For Glenbrook High School District 225: Doughty, Glowacki, Kim, Seguin

In every school board race this spring, there is one topic at the forefront for every candidate and voter: the COVID-19 pandemic and how their district has been handling it.

Remote learning, hybrid schedules, and a full in-person return have all been hotly debated topics since the start of the 2020-21 school year, and everybody has a different idea about how things have worked out for staff and students. Glenbrook High School District 225, where there are 10 candidates running for four, 4-year seats, is no different.

While all candidates acknowledged the district's detailed plan to return, challengers Mai Lin Noffke, Carol Schmidt, Albert "Bo" Herbst III and Paul Kelly, collectively TEAM 225, said metrics weren't added soon enough and issues such as how student mental health has been affected and making teaching accommodations weren't given proper consideration. They also believe the board ceded too much decision-making power to the administration.

The incumbents - including board president Bruce Doughty and vice-president Peter Glowacki, both elected to the board in 2017, and board member Sonia Kim, appointed in 2016 then elected in 2017, as well as challenger Michelle Seguin, all believe the board and district did well in a difficult, and certainly unprecedented, time to keep students safe, and they did so in a transparent way, using guidance available from the state and federal governments.

Challenger David Hochberg acknowledges that everybody has a different level of comfort when it comes to returning to classrooms, and getting feedback from the community was essential. While any individual may have a problem with the outcome, they should know their voices were heard. Fellow challenger Matt O'Hara added that remote learning was something the district seems to have done well, at least to some degree, as it doesn't work for all students.

But also like other school districts, those aren't the only issues facing the Glenbrook High Schools. Student mental health and the board's communication with district stakeholders are also on residents' minds, most recently evidenced in League of Women Voters Glenview/Glencoe forums with some of the candidates.

While all 10 candidates have something valuable to add to the discussion on all topics, TEAM 225 - Herbst, Kelly, Noffke and Schmidt - seem to be essentially one-issue candidates focused on their disapproval of the district's handling of COVID-19. In fact, Kelly and Herbst told us they wouldn't be running had it not been for the pandemic. The four believe the school district should've handled it differently, period. That colors their view of nearly every other topic we covered.

Doughty, Glowacki and Kim, as well as challenger Seguin, take a more holistic view of what a school board's role is here: That there are many considerations that go into the decisions about what is best for all. When faced with the extraordinary situation presented by the coronavirus pandemic, incumbents worked with administrators and depended on information from stakeholders and governing bodies to make decisions. During our interview, Seguin agreed with much of how the board has handled the past year, but she also saw several places for improvement and wasn't afraid to speak up about them.

In interviews with the League of Women Voters Glenview/Glencoe, we liked what David Hochberg had to say - particularly about the importance of being flexible and listening to residents, topics he returned to often - he spoke in more general terms than we'd have liked. O'Hara seemed not fully informed on issues specific to the district.

Doughty, Glowacki, Kim and Seguin are endorsed.