About 200 people attended the forum for District 65 School Board candidates, held on Jan. 12 in the Evanston Township High School auditorium. Black Sonrise, which offers reading and other academic support for Black male students in elementary school, and Kuumba Evanston, whose mission is to “serve families of color that have been marginalized by systemic racism,” sponsored the event.
Kimberley Fair and Christian Sorensen announced over the weekend that they would leave the campaign, and Andrew Wymer was unable to attend the forum, leaving 12 of the field of now 13 candidates on the ETHS auditorium stage.
The purpose of the forum was to allow the candidates to say how they would address the persistent achievement/opportunity gap between white and minority students. The flyer for the forum noted that at District 65, 19% of Black students are reading at grade level, compared to 64% of white students; in math, 12% of Black students, compared to 63% of white students, meet standards on state-mandated tests.
Referring to that gap, John Brownlee of Sonrise Evanston said in his introductory remarks, “The house is on fire. …In that spirit, Greg [Taylor, executive director of Kuumba Evanston] and I unapologetically focus on the plight of Black students in District 65.”
Former District 65 School Board member Omar Brown described the format: There were three topics: student achievement and equity, Board accountability and governance, and Board priorities and policies. There were several questions on each topic. Each question was directed specifically to two or three candidates. The candidates had been given the questions beforehand and were asked to submit written answers to each of the questions; the answers will be posted on the Kuumba Evanston website, https://www.kuumbaevanston.org, by the end of the month.
This article provides a short profile of each candidate who participated in the forum and their opening statements, followed by each candidate’s answer to a specific question.
Opening statements, profiles
Dan Kastilahn
Profile: Dan Kastilahn, who grew up in Evanston and attended Evanston public schools, holds an M.S. degree from Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a senior vice president at Morningstar DBRS and has experience in commercial real estate finance. In 2021, he and his family moved back to Evanston; his daughter attends Lincoln Elementary School and his son will start there next year.
Opening statement: I have not been in this room in a long time, but I am a 97 graduate. Also, this is awesome and I’m encouraged by this long table/panel of people running. I think it’s really, really emblematic of how serious things have gotten that this many people have put their hands up. And it’s awesome to see and makes me proud to be an Evanstonian. Along those lines, I said, I grew up in District 65 system and went to Willard, Haven and ETHS. I have a lot of pride in this community, and had a very good experience with the elementary schools and high school. My whole educational experience — I wish that for every child who’s within our community, I’m deeply concerned with the fiscal mismanagement and the lack of transparency that the current board has exhibited for the past number of years.
I think our backs are up against the wall, pretty in a pretty major way, from the financial standpoint, and it’s going to take an entire community, not just board, not just administration, to rally around to get us out of this predicament. My background is in finance, real estate. I’m a data numbers guy. I think that is specifically an asset that I would bring to a board, because that’s the number one pressing issue in my eyes right now, is that we have been in the red for three years, going approaching here, double digit millions and negative. Negative. So that my that is my impetus for running for the Board.
Nichole Pinkard
Profile: Nichole Pinkard is a Professor of Learning Sciences at Northwestern University. She is the founder ofDigital Youth Network, a social learning platform that connects youth’s learning opportunities across the school, home, community, and beyond. She is also a founder of Digital Youth Divas, a program to engage middle school-aged girls in STEAM activities. She earned her bachelor’s in computer science from Stanford University, a master’s in computer science from Northwestern, and her doctorate in learning sciences from Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy. . She is a guardian of former District 65 students and a resident of the Fifth Ward
Opening statement: My name is Nichole Pinkard, and I am a proud Fifth Ward resident, a FAAM coach, a former D65 guardian, a great aunt to three Black boys who will be attending D65, a Northwestern professor, and I’ve been committed to creating opportunities that support youth development and education.
When I moved here, I thought I would live here and continue to do the focus of my work around equity in Chicago. But with bringing my seventh grade nieces into Haven and really beginning to understand the complexity that is the Fifth Ward, and the complexity in the schools, District 65 — and also ETHS — really became more the focus of the work that I do. I didn’t think about running for the board, and always thought that I would continue to partner with all the organizations that I do. But the reality is facing us, and what it is that I know about those realities is forcing me to come out from behind and actually putting my head in the ring.
