District 21 welcomes board member, debates free lunch program
The vacant spot created by Jeff Battinus' resignation from the Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 board was filled Thursday night with the appointment of Jennifer Tani.
Tani, a Buffalo Grove resident, will serve the remainder of Battinus' term, which runs until April 2019. He resigned after his election to the Wheeling Township board.
Tani is the assistant vice president of community engagement at Roosevelt University.
She previously held professional positions with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois and United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.
Additionally, the board approved the hire of Liz Richards as the assistant principal at Holmes Middle School, effective July 1. Richards attended Holmes Middle School herself. She is an assistant principal in Cicero School District 99 and previously was dean of students and a middle school reading/language arts teacher in Cicero.
While the rest of the meeting moved like clockwork, one item caused a stir - the federally subsidized free breakfast and lunch program.
Eight schools with more than 4,000 students will qualify to grant free breakfast and lunch to all students, based on the high number of low-income children, said Director of Business Services Dan Oberg.
"It is an alternative to collecting, approving and verifying household eligibility applications," he said.
Board members were split on the program's blanket coverage.
"Talk about how government wastes money," Arlen Gould said. "If I'm making $150,000 a year, my kids get a free lunch even though they don't need a free lunch? ... It's like when (former Gov. Rod) Blagojevich wanted to give everyone a free ride on the CTA."
But board Vice President Staci Allan said some families who aren't considered low-income still are struggling.
"Let's look at it as a positive in helping people who are not accessing the things they need," she said.
The board also approved buying 775 Chromebooks for $236,801 and authorized $467,383 to buy Epson LCD projectors, wall mounts and equipment from CDW-G and have Tierney Brothers Inc. install the equipment.