
“As much as we can continue to incorporate (technology), even in a normal classroom setting, I think will be to the benefit of our community,” he said.
Elections for these races are taking place April 6, with countywide early voting starting March 22.