District 65 faces significant fiscal challenges, unfinished equity work and the need to rebuild trust across the communities. These challenges call for leaders who can thoroughly navigate the impact of these financial realities while remaining deeply connected to the community. They demand commitment to excellence, equity, accountability and collaboration. As one of seven board members, I will bring these values to every decision to shape long term the future of our district.
I believe equity and excellence are not opposing goals. They can and must be achieved within a budget by leveraging the partnerships, the unique partnerships that are here, optimizing our resources and supporting innovation. We have to work together to ensure that every child, regardless of the race, the neighborhood, the background, has access to the opportunities we know are needed to thrive. So, I’m ready to step up and lead with transparency and care and collaboration to make sure that every child enters ETHS prepared to succeed.
Maria Opdycke
Profile: Maria Opdyke is the vice-president of clinical operations at Foodsmart, a telehealth network of registered dieticians, and has 25 years’ experience running operations and finance in people-centered organizations. She was PTA co-president at Dewey School, and served as a volunteer consultant to Booth Alumni Nonprofit Consultants and the Gary Comer Youth Center Career Pathways Initiative, and board member and finance chair of the Open Studios Project.
She has a B.A. in Economics from Miami University and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She has three children who have attend or have attended District 65 schools.
Opening statement: My name is Maria Forres Opdycke. I’ve lived in Evanston for 10 years with my three boys, ages 11, 13, and 15, my husband Jesse, who’s a third generation Evanstonian, and our daughter. All of our children have attended District 65 schools. I’ve been a volunteer at Dewey throughout the years. I served as PTA co-president from 2020 to 2022, which were tough years for our world, our community, and our school.
Professionally, I’m an executive at Foodsmart, which is a company that serves Medicaid patients that are food and nutrition insecure. I’ve served five years on the finance committee for Open Studio Project, which is an Evanston based arts organization that focuses on social, emotional, well being. I have an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago, and a BA in economics from Miami University.
I’m running because I’ve listened, I’ve watched and participated in our district for the last decade. The lack of financial stewardship and the absence of accountable leadership has put our district in crisis. But I know we can build an equitable and financially sustainable school district. The problems we are facing are daunting, but they are not insurmountable. But I do know that when we hear budget cuts in the fiscal crisis, we fear that the education our children will receive will continue to result in unacceptably low achievement.
Those of you who have worked with me know I care deeply about our children and our public school system, and I’m running because I believe my perspective and my experience is needed on the school board right now. Those of you who know me will tell you that I get stuff done. I welcome and encourage discussion and debate, and I don’t shy away from challenges.
As an executive and entrepreneur, I’ve led finance, operations and technology for 25 years. I’ve built teams that led organizations and people through financial and operational crisis, and I want to bring the community’s voices, partner with the administration, and bring solid financial leadership and board accountability. Beyond that, I want to ensure we live up to our mission: “Every child, every day, whatever it takes.”
Christopher DeNardo
Profile: Evanston native Chris DeNardo holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. A stay-at-home dad to his two children who attend Bessie Rhodes, he is an AFAA Certified Personal Trainer. He works at the McGaw Y, teaching barbell exercises to beginners and designing strength programs tailored to their levels. His athletic history is in boxing and combat sports. He has served as a preschool gym teacher and a long-term substitute teacher.
Opening statement: I’m an Evanston native and a current parent of a two children at Bessie Rhodes. Growing up in Evanston, having my education take place here, graduating from ETHS, I would not be where I am without the educational opportunities that were afforded to me. Growing up in Evanston and being aware that those opportunities were not shared among my peers in Evanston. Wanting to make what I was given access to accessible to all students motivated my desire to get a master’s degree in education. I know the field of education. About 10 years ago, several career changes in that time led me to return to Evanston, start a family here, work at the YMCA. Seeing the situation develop at Bessie Rhodes surrounding the closures, the new Foster School got me involved in attending school board meetings where I saw kind of an entire school system reeling from significant trauma, both recent and historic , and I was very frustrated seeing a board and administration kind of withdraw from the community rather than strengthen connections within it. And so that is why I’m running for the school board now. The mission is still the same. The same reason why I decided to get into education 10 years ago, to see that the opportunities that I was afforded not be exclusive anymore
Peter Bogira
Profile: Peter Bogira has spent most of his professional career in marketing and advertising. He is currently a principal account executive at Roku in the Ad Sales division. He attended Dawes, Chute and ETHS and moved back to Evanston in 2020. He has two children at Kingsley, and one who will start in the fall. He has a bachelors in arts from Albion College.
