Bathrooms and budget focus of District 211 forum

Bathrooms and budgets remain the key dividing lines between two sets of candidates vying for three seats on the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board.

A standing-room-only crowd Saturday at Palatine's Village Hall heard the six candidates' stances on these topics at forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area.

Newcomers Ralph Bonatz, Jean Forrest and Katherine David, running as a slate, have said they want to repeal the district's transgender bathroom access policy, which allows students limited use of district facilities based on the gender they identify with.

Meanwhile, board members Robert LeFevre Jr. and Anna Klimkowicz and former board member Edward Yung are running individual campaigns but think the district's policy is fair and that ultimately all schools will have to abide by policies decided by the courts.

The issue arose nearly two years ago when a transgender student who identifies as female sued to gain access to the girls locker room. The district initially fought the request but ultimately agreed to allow the student limited use of the locker room - she can enter the locker room but must use a private changing area.

A group of parents sued the district to overturn the policy. That case is pending.

The three candidates opposed to the current district access policy for transgender students said they believe it is a safety issue for all students and that there are "compassionate alternatives" to allowing transgender students limited access to places like bathrooms and locker rooms.

"It's a hard policy to enforce when you're infringing on others' privacy rights," David said.

But LeFevre and Klimkowicz, who both voted in favor of adopting the district's current policy, believe the board's decision was a compromise that ultimately benefitted everyone.

"Anyone that feels uncomfortable will be accommodated," LeFevre said.

For his part, Yung said he was comfortable with the board's decision but thinks it won't have the final say.

"The court will dictate a course that everyone in the country will have to follow," he said.

Even though the transgender access issue is the main lightning rod of this campaign, the candidates spent less than 10 minutes of the hourlong forum discussing it. They also hit on communication issues between the district and residents, teacher evaluations, increased student involvement in the board's decision-making process, and the district's finances.

Klimkowicz, LeFevre and Yung defended the district's taxing and spending practices while Bonatz, Forrest and David suggested the district should look to freeze the levy to help taxpayers and use reserves to cover expenses.

Early voting starts Monday and results are expected on Election Day April 4.