Wants experience on District 211 board
On March 2, the six candidates running for District 211's board of education spoke for more than two hours on a range of critical issues related to school management, school finance and community engagement.
It is unfortunate that the Daily Herald's reporting on the candidate forum focused solely on one issue - transgender students' use of restrooms and locker rooms. Whether our school board candidates respect the dignity of all of our students is an important issue. In fact, many of the questions from students and parents present at the meeting centered on ensuring an inclusive environment for students of all backgrounds, including the LGBTQ community.
On this issue, it's important to understand that the candidates running as a slate refuse to acknowledge that transgender individuals even exist.
However, by solely focusing on this issue, the Daily Herald failed to provide all the information residents need to make an informed decision on April 4.
During the forum, I was impressed by the breadth of knowledge, compassion for our students and commitment to our community demonstrated by Robert LeFevre, Anna Klimkowicz and Edward Yung. They strike the right balance between ensuring fiscal responsibility without compromising the quality of education we have all come to expect in District 211.
Under their leadership, not only will District 211 be debt-free in 2017, but our children have access to well-maintained facilities as well as a wide-variety of programs and sports. By contrast, when questioned as to what new ideas the slate candidates would bring to the table, one of the candidates responded that he would partner with faith-based institutions.
As I do not believe our children should be a training ground for unqualified candidates, on April 4 I will cast my vote for Robert LeFevre, Anna Klimkowicz and Edward Yung.
Jenny Wilkie
Palatine