Berry asks voters to keep D214 on course

District 214 is celebrating its centennial this year. On Feb. 6-8 the district featured many special events to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of outstanding educational services for students and their communities.

From its beginning in 1914, the district has been a lighthouse of educational excellence in the Northwest suburbs.

I was privileged to be part of the district for 30 years as a teacher, administrator and superintendent. From the beginning I was impressed with the commitment of the staff toward the highest level of education for their students.

Also, the district has been fortunate to have boards of education that were committed to providing the staff, facilities, educational programs and services to support outstanding student education.

Bill Dussling, Alva Kreutzer and Dan Petro are board members who have demonstrated their commitment to the educational excellence found in District 214. During their time on the board the district ACT score has continued to rise and has reached a new high of 23.5, which is significantly higher than state (21.2) and national (21.1) scores.

All of the schools and the district have been awarded and maintain the Blue Ribbon of Educational Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education. All of the schools are ranked in the top 35 high schools in Illinois. Nationally, they are ranked within the top 32 most challenging high schools.

Bill, Alva and Dan have also been great financial stewards for the district. Through their support and oversight the district has continued to have a balanced operating budget which it has had for 18 straight years. The district has not had a tax referendum in 43 years.

Please join me in supporting Bill Dussling, Alva Kreutzer and Dan Petro with your vote for them on April 7th.

Steve Berry

Arlington Heights

Retired District 214 superintendent