Opening statement: My name is Peter Bogira. Wrangling this field is tough. I don’t envy you all out there having to try and decide on whatever the number ends up being, whether it’s, you know, 13,14, 17 candidates. It’s pretty daunting, but it’s also, as others have stated, indicative of where we are, and I don’t want to say that necessarily in a negative way. I think it’s indicative of the energy and the interest in the community, and I think we up here are a reflection of that.
We just happen to be the people crazy enough to run directly at the fire. But we need your help to put it out.
I’m an Evanston native, a product of Dawes school and ETHS. But moving back to Evanston in mid-2020, after having our third kid. So, now we’ve got two in second and third grade at Kingsley, and then expecting a kindergartner next fall.
I’m running for the board because I think we have an incredibly important opportunity ahead. I think this board can get us beyond kind of just pointing to everything being on fire, and really unifying our community around really having a long-term vision and not just making short-term decisions with long-term consequences, and making sure that this place really works for all. I possess relevant strengths to be a key part of the next chapter: empathy, curiosity and relatability stand out, and the ability to work cross functionally with people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. And I nerd out on the data.
Heather Vezner
Profile: Heather Vezner worked for 26 years as a quality assurance professional in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, and is recently retired. She has lived in Skokie for more than a decade, and her stepdaughters attended King Arts.
Opening statement: I’m Heather Vezner, I’ve lived in the Evanston/Skokie community for over 10 years. Now I’m married and the stepmom to two wonderful young women who attended King Arts, and now they attend ETHS and UIUC. I recently retired from a 26-year career in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. At my previous company, I was a senior executive in the quality assurance organization where I ensured the safety, efficacy and regulatory compliance for the manufactured products. I led global teams, and I maintained a multi -million dollar budget.
I understand the importance and the impact that school districts and school boards have within the community, because when I was in high school, the school district I was in was taken over by the state. Now that I am retired, I have an opportunity myself to be involved in the community and volunteer in a position that has impact, and that’s why I’m running for school board.
Pat Anderson
Profile: Pat Anderson is currently a diversity, equity and inclusion facilitator. Before that she worked as a physical therapist in District 65’s Special Services Department from 1986 to 2022. She has provided volunteer services to the Black Girl Magic Book Club, the iMAP Mentoring Program, and as a Pediatric Physical Therapist Mentor. She has a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Physical Therapy degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She attended District 65 as a student, and was a parent and now a grandparent of District 65 students. She is a resident of the Evanston’s ninth ward.
Opening statement: I’m Pat Anderson, a native Evanstonian. I’ve lived in the Second Ward, the Fifth Ward, and I live in the Ninth Ward. I’ve experienced district 65 as a student, a parent, a grandparent and an employee. I worked for District 65 for 35 years as a physical therapist in every school in the district. I’ve worked with all of the teachers, the support staff, and I can only say that they provide exemplary educational services to the students. This is despite the fact that there are so many barriers in the way of providing this education. Witness the expansion of the administrative organization. My office was at JEH, so I got a first hand look at that. And based on what I saw, I didn’t always feel that that served the best interest of families, the students in the district.
Another one of my special characteristics or qualifications is that I’m a trained equity facilitator. I was nationally trained with the SEED organization in Seattle, and I also had the opportunity to use that training to interact with teachers across the district, staff across the district and parents in the community.
My purpose in running for the school board is based on what I see happening in the district in terms of the resources that are being squandered and misused. My candidacy really seeks to restore trust from the community in the school board, financial accountability and making sure that when we right size this district, it is done in an equitable fashion.
Dan Lyonsmith
Profile: Dan Lyonsmith is the Midwest regional director for employment and training administration at the U.S. Department of Labor and oversees the administration of about $6 billion in workforce funding. He was previously an Associate Director of workforce development at the Illinois Department of Human Services, where he administered $40 million in state and federal funds for employment and training programs. He graduated from American University (B.A, Environmental Studies). He attended public school in Evanston from fifth grade through ETHS, and has two children in District 65 and one at ETHS.
