Four candidates running as slate for District 214 board
As candidates prepare to file papers this month to run for local offices, four of those running for school board in Northwest Suburban High School District 214 have announced they are campaigning together as a slate.
Current Board Vice President Todd Younger, a 5-year board member from Arlington Heights, and Mark Hineman, an 8-year board member from Mount Prospect, are seeking re-election. They are teaming with Millie Palmer, an attorney from Arlington Heights, and Lenny Walker, a senior executive at Kenicott Brothers Wholesale Florist from Wheeling. Each are seeking a four-year term.
Not seeking re-election are board members Mimi Cooper and James Perkins, both of Arlington Heights.
Candidates can begin filing papers with the Cook County Clerk's Office Monday, Dec. 12, through Dec. 19 in order to get on the April 4 ballot. It's possible other candidates may file for the District 214 race. There are four available seats on the seven-member board.
Four years ago, only the incumbents ran for the four open positions.
This time around, incumbents Younger and Hineman announced in a news release that they are running to maintain the district's educational excellence and fiscal accountability. They lauded the district for various accomplishments: balanced operating budgets for some 20 years, no tax increase referendums in 45 years, national award recognitions and improving student academic performance.
The incumbents say their slatemates are very involved at the high schools their children attend - for Palmer, Rolling Meadows; and for Walker, Wheeling.
Cooper, who is stepping down, is one of the board's longest serving members. She was a teacher before she ran and first got elected to the board in 1989. She is also a member of the District 214 Education Foundation Board, and as a family law attorney since 1987, she serves on the Northwest Suburban Bar Association board.
Perkins, a CPA, was elected in 2007 after a previous stint on the Prospect Heights Elementary District 23 school board from 2001 to 2004.
District 214 is the second-largest high school district in Illinois, with more than 12,000 students in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling.