District 59 school board member from Arlington Heights resigns

Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 school board member Robert Mancilla of Arlington Heights has announced his resignation after four years in office.

The vacancy sets up an expected appointment that will give new school board President TR Johnson and his board majority a tighter grip on the elected panel.

Mancilla, who was appointed a week before the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, successfully ran to retain the seat a little more than a year later. His four-year term expires in April 2025, but Mancilla said he is stepping aside now to “focus on my own continued development.”

Mancilla is general counsel at Strata Decision Technology, a Chicago-based management consulting and software company. He’s held other corporate counsel positions during his career, including a five-year stint as assistant general counsel for Sears Holdings Management Corp. in Hoffman Estates.

“I have made difficult decisions regarding remote learning, school closures and masks,” he wrote in a letter to the community. “I have also advocated on challenging issues of student equity and curriculum. My goal has always been to approach every decision with transparency and fairness, ensuring that you knew where I stood on the issues. Every decision I made was guided by the best interests of our students, and I am incredibly proud of each one of them.”

The six remaining board members now have 60 days to review candidates, conduct interviews, and name a replacement.

Johnson — son of longtime Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson — ascended to the board presidency this spring with the support of board members Lucas Szczesny and Sarah Dzak, who ran on his Save Our Schools slate in 2023. He also was backed by new board member Nikki Eddy, who was in March to fill the remainder of Mardell Schumacher’s term.

Schumacher stepped down in January after 35 years on the board — one of the longest tenures of a school board member in the Northwest suburbs.

Four of the seven board seats will be up for election in April.