Opening statement: My name is Dan Lyonsmith. Why I’m running for school board, primarily is as a parent. I ‘ve got three children. One of them went all the way through D 65, k through 8, and just started at the high school. I’ve got two others who are still enrolled in D 65 schools, one in Washington, and one in Nichols. And I feel like a lot of Evanston families and parents. We moved back to Evanston because the schools had a great reputation. And, I think that, like all of us, I want to make sure that we deliver on that reputation, and we’re able to offer that as a community.
I think I can do that because I have some professional experience that feels relevant. I am in public administration right now, and I have governed large budgets and stewarded over public funds, particularly in the areas of employment training programs targeted towards the hardest to serve adults. I’ve done that in the State of Illinois and now the US Department of Labor, and so I feel that my experience in kind of overseeing large programs and trying to make sure that funds are used to deliver outcomes for the community will be of real good benefit now, given the challenges that we face as a district, so hopefully you’ll consider me for the position.
Randall Steckman
Profile: Randall Steckman is a Project Manager at Grumman/Butkus Associates Ltd., an engineering firm based in Evanston, and his work there has included systems design and analysis for commercial, healthcare, higher education, and other facilities for 11 years. Previously, he was a Senior Mechanical Engineer & Associate at Syska Hennessy Group. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Milwaukee School of Engineering. He has lived in Evanston for four years. He is a single dad with shared custody and his daughter attends Oakton Elementary School.
Opening statement: My name is Randy Steckman, and I am not an Evanston native. I moved here about four years ago, after working in the area for about 10 years,
I’m an engineer in the construction area industry, and with almost 20 years of experience. I have worked in India, China, Mexico, and obviously here in the US. Growing up, I moved around a lot, so I’ve gone to elementary school in Ohio, California and Montana, and I’ve attended high schools in Montana and Eau Claire, and now working in Illinois. So, I kind of transplanted around and have a lot of unique experiences.
I’m running for school board because I want to bring my unique school experiences, perspective and engineering experiences, construction experiences, to the challenging issues that the school district is facing. We’ve got a school currently under construction, you have over $190 million in deferred maintenance. You know, that’s definitely my area of expertise, and I love it.
And my daughter is a new kindergartner. She attends Oakton Elementary, and she loves it. So I want to make sure that she can continue to enjoy her school and fall in love with Evanston the way I have.
Chris Van Nostrand
Profile: With an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Chris Van Nostrand is the founder and head coach at Strength Wise Barbell. He offers online, in-person and hybrid strength and conditioning coaching. After discovering the sport of powerlifting, he renewed his focus on competition and made a career change from marketing and admissions — mostly at Northwestern and UC Berkeley — to coaching. His passion is working with masters athletes. His wife grew up in Evanston, and their two children attend Lincolnwood and Haven. He is a coach with Evanston Youth Baseball Association.
Opening statement: I’m the dad to two District 65 students, and my wife is a product of the District 65 schools as well as ETHS. I’m running to build the school district of the future. I think we have an opportunity to use this crisis to really become a lot more nimble and a lot more flexible in terms of how we provide resources. So, one thing that happens in a crisis is that we can really sharpen our focus on what is working and what isn’t, and make sure that we’re spending resources on the things that do work. I think a big role the Board will have moving forward is really setting in place the system, so that again, we’re investing in the things that actually make a difference in areas like addressing the opportunity gap and then empowering teachers to really focus on those resources and make a meaningful difference.
This data-driven approach to empowering educators is something that I’ve done throughout my career as a strength coach and started my own business. When I’m serving my clients, I have to make sure that they’re getting the best results with the least amount of time, right? And same thing with running my business, I have to make sure that I’m measurably growing it and improving it. This also comes out of my past experience — in my prior career, as the chief marketing officer in higher education administration, I had to manage large budgets and large teams. And so, I think it’s important to note that when we talk about data-driven management and really empowering teachers to do what works, it’s not about micro-management, right? It’s about the opposite. So, when I had these roles, it was important that we hired the best possible people, empower them, and then get out of the way so that they could do their jobs incredibly effectively.
