District 21 board member steps down after 18 years

Longtime Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 board member Staci Allan has resigned, citing her ongoing battle with multiple sclerosis.

The Wheeling resident was first elected to the panel in 2007, but it was a chance encounter five years before that spurred her involvement in District 21.

“Somebody came and knocked on my door and said the district is trying to do this horrible boundary change and it won’t be good for Latino families, and so I signed the petition and moved on,” Allan recalled in an interview Tuesday. “Before I knew it, I was picketing in front of the district building and filing a federal complaint against the district, and I sort of became the de facto voice for our silent voices.”

The district abandoned its proposed boundary change plan after Allan — then a parent of a kindergartner — served the district with her lawsuit alleging discrimination under the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974.

Incoming Superintendent Gary Mical soon asked Allan to be part of his new advisory council. Her outspoken advocacy led to a campaign for a board seat, which she’s held for the past 18 years.

But for the same amount of time, Allan has quietly fought multiple sclerosis. After being in and out of the hospital throughout 2024, she said her doctors and family told her it was time to take a step back.

At the same time, she said it’s important to get new blood in the district.

Three board members who have served longer than her — Phil Pritzker, Arlen Gould and Bill Harrison — are up for election on April 1, along with fellow incumbent Debbi McAtee and newcomer Carrie Devitt. Four spots are available.

Concurrently, the board is accepting applications until April 7 from those who want to serve the remaining two years on Allan’s term. Under state law, the board has until May 10 to appoint a replacement.

Allan said she’s proud of her work to establish the Family Learning Program, a partnership between District 21 and the Wheeling Park District that offers English and technology classes to parents and supervised recreation activities for their children.

Equal to that, Allan said, is the community health clinic inside the district’s new administration building on Dundee Road.

“I got involved in the district to represent a voice that didn’t have an avenue to be heard,” said Allan, who is of Mexican descent. “I hope that the drive for diversity and to have our board look like the community that it represents is everybody’s priority, because I think it’s important.”