With a crowded field of 12 candidates vying for four open seats, the Evanston/Skokie District 65 school board race is hitting the home stretch, with two weeks left before Election Day and early voting kicking off this week.
In the run-up to the election, three prominent groups, including most notably a coalition of the five unions representing teachers and staff, have interviewed or sent written questionnaires to the candidates and issued endorsements.
The unions made their endorsements jointly, with representatives from each joining an interview panel on private Zoom calls with each candidate. Members of CREW65 (short for Championing Racial Equity Work in District 65) also interviewed candidates over Zoom, while the Independent Voters of Illinois — Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO), a good-government nonprofit, sent questionnaires that six of the 12 hopefuls filled out.
Two people — Patricia Anderson and Andrew Wymer — got backing of all three groups. The unions’ picks were rounded out by Peter Bogira and Chris Van Nostrand.
Union coalition
“The forum was moderated by IEA member and National Education Association (NEA) Director Bill Farmer who asked the candidates various questions ranging from fiscal responsibility to educator autonomy, after-school programming, and much more,” the unions wrote in a statement posted to Facebook and the Illinois Education Association website.
“The local unions strongly believe in equity and diversity for all,” the statement read. “They believe in partnering with the school board and school leadership. They look forward to and strongly encourage open communication and transparency to reach optimum results for all stakeholders, most importantly the students.”
It’s unclear how many union members participated in the panel and voted on the endorsements. When asked by the RoundTable, the teachers union referred back to the statement linked above.
IVI-IPO
IVI-IPO, on the other hand, threw its support behind Anderson, Wymer, Nichole Pinkard and Maria Opdycke. On its questionnaire, the nonprofit asked about experience, the biggest issues facing the district, the role of the school board and the district’s race, gender and equity policies and curriculum. Daniel Lyonsmith and Brandon Utter also responded to the questionnaire; all six responses can be viewed here. The other six candidates didn’t fill out the IVI-IPO survey.
Notably, IVI-IPO was the only organization to ask about candidates’ fundraising. Detailed lists of every donation to every candidate will not be available until the next quarterly report from the Illinois State Board of Elections, which will not be released until after the election. But candidates have to report donations of more than $1,000 immediately.
So far, only Pinkard, Opdycke and Utter have received four-figure contributions (Utter has only taken in $1,000 from himself). Pinkard has reported $15,000 in such donations and Opdycke $6,000, with both getting $5,000 from prominent local donor Charles Lewis. They’re also both backed by former Mayor Steve Hagerty.
“I’m proud to have the financial support of over 65 donors who believe in my leadership and vision for District 65,” Pinkard told IVI-IPO. “My campaign has been fueled by a broad network of friends, family, and community members who are committed to ensuring strong, sustainable schools for all of Evanston’s children.
“Every donor outside of Evanston is a personal friend who has supported my work in education, innovation, and community partnerships for years.”
CREW65
CREW65, made up of several longtime community advocates for a Fifth Ward school and former board members of the Organization for Positive Action and Leadership (OPAL), announced its endorsements in late February of Anderson, Pinkard, Van Nostrand and Wymer.
In an interview with the RoundTable, CREW65’s Roger Williams and Alyce Barry said the group interviewed 10 of the 12 candidates (two didn’t participate) in three group Zoom calls with three, four and three candidates each, respectively. According to Barry, CREW65 asked each candidate about white privilege, their involvement in racial equity and social justice work locally, their thoughts on the superintendent’s work so far and their approach to closing schools in the coming years.
In terms of the traits they liked in each candidate they endorsed, Williams said Pinkard brings ideas for “civic collaboration” and getting parents and other community members more engaged in the district. Anderson is focused on Foster School getting all the resources it needs, Barry added, while Wymer has “humility in addressing racial equity” and is knowledgeable about strategic planning. And Van Nostrand’s background in higher education marketing can also help the district come up with ways for communicating with families more effectively, she said.
As a nonprofit newsroom, the RoundTable doesn’t endorse candidates or run political advertising, but does report on endorsements during campaign season (read more about our policies here). For more information, check the RoundTable’s elections page to read our own candidate questionnaires and watch video interviews with each candidate.
Teachers union, other groups make endorsements in District 65 contest is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.