Franklin Park activist wins school board president award

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A suburban Chicago school official has been named the state's top school board president.

Gregory Ignoffo has been president for 12 of his 18 years on the Leyden Community High School District 212 board.

He was awarded the Thomas Lay Burroughs Award for the State's Outstanding School Board President . It's presented by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Tony Smith is state schools superintendent. He says Ignoffo "believes in his students as the engines powering a healthy and thriving future for his community."

The award recognizes Ignoffo for making the Franklin Park-based district one of the first three in the nation to implement Google Chromebooks and associated applications for a "one-to-one technology environment." He followed up with other technological improvements.

Franklin Park is 18 miles (29 kilometers) west of Chicago.