We need to do the same thing. We need to make sure that we’re hiring the best possible teachers during the processes in place to allow that to happen, and then doing everything we can to allow those experts to thrive as well. I really see the role of this Board as coming together to re-envision what the future of education can look like in partnership with the community. It’s not about what the Board wants, it’s about what the shared values and beliefs of the community are.
Lionel Gentle
Profile: Lionel Gentle is a graduate of Loyola Academy and the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. He is a certified massage therapist from the Soma Institute. He shifted from an acting career to being a stay-at-home dad. One of his sons is a recent ETHS graduate, the other a student at Bessie Rhodes. He served as PTA president at Kingsway School in the Fifth Ward, and is the creator of two podcasts. “Our Unseen Roots” elevates the stories of Black women in the community; “Our Unseen Dads” shares the experience of Black.
Opening statement: I want to thank the candidates on the stage for being courageous and sitting alongside me as nervous as I am, I know you’re nervous too.
The reason I decided to run for school board is because I have a long-standing relationship with the community. I’ve coached in FAAM for about 16 years. I have two boys, my 18-year old, and Jameson’s my 10 year old. I’ve worked with a lot of children in that time span, and I believe that I know what it takes, know what they want, know what they need, know how to communicate with them. I’m also a former actor, so I also know how to work with an ensemble.
I’m not as versed as everyone else here on the stage, but the beautiful thing about it is determination, passion and belief of doing what’s right. You need no degree for that, and so I want the opportunity to help lead this District back to where it is, where I see that it can be. Evanston used to be one of the best schools or best school districts in the state. And so I think we have everything within our community to get us out of the situation that we’re in now and to get us back to where we need to be. The fact that Black Sonrise is helping sponsor this. It’s a program that can help. There’s a bunch of STEM programs right here in Evanston that can help. So I look forward to the opportunity to get to know each and every one of you a little bit better and share my vision with you.
Brandon Utter
Profile: Brandon Utter holds a doctorate in pharmacy and has conducted years of post-doctoral residency training to specialize in psychopharmacology and pharmacotherapy. He is a mental health pharmacist for the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he provides medication management services to veterans in Kansas and Missouri. Previously, he served as the leader of Colorado Drug Utilization Review Board. During his nine years in the National Guard, he was deployed to Baghdad as a medic. He lives in Skokie.
Opening statement: I’m happy to be here today, looking forward to learn with and from everybody here. I believe forums like this are vital part of the board vetting, campaigning process. And I’d say, of note, the majority of the [school] board was appointed prior to being elected, and thus making substantive District decisions prior to undergoing any significant public vetting process. But my introduction, I’m a Bessie Rhodes parent [of] a third-grader and a kindergartner. I also have a three-year-old who will be a D 65 student in the coming years. My main reasons for running for D 65 Board of Education are 1) to ensure that schools in District 65 are not treated in the same manner as Bessie Rhodes, and 2) to ensure that the District renews their dedication to their strategic plan with the ultimate goal of academic excellence.
I believe that decisions need to be data-informed and based on real numbers with logical and pragmatic interpretation. I’ve been involved with the District and advocating for the Bessie Rhodes community for years, and believe we could be doing a much better job for the children in District 65. My experience includes integrating large amounts of data into high-quality decision-making processes. I have a robust experience serving with a board, working on teams with all stakeholders to integrate various input into substantive quality policy and financial decisions.
I strongly believe all funds in District 65 should be focused on producing outcomes for students and strengthening the teachers and support staff. Any other spending should be critically evaluated with a high degree of scrutiny. I believe in data-informed equity principles to focus resources where they have been historically withheld. I believe we need dynamic information and decision-making processes and to strengthen the foundation of District 65. I believe good starting information and decision-making processes should lead to real and durable interventions for our students and our District. I believe we need reliably and thoughtfully implement district initiatives with plenty of educational outreach opportunities to the community. Any initiative or intervention is only as good as its implementation. Most of all, I believe in District 65 and then by looking around me and all the other candidates here today, I think that everybody here does, too.
Questions to candidates
Achievement gap question: “The achievement gap between Black students and their counterparts has continued to grow in terms of percentage performing math and reading at their appropriate grade level. What is your specific plan to close that gap?”
