Candidates pitch fix for division on Dist. 15 school board

Joshua Perry likens the Palatine Township Elementary District 15 school board to the Chicago Bears.

“They didn't get along this year and look how that turned out,” he said.

A week before the April 7 election, the seven candidates for three seats on the school board each made their case of how they would restore collaboration on the divisive panel during a Tuesday night forum hosted by a group of parent-teacher associations in the district.

Trying to unseat the two incumbents are Perry, who is campaigning on his own, and Jessica Morrison, David Gurion and Zubair Khan, three candidates who have formed a slate.

Seeking a second term are Manjula Sriram and Gerard Iannuzzelli, joined by Frank Annerino, on the other slate.

Several candidates said the solution lies with better communication between members on two sides of an issue.

“We're adults here and we have to be adults in the board room as well,” said Perry, criticizing the board's gridlock over appointing a new member after the death of Vice President Richard Bokor.

Khan was the only candidate who said, if elected, his top priority is turning around the culture on the board.

“We have to set an example for the students, for the community that we can work together and actually come together with solutions and present a better example for future governance,” he said.

Khan and the rest of his slate say their day jobs enable them to work toward consensus.

As a litigator, Khan said he has to vigorously debate his point and then move on, an approach he thinks is missing on a school board split into two camps. Gurion says he has to sometimes meet in the middle negotiating sales deals.

While the dynamics on the panel could change with three four-year seats up for grabs, Morrison, also an attorney, said she would work to persuade members with divergent views, and they in turn would “have to work to persuade me.”

Sriram, however, said board leaders are responsible for fixing the discord. Sriram, Iannuzzelli and Scott Herr, who is not seeking re-election, have been frequent critics of the district's deficit spending and are often aligned in their votes.

Board President Peggy Babcock and members Dave Seiffert and James Ekeberg are aligned on the other side.

“Executive leaders should strive to build consensus among the seven board members, not try to dictate decisions,” Sriram said.

She also called for a process when members could explain the rationale behind their votes.

“It opens up avenues for other board members to understand your mindset and once that vote is done you can move on,” she said. “If there is no discussion or reason as to why you're voting a certain way, it does not help you to move forward.”

Annerino vowed to bring an open mind to conflicting ideas.

Iannuzzelli also defended his questioning of administrators.

“I don't want people to misconstrue questioning with disagreeing,” he said.