Mithilesh Kotwal: 2025 candidate for Libertyville-Vernon Hills High School District 128 board (4-Year Term)

Bio

Office Sought: Libertyville-Vernon Hills High School District 128 board (Vote for 4)

City: Vernon Hills

Age: 46

Occupation: Managing Director, Consulting

Previous offices held: Board of Education Member

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

I got appointed to the school board in October 2023 to fill the vacancy. In that role, I have served as a voice of reason advocating on behalf of the students and teachers and continued to push for accountability and transparency from the district administration. We have an amazing team here, who is striving hard to rebuild the trust with the community and have come along well. However I feel my work here is not done and I want to continue the good work and work collaboratively with the administration. What motivates me to keep going the focus on academic rigor, working with our school administrators to refine the support structure and I would greatly appreciate the support from the community in those initiatives.

What is the role of the school board in setting and monitoring the curriculum?

The school board ideally should have no role in setting the curriculum, that job is best done by the folks who are nearest to it — our administrators and the teachers. The school board just needs to do their part in pushing for standardized grading, maintaining the high quality of education and making sure the curriculum continues to deliver the on the goals of the district.

Are there curriculum issues within the district that you feel need particular attention from the board?

At this point, I would say that we don't have any specific curriculum issues other than synchronizing the learning experience between the two schools in the district — Libertyville High School and Vernon Hills High School.

How do you view your role in confronting policy or curriculum controversies: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents — even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?

There is a balance to be achieved here. You have an obligation to follow specific guidelines from the state authorities but at the same time, we owe it to our constituents to hear them out regardless of whether we agree or disagree with them. You do not need to agree with everyone however you always need to maintain clear reasoning, transparency and communication in your decisions with your constituents.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage school district policy? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions for your school board.

I have made a career out of problem solving and working with large corporations to work on many contentious issues. My style is always a collaborative working style grounding us with win themes/outcomes that need to hit so that everyone is focused on end goals regardless of their opinion. This is very helpful in producing effective actions and decisions because we provide a framework of outcomes to ground everyone on.

What is your assessment of the school district's diversity and equity efforts? Do you support the continuation or enhancement of such programs, or would you rather see them diminished? Please explain your reasoning.

The school district has a very diverse population which continues to change and there is a focus from the administration to make sure that our programs are safe and inclusive for everyone. Let's acknowledge that there has been a lot of contention in the current environment on diversity and equity programs and we might have varied opinions on it. I would like the school district to comply with established legal guidelines on DEI programs AND at the same time, make sure we are pushing for equitable outcomes for ALL students, creating a safe environment for EVERY student and focusing on improving the academic performance for ANY student enrolled in the school district. These things are NOT mutually exclusive and equitable outcomes of safety, inclusion and improved academic performance for ALL is something most people agree on.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I have exercised sound decision making and a constant drive to do things better and challenge status quo while being on the board of education for a year and half. My work here is not done and hence would appreciate the support of the community to continue with the good work.

What’s one good idea you have to better your district that no one is talking about yet?

We have to improve our connections with the hiring companies in this area to give our students some active work experience even during high school so that they are prepared for the real world outside.