Kastilahn: Think in terms of spending priorities. My priorities are to keep as much money in the classroom and child-facing as possible. I think we’ve seen an administration that has grown outsized in relation to enrollment, meaning teachers have not been prioritized in the same manner. This is evidenced by operating without a contract for a few months. I think that if you can increase the teacher/student ratio, then you will have more individual time per student to address those learners based on what they need individually. I think being able put more teachers, paraprofessionals and, I’m not saying operating soley without resources from an administration standpoint, but I do think just looking at the numbers, the priority has got to be money in the classroom for those students.
Pinkard: The so called achievement gap, I’m going to really talk about it as an opportunity gap. To address it, we need to have a holistic approach. We have to think about the structures, the historic infrastructure. We have to think about curriculum. We have to think about schools, how they’re structured, and have to think about families. We know systemic barriers have long limited equitable access to education for Black students. We must think about equitizing opportunity for kids across socioeconomic status, across race, also across census tract. The experiences of Black kids in the Fifth Ward are different from the experiences and the access to resources they have for kids who live in the Eighth Ward. So, it’s not a monolithic conversation about Black kids. It’s a conversation understanding how historically, resources haven’t been placed where they need to be placed.
A key step is also ensuring every school offers rigorous instruction and enrichment opportunities, so students don’t have to leave their neighborhoods to access advanced programs. When I moved here, I was shocked that there was not a late bus for kids who live in the Fifth Ward and attend schools in the Sixth and Seventh Wards, prohibiting them from attending programming unless their parents can get them there.
Early exposure, we know, to advanced concepts, mentorship, and inclusive systems for helping making sure we understand the strengths and weaknesses of kids such that we can address them. We also need to ensure that our teachers in our classrooms are equipped to effectively educate the diverse, racial, cultural and socio-economic groups of students they serve. Providing ongoing training and culturally responsive teaching practices is critical.
Schools, however, cannot close the gap alone. Learning happens across communities and libraries, after-school programs and home. So, by bringing these resources like tutoring together and technology together in neighborhoods like the Fifth Ward, we can create accessible, well equipped learning spaces that meet families where they are. This is about leveraging our existing creativity and resources and not just throwing money at problems.
Finally, families are central to this work. Clear communication about the resources available to them, and workshops to help them support their kids will really help us move forward in addressing the opportunity gap.
Opdycke: Nichole is well-steeped in this work. I really respect her and her opinion and her experience in this work. I want to just take a quick minute and say that the questions that were presented here really expressed a concern that the equity work and our focus on equity will be thrown out with choices that we need to make considering our financial crisis. And I just want to express to this community that upholding and addressing our financial crisis can be done with an equity lens, and should be done with an equity lens. We can have equity and rigor in our curriculum.
And I also want to acknowledge to this group that as a white woman, I’m far from an expert in equity work, but I continue to learn about how to best address these issues that are affecting Black and brown children. So from an achievement gap standpoint, my goal is to build an equitable and sustainable school district. And as a board member, my job is to employ and hold the superintendent accountable to effectively implementing an organizational structure, supporting principals, implementing policy, professional development, rigorous curriculum and classroom supports that will close the achievement gap in our current financial crisis.
We should look to organizations in our community that support struggling learners, like Books and Breakfast. We should bring back reading specialists, literacy tutors, pre-K, and focus our resources on early interventions for children that are not at grade level
Question on cuts and equity amid the fiscal crisis: “How would you make an emphasis on equity and district decision making in the face of our current fiscal challenges and potential cuts in federal funding assistance?”
DeNardo: Maintaining equity in the face of fiscal challenges — I have a problem framing it as certainly a choice between either. From looking at the budget slides presented at the structural deficit reduction meetings at the recent meeting done by Dr. Turner, the District is not starved for resources. … Budgets have increased between the slide for fiscal 2021 and the budget for 2025, by 20%. It’s [the budget] is like $160 million. There’s no lack of resources in the District. And how I would want the Board and administration to maintain equity focused budget cuts is try to maintain a rising tide. That’s all ships. Don’t think that there is any program. I don’t think that literacy intervention or math intervention targeted to Black and minority students necessarily leaves out any other students. I don’t think an intervention that has a broad umbrella. I think there are as many different ways to increase Black student achievement as there are black students within the District, and the key is going to be diverting our resources to the educators who see them every day, giving them the time to deliver the bulk of the resources and services that the District will provide.
