LIBERTYVILLE, IL — After a year when school boards were tasked with making tough decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the spring election will feature many packed school board races

featuring candidates with differing opinions on how we should be educating our children. The Libertyville Elementary District 70 school board race includes several candidates who've

pushed for a return to in-person learning. Like many school districts, D70 spent most of the year learning remotely. There are nine people running for five open seats on the school board.

Seven of the candidates are seeking four open seats for a four-year term on the board of education while two candidates are vying for a single two-year term. FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING

RESIDENCE: Libertyville SCHOOL DISTRICT: D70 FAMILY - NAMES, AGES AND ANY PERTINENT DETAILS YOU WISH TO SHARE: My husband, Patrick works for Ascension, Jeffrey is 26 and works for AAA in

Vernon Hills studying Automotive Technology at CLC, Daniel is 23 years old attending the University of South Carolina in the College of Pharmacy and Kyle is 22 years old attending the

University of South Carolina studying Finance and Risk Management/Insurance. We have lived in Libertyville for 22 years and all of our sons attended D70 schools. DOES ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY

WORK IN POLITICS OR GOVERNMENT?: None EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Valparaiso University and JD from DePaul University OCCUPATION: Cook County Public Defender for 30

years (retired) and now in private practice. While at the Public Defender's Office, I was promoted through the ranks and retired as a Chief of the 2nd Municipal Division in Skokie

CAMPAIGN WEBSITE: None but I can be reached on Facebook, D70 email and my phone is listed. PREVIOUS OR CURRENT ELECTED OR APPOINTED OFFICE: School Board Member of D70 since 2013. THE SINGLE

MOST PRESSING ISSUE FACING OUR (BOARD, DISTRICT, ETC.) IS _______, AND THIS IS WHAT I INTEND TO DO ABOUT IT: The testing of the students to project learning loss if any for each student. The

District will be focusing on this issue during summer school with offering only academic classes to prepare the student for 2021/2022 school year. The data will also assist the District in

hiring any additional interventionists for the remaining of this year and next year. I have always invited the Superintendent to request for additional support of all students. By addressing

any learning loss and providing intervention to students that in the past had not required it, it is my hope that the students will regain any loss of confidence by academic struggles that

were created by the Pandemic and remote learning. WHAT ARE THE CRITICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOU AND THE OTHER CANDIDATES SEEKING THIS POST?: I believe that the major difference is that I am

focused on more than just COVID and re-opening the schools. The District has a pathway for full re-opening and for full re-opening in the fall. I have the knowledge and experience addressing

issues of finances, curriculum, personnel, evaluating the one employee that the board is responsible for the superintendent, and return to true board governance. I understand that true

School Board Governance is that the Board should not be involved in the day to day operations. The Board is to evaluate the process, the budget, the curriculum to assess the student's

growth and board policy. IF YOU ARE A CHALLENGER, IN WHAT WAY HAS THE CURRENT BOARD OR OFFICEHOLDER FAILED THE COMMUNITY OR DISTRICT?: NA since I am an incumbent DESCRIBE THE OTHER ISSUES

THAT DEFINE YOUR CAMPAIGN PLATFORM: My desire to repair relationships between all of the stakeholders. The teachers, administrators and even the Board has been working to safely re-open

schools. I have the knowledge of board governance and have the understanding that the true role of the board - one of evaluation and not the day to day operations. I also am focused on the

budget, labor management and student growth with the push for academic instruction during summer school. I have requested that the students be tested prior to and following summer school

that the District can address any additional need for Math or Reading Interventionist. WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN YOUR PAST WOULD YOU CITE AS EVIDENCE YOU CAN HANDLE THIS JOB?: I have pushed

for weekly updates to the community once I became the President of the Board. As the Vice President, I requested that Mr. John Herrin provide a monthly report on COVID expenses. I have also

requested that we look at the Life Safety Plan to find cost savings or to postpone some of the work to cover the additional expenses due to COVID mitigation. There will be no cutting of

student services or programming as a result of these additional expenses. I also push to receive longitudinal data to demonstrate a student's growth or regression. I also led the charge

of conducting a 360 Evaluation of the Superintendent to get input from the Administrative Team, Staff at the ERC, and teachers. WHY SHOULD VOTERS TRUST YOU?: I have been committed to this

District for the last 8 years. I have demonstrated this by taking every opportunity to attend school activities to see firsthand how the money spent for each child is meeting his/her needs.

