Endorsements: For Des Plaines District 62 school board: Garrett, Morley, Morrissey

Des Plaines Elementary District 62 has successfully moved past the controversial ouster of Superintendent Floyd Williams Jr. two years ago to name a new superintendent, reach a five-year contract with its teachers and craft a strategic plan to strengthen educational opportunities within the school system.

We are impressed by the transparency the school board in the end showed in explaining the reasons for Williams' forced resignation. And we are impressed by how well the board and administrators involved the public in developing the strategic plan.

This is a school district that has its challenges, as most do, but it is moving forward in a spirit of community and faculty engagement that can only mean good things.

Among the enthusiastic advocates of that approach are incumbents Elizabeth "Beth" Morley and Tina Garrett who are among the four candidates seeking three seats on the District 62 school board in the April 2 election.

We endorse both. Morley, finishing her first term, is a big believer in continuous improvement and sees the strategic plan as an important improvement tool.

Garrett, appointed to the school board in 2017, wants to work for greater equity in educational opportunities.

Both have sound views of the board's role and oversight obligations and bring a strong work ethic to their positions.

We also endorse Kelly Morrissey, a PhD. in educational psychology, who articulates a strong vision for strengthening the academic transitions from grade to grade and the teamwork necessary to do it.

A fourth candidate in the race, middle school teacher Jeanette Weller, also is qualified but is less knowledgeable than the other three.