I think the thing that I didn’t get to add in my opening is that we have a combination of problems that are recent as well as we’ve been around for a while. The one that’s the backdrop of today’s conversation this point is more the latter, and just because there’s a new fire doesn’t mean that the other one that’s been around doesn’t warrant tons of our care and attention.
So I think from talking to somebody already saying there’s a piece of value up here, I think you can all feel confident that everyone up here is behind attacking the achievement gap and equity issues. I don’t think what is hopefully a relatively short term financial crisis erases our overall vision for what we want out of the community, how we want it to work for everybody. And the reality is that historically, it hasn’t. I lived through that firsthand, and was privileged, privileged enough to benefit from having a great experience here. And I want everybody who goes through our schools here to have that experience.
Bogira: I think one of the really important things for me, specifically, is exploration of early childhood and pre K resources. Those are so important because we get a better idea of the students that are coming into our kindergarten classrooms, the more visibility we get into either our own programs or the other ones that exist locally. We didn’t make sure that there’s not an opportunity gap, you know, going off of what Nicole was saying around who has access to those resources before a kid is 5 or 6 years old.
Vezner: So as far as maintaining an emphasis on equity in light of the fiscal challenges we’re here, and I think a good example that is the continuation of the analysis that’s being done for this current Strategic. Asset Reduction Plan, or SDRP. If you’ve looked at it, the SDRP has three categories identified for use in evaluating reductions. And the categories are student impact, staff impact and racial equity impact. And as a Board member, I would expect that further cuts are required beyond what is in the SDRP, that we keep asking those questions, ‘Is there going to be racial equity impact based on this cut?’ And as long as we keep that front and center, we’ll be able to maybe maintain the emphasis on the challenges that we currently have and that we don’t know we may have. You know, with the new administration, potential cuts to the Department of Education, so we are going to have to keep it at the forefront.
Question on top priorities for District 65
Anderson: This is a very important question, because we have to make this decision now. And in my view, the top priority is financial solvency, and this is something that’s going to have to be implemented by July, 1 of this year. If we don’t repair the financial damage that’s been done, we are at risk for being taken over by the Illinois State Board of Education. That’s where we are. So that’s to me, that’s the top priority, once we can solidify our financial standing, then we can address many of the other issues that we face. I am passionate about this. We need to keep the control of the Evanston/Skokie School District under the control of the community and the residents and the people that pay for this school district.
This is so when we’re talking about the debt reduction plan, and in my view, I think in looking at that, specific attention has to be paid to the heavy load, the heavy administrative load. I know that when you look at the pie chart, it’s a small sliver, but that sliver sucks up a lot of resources, a lot of financial resources. Another thing that’s recently happened is that Moody’s has downgraded our credit rating. So that’s another issue. So, the finance to me, right now, the financials are a concern, but in terms of looking what happens after that, I want to keep focused on the classroom and conserving those resources. If we’re going to approach an education gap, we have to also make that a priority.
Lyonsmith: I wish I could say there was some daylight I could show between Pat and I on this issue, but there’s not. I think the overwhelming information that’s out there, we can all see the big elephant in the room is the fiscal crisis, a $13 million deficit, an ongoing deficit over numerous years now of $10 million or more.
If we don’t solve that problem, then unfortunately, I think we put at risk more of our vulnerable populations that we try to serve through our school system, whether that be special education, a performance gap in how kids are doing in school, we’re not going to have funding to address those other priorities that we all care about. If we are underwater in the budget, and we can’t really go another year.
The state takeover is a really big concern, because if the state comes to take over, you know, they’re not from here, they’re not going to care about our priorities. It’s just going to be hack and slash and make sure the numbers fit. And who knows what becomes of the things that the board and these administrations and community members have worked on up to this point. Will they build a Fifth Word school? Will that school be allowed to open? Because that takes monies that are operational monies, and not just the monies to build the brick and mortar building. All these things are thrown into question. s
So, it is vital that we address the fiscal issues, and that’s going to be our job as a new board. But we’re also going to be coming in a little bit late, as that process is starting this week, as proposals come out on how the budget should be corrected. We wouldn’t be seated as members until May, and a number of those things will have already had to be started. So, we’re really going to come in as kind of the cleanup and contribute to that.
