Endorsements: Gould, Harrison, Pritzker, McAtee for Wheeling Dist. 21 schools
Five passionate people are interested in filling four 4-year terms on the Wheeling Elementary District 21 school board. Phil Pritzker, running for his seventh term, already is the district’s longest-serving board member — he likes to tout that, but it’s no empty gesture as he has a command of District 21 business. So does Arlen Gould, running for his sixth term. Bill Harrison has been on the board since 2001, and as he has been, like Pritzker and Gould, the board president at one time, he’s been very involved in District 21 and lobbied on its behalf. Pritzker, Gould and Harrison are easily endorsed. The two relative newcomers are Debra McAtee and Kelly Beerheide. McAtee is well-known on the school board after attending meetings for years as an interested parent and getting appointed to the board last year; she makes communication her top priority. Beerheide is another parent with a particular interest in the schools’ technology. McAtee offers more experience and specific ideas for the district than Beerheide right now, so McAtee gets our fourth endorsement.