Indian Prairie board member resigns

Indian Prairie Unit District 204 school board member Bruce Glawe has resigned effective immediately, eight months short of completing his first term.

Glawe, whose term was scheduled to expire next April, said his decision was based on the demands of serving as CEO of an area bank along with his desire to spend more time with his family and pursue other volunteer opportunities.

"I'm CEO of a growing, booming company that is hiring and training new employees at a very rapid rate," Glawe said Wednesday afternoon. "I need to be focused on that right now because the demands of the job are only going to go up from here."

He also wants to keep time in his schedule to continue his volunteer efforts at his church, the YMCA and Habitat for Humanity.

Glawe was appointed to the board in 2004 and elected in 2005 to serve a four-year term. While disappointed he won't be finishing that term, Glawe said his departure and the board's legal obligation to replace him by Sept. 18 puts his incoming replacement "in perfect position."

"It is pure coincidence but the timing of my departure couldn't be better," he said. "This will give someone an opportunity to experience almost a complete school year cycle before deciding whether they want to continue on and run for the seat in April. Talk about on-the-job training."

Board President Mark Metzger counts Glawe as the 24th board member he's served with and said he was hoping Glawe would reconsider and run for a second term.

"Bruce is a numbers-driven guy and we benefited from that as a district," Metzger said. "Bruce brought a lot of interesting leadership qualities to the table every Monday and those will be missed."

Glawe insists all of the district's achievements were a team effort. He said he leaves with no regrets.

"I couldn't be happier to be on the team that addressed the space concerns and got Metea (Valley High School) going," he said. "This district had incredible space challenges. Taking our youngsters out of an overcrowded environment is going to benefit every last one of them in some way and I'm glad to be a part of that."

Glawe said he's also happy his friends on the board are beyond the Metea Valley controversies and can "get back to what a school board should be doing."

"This is the time for them to get back to focusing on the classroom and children," Glawe said. "With everything settled with Metea and all-day kindergarten, there should be nothing to distract them from that this year."

The school board plans to discuss filling Glawe's term at Monday's meeting.

Metzger said he envisions the district will ask interested candidates to submit a resume and support letter to the board by an as yet to be determined deadline. After one or more rounds of interviews, depending on the number of applicants, the board will pick Glawe's replacement.

"When the dust settles," he said, "I'm confident we will pick someone who has a passion for education and a passion for Indian Prairie."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=226116">Board member's resignation letter <span class="date"> [8/6/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>