Question on graduation requirements: “There are currently no graduation requirements or minimum attendance requirements in District 65. What is your position on graduation requirements?”
Steckman: That’s a good question because having graduation requirements implies that there are programs or plans in place for what you’re going to do when you don’t graduate students. And that would be my concern with any sort of graduation requirements, what do we do with the students that don’t meet the graduation requirements? Are there plans in place? Is it summer school? Is it another year? What do we do if they went through school and they attended school, and they didn’t graduate? What was working? What wasn’t? I think that having some sort of plan in place for fixing or addressing why a student didn’t graduate is important before putting in graduation requirements.
In addition, figuring out the standard-based grading and how that translates into high school, I think that’s also important, again, going back to getting feedback from teachers about how the standards-based grading is working, and then how that translates into creating standards in high school.
Question on board accountability
Van Nostrand: So, what is the role of the board? The role of the board is vision and oversight. So that includes the oversight not only of the administration and of the effectiveness of the schools, but also of the board itself. And so that then leads into having public accountability measures being really clear on ‘What is the board promising to solve?’, ‘Have we transparently and publicly communicated what those objectives are?’, and then how well are we doing on actually solving those. I think we can actually kind of connect this topic back to the one that was just answered, which with regards to standards based grading, which is, ‘What was the success criteria at the beginning? What problem were we trying to solve? And how are we measuring how we’re progressing towards solving that problem?’ So if standard- based grading was adopted specifically as a mechanism for addressing the opportunity gap, have we seen that opportunity gap start to close? … I think that as far as remaining publicly accountable, there are just some good, good best practices and processes that I think any effective board needs to roll out. So that includes widening the ways in which we engage with the public; it’s more than just board meetings. It’s also figuring out ‘How do we have information that we can share in a variety of different ways?’ And again, ‘Are we actually, as a board sitting down, perhaps once a quarter, and saying we had a strategic planning process that was connected to our vision? Are we actually doing the job that we set out to do, and then reporting back to the public on that.’ And if we aren’t doing that job as a board, then we should think about whether we can continue to be effective, and if not, perhaps no one continue to be a member of the board.
Gentle: I’m a very simple man, and if the board isn’t doing what the board is supposed to be doing, then we get elected [voted] off — point blank. That’s the situation we’re in now. There are employees that aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and they’re not meeting the standard. Then we have a discussion after that discussion. If they’re not meeting the standard again, then we have to find a replacement. I mean, I feel like there’s times to work, work through situations, but right now, our Board has us in a situation where we are under the clock. And to me, everything is on the table. And my son, your daughter, your son’s life, future and education is much more important than somebody’s feelings. We’re in dire straits, and I feel like if someone is not performing to standard, we have to find someone that will perform the standard. If someone on the board is not performing the standard, we have to elect someone on the board who will perform the standard.
Utter: I think it’s one of the most important rules. The Board is just assessing the success of District administration, and [this] should be done on a regular basis. And verbiage should be added to all District administration and Superintendent contracts to undergo regular assessments by the Board.
The board serves as a check and balance for the District, where the public vetting campaign process, coupled with free and fair elections, serves as a check and balance for the Board. So there’s a system of checks and balances, and there’s no assessment being done on the superintendent — absence of checks and balances.
This very forum is already improving the process by vetting school board candidates. Public strategic goal two of the strategic plan as approved for five years in 2020 is accountability. It doesn’t mention accountability of district administration. Addition should be made to include accountability of District administration with regard to procedure and management. The strategic goal page plans measures are being developed to ensure we remain on track and accountable for our progress. This needs to be expanded. Any objective strategies that are being used should be made clear and also part of any contractual work and utilized regularly. They need further definition, quality and regular implementation. The strategic plan is the compass for the District administration and the Board. If decisions are being made and resources are being allocated with questionable impact to goals of the strategic plan, then we need to readdress the plan and reinforce its importance in guiding district activities and resources.
Conclusion
In his closing remarks, Mr. Brownlee commented on the civil discourse and courtesy among the candidates, and said that he had seen some “firefighters.”
Four seats are open on the District 65 board, as none of the incumbents chose to seek re-election. The names of all 13 candidates will be on the April 1 ballot.
District 65 board candidates tackle budget, achievement questions at forum is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.