U-46 board trustee-elects set priorities for next four years
Newly elected trustees joining the Elgin Area School District U-46 school board say their priorities after taking office include hiring the next superintendent, keeping the tax levy low, and bringing up test scores. Yet, some of the victors are concerned about working together collaboratively.
Newcomers Susan Kerr, Jeanette Ward, and Phil Costello and incumbent Traci Ellis won 4-year terms on the board Tuesday, while Cody Holt nabbed the unexpired 2-year term.
Holt, 23, of Elgin, was the highest vote-getter despite controversy early on in the campaign over a Facebook post in which he used a derivative of the "N" word casually addressing a friend, who is black. Facing a slew of criticism, Holt took down the June 2012 post and apologized, calling it a "youthful indiscretion."
"I think the voters saw through it as a thin-veiled attempt to discredit me for something that I did even before I decided to seek public office," said Holt, a 2010 Larkin High School graduate who works in financial services.
Holt said the issue never came up during his candidacy for Elgin City Council in the spring of 2013.
"I know that there are some people out there who were offended by the comment," Holt said. "I offered my apologies."
Ellis, the only black U-46 board member elected to her second term, doesn't accept Holt's apology.
"It's disingenuous. It's intellectually dishonest, and quite honestly, it's highly offensive," said Ellis, 52, of Elgin, an assistant director at Northern Illinois University. "His cavalier and casual use of the word in a district that has so many black children in it is damaging. ... We have a barrier between us that will be hard to bridge."
Ideological differences might be another barrier, said Ellis, speaking of Holt and Ward being her polar opposites.
"The public did not vote in a collaborative group of people," Ellis said. "That's going to be interesting to see how these two ideologies meld. My guess is they won't. I think we are going to see a lot of 4-3 splits."
Holt and Ward were endorsed by Tea Party favorite and former 8th Congressional District representative turned conservative radio talk show host, Joe Walsh.
Both candidates signed Walsh's Freedom Pledge to support cutting taxes and limiting government, among other conservative ideals.
"People have this feeling the Tea Party is a big, organized group. It's a disparate group of concerned individuals across the country who believe in limited government and freedom, and the constitution and the rule of law, and I believe in those things," said Ward, 41, of West Chicago.
A first-time candidate and parent volunteer, Ward has been critical of the district's standards-based grading system and advocates pushing back against Common Core and the state's new standardized test, PARCC.
"I think my message resonated with voters, obviously," said Ward, who would like to explore alternatives to standards-based grading. "I think some of the teachers who were opposed to it were afraid to come forward and speak about that until now, and I'd like to open up that dialogue."
Ward campaigned as a pro-choice candidate and is supportive of giving parents alternative education options, including the creation of charter schools. Holt, Ward and Costello support reigning in taxes and expenses.
"The overarching theme is people are tired of increasing taxes and they want us to live within our budget," Holt said.
Costello, 59, of Bartlett, said though he shares some of Walsh's conservative ideals, he declined to sign the Freedom Pledge.
"I wanted to be an independent voice," he said. "I didn't get involved with this to become a politician or to represent a philosophy. I just didn't want to agree with anybody whether it was liberal, left, right. ... I was not going to be signing up for any agenda."
A certified public accountant, Costello has served on the board of ChildServ. As a first-time candidate, he considers his strength is in being an outsider.
"I hope I will listen and start learning," he said. "It doesn't mean I don't have fiscal concerns."
Kerr, 58, of Bartlett, a 20-year member of the U-46 Citizens Advisory Council, said the new trustees need to work with the administration on upcoming challenges. Her main priorities are hiring a new superintendent, setting the direction with a new strategic plan, lobbying for more state funding, and improving test scores, technology, and the image of the district.
"I'm a great believer in compromise and working together," said Kerr, who is hopeful there won't be too much infighting among the board. "I don't want it to become like Congress."