Batavia school board candidates discuss equity, student mental health

Candidates for the Batavia Public School District 101 board discussed diversity in the district, mental health for students and other issues Thursday night at a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County.

The three candidates for two Batavia Park District commissioner seats also participated in the forum.

The consolidated election is April 4, and early voting begins March 10.

Seven candidates are vying for three 4-year seats, including current school board President Cathy Dremel. The other candidates are Raquel Gonzalez-Thomas, Danielle Sligar, Jeffrey Ekstrom, Kris Rayman, Gabrielle Fender and Jeffery Robert Arulandu. Ekstrom did not participate in the forum.

Candidates were asked about their views on diversity, equity and inclusion, which has been a key issue for the district this past year.

"Everyone should be promoting (equity) on a regular basis," Sligar said. "I don't think it should be an issue that should be political, that should be hushed. Everyone deserves to have a space where they feel they belong, have a space where they feel that they are seen and represented."

"It makes us better citizens when we know things about other people, other cultures, other situations," Arulandu said. "We should be promoting (equity), encouraging that, for our students and teachers."

Questions also focused on mental health resources and student performance.

"We need to focus on learning, we absolutely need to. Students can't focus on learning when they can't even see the relevance of the school day because of the stresses and anxieties that they are facing," Dremel said. "Students cannot learn if they don't feel like they belong, don't feel like they're safe, and that their mental health is a barrier to that."

Rayman emphasized the need for school districts to help students who are experiencing mental health issues.

"Right now it's kind of scary as a parent with the mental health (of students)," Rayman said. "One of the challenges is that the control from the school or from whatever with the social media and everything that's out there, it feels like it's so difficult to keep it under wraps. When we were kids we didn't have to deal with the stuff these kids are dealing with today, and it is scary."

Gonzalez-Thomas also praised legislation that allows students to take five mental health days each year, and she encouraged Batavia to encourage students to take them as needed.

"I think we need to reach out to local communities and local resources if we are not meeting the needs," she said. "Have someone come in from the outside and train, to look for cues and (ask) 'what do we do in these situations.'"

Fender brought up the importance of communication between parents and teachers, and said that she would like to see it improved in the district.

"I'm not a helicopter parent, but I do like to know what my kid is working on, and I don't get a lot of work or results back," she said. "I miss paper, I miss seeing what went wrong and 'You're at home, how can we fix this?' So the academic communication from the teachers because of the electronic age now, to me that's a weakness."

Batavia Park District Board candidates Charles Cain, Julie Larson and Samantha Bell were asked questions focusing on sustainability, program expansion and funding, among others.

"All of the wildlife and nature that has to be sustained and kept alive and thought about when we make big decisions such as Depot Pond, or how the possibility of the dam being removed will effect wildlife," Bell said.

The two open park district commissioner seats come with six-year terms, and primarily act as liaisons between the district and nonprofit organizations, according to the park district's website. The board also makes policies for the park district.

Some of the candidates spoke about the park district's 2020 referendum, which did not pass, and the need for improvements if another one is put on a future ballot.

"Anytime there is a referendum, anytime there is an ask for financial support from the city, from the people specifically in the city, it's always going to run into opposition," Cain said. "There's always going to be a group of people who are not interested in spending money on something that does not directly serve them."

Larson said one reason the 2020 referendum failed is lack of knowledge among voters, and would like to see efforts improved in the future.

"Making sure that the right facts are out, for the right people," she said. "I know the park district does a really great job of having open forums for the public as well as listening, surveys and things like that. More of that, more of getting them involved, more social media in the right way and working for the right reason."