District 220 board members approve policy update on political activities
In the wake of four school board members coming under investigation, Barrington Area Unit School District 220 has updated a key policy governing political activity by elected officials.
The update, approved by board members last week, allows board members seeking elected office to mention District 220 or use incidental photos of district property in campaign materials, but only as long as they don’t suggest a district endorsement.
“Not to say that the prior policy wasn’t great, but this, I think, clarifies a lot of things,” board member Steve Wang said.
The policy update comes after board member Erin Chan Ding was found to have violated district policies by using school resources, property and social media for prohibited political campaign activities related to her campaign for the Illinois House.
Fellow board members Leah Collister-Lazzari and Barry Altshuler also violated policies by posting images of students, district property and the district’s chess piece logo on campaign social media sites during their 2023 runs for school board.
School board President Sandra Ficke-Bradford was investigated and cleared of wrongdoing regarding a photo of her in front of Barrington High School that appeared in a news article related to the 2025 election.
The board next will be examining its ethics and gift ban policies, officials said.
Board members received training on the policy update last week from attorney James Petrungaro. He said it is acceptable for board members to publish a photo of themselves seated at a meeting on a campaign social media page, and discuss their board work as part of their campaigns.
“You don’t have to erase history or forget the fact that you are currently a sitting board member when you are running for office,” he said.
Board members also can engage in political activity as private citizens, such as putting campaign signs in their yards.
But Petrungaro said board members and district employees cannot intentionally use district property or resources for political activity.
“It would be, in fact, illegal for somebody running for office to direct that a school van, for example, be used at a campaign event,” he said.
Harder to govern are less tangible forms of property, such as school logos that could imply an endorsement. It would be permissible to use the district’s name in an announcement for a board run, Petrungaro said.
Candidates also must be careful about mingling material from personal pages on political pages, he added.
szalusky@dailyherald.com