I volunteer at Career Days, Junior Achievement and Outdoor Education. I also am committed to continuing education through seminars and sharing the information with the rest of the board

about best practices and new methods of instruction, budgeting and evaluating. IF YOU WIN THIS POSITION, WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT WOULD MAKE YOUR TERM IN OFFICE A SUCCESS?: This pandemic will end

but there will be a divide in our community. I want to see the District heal and relationships mend from the Administration to the Teachers to the Students to the Parents and to the

Community at large. I want to focus on the Social and Emotional needs of all stakeholders and to provide a new level of respect for all of the hard work of the teachers and staff. WHAT ARE

YOUR VIEWS ON FISCAL POLICY, GOVERNMENT SPENDING AND THE HANDLING OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS IN THE OFFICE YOU ARE SEEKING?: Each year the School Board has the budget broken down by funds and is

provided an audit. As a School Board Member, one is very aware that our District is funded almost exclusively from property taxes. This is because that the State of Illinois instituted

Evidence Based Funding. The State in 2017 provided monies that the District received the year prior but any new monies would first be distributed to districts that were the worst funded

districts. D70 therefore will receive very little new money under this approach. This means one must be cautious about spending. Spending should focus on whether the purchase or program has

a direct impact on student learning or a student's social and emotional well-being. The budget process is not easy to understand and it requires a commitment by every board member to

educate themselves on this process and above all understand the tax levy which is used to determine the District's funding. DO YOU SUPPORT BLACK LIVES MATTER AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS

ON THE DEMONSTRATIONS HELD SINCE THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD AND THE SHOOTING OF JACOB BLAKE?: I support any individual or group to bring to light any inequality found in the school, work

place or community. Demonstrations should be peaceful or it detracts from your message. As for my personal thoughts on George Floyd or Jacob Blake, I do not believe this is relevant to a

school board election. What is relevant is equality among students and to make sure all students are given the same opportunities and support regardless of race, color, national origin, sex,

gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, economic and social conditions. DO YOU THINK THE CURRENT BOARD HAS DONE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT RACIAL EQUALITY, AND IF NOT, WHAT SPECIFICALLY

SHOULD BE DONE TO DO SO?: Our District is predominantly white at 79.6%. The next largest group is Hispanic, Asian and then African American. In the almost 8 years on the board and 22 years

in the District, the District has been very supportive of all students regardless of the students race. In our Strategic Plan 2016-2021, Culture and Climate as well as Social, Emotional and

Wellness addressed equity. In Goal Two of Culture and Climate, the District pledged to create a safe, risk-taking environment while promoting inclusion by providing lessons to develop a

culture of equity and acceptance. In Social, Emotional and Wellness, the District made a commitment to foster a culture of acceptance that encourarages and orderly and supportive environment

that provides emotional and physical safety. The District also provides a consistent bullying prevention. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE DISTRICT’S HANDLING OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC? ARE

YOU IN FAVOR OF REMOTE LEARNING, IN-PERSON LEARNING OR A HYBRID OF THE TWO? DO YOU SUPPORT A MASK MANDATE FOR STUDENTS AND SCHOOL STAFF, OR MANDATORY CORONAVIRUS TESTING FOR BOTH STUDENTS

AND STAFF?: The Superintendent proposed to begin the school year in a fully remote learning model. I accepted his reasoning for the beginning of the school year but I also voiced my concerns

that our most vulnerable students needed to be in person and the District should find a way to prioritize students in a layered approach of bring all students back to the buildings so long

as the students/staff/teachers could be safe. In October the K-5, the students were provided a choice of hybrid or remote and at the beginning of the second trimester students at Highland

Middle School were offered a hybrid model. I saw these as a new phase moving toward all students being brought back to buildings. At the December School Board Meeting, I requested that we

inquire from the students/families/staff whether the hybrid model at HMS was effective and equitable. I saw each change as not an ending spot but one more hurdle for the District to clear.

The District introduced a new hybrid - concurrent AA/remote/BB model for HMS starting on March 8th. The K-5 will be back full days on April 12th. The District is committed to a full

in-person starting in the fall of 2021. Remote will still be offered now and in the fall in all likelihood because not all families will feel comfortable sending their children to school for

a variety of reasons and the District must provide all students in the District an education. As for masks, it is still part of the layered mitigation mandate and masks will be used for as

long as the CDC and IDPH require them. Another mitigation tool is testing but as a District we need to weigh the cost/benefit. D128 has voluntary testing and it has captured a very slight

number of positive asymptomatic student/staff. D70 will proceed with symptomatic testing of student/staff to assist with contact tracing and quarantining. WHEN THE VACCINE IS AVAILABLE TO

THEM, DO YOU SUPPORT MANDATORY COVID-19 VACCINATIONS FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF?: I believe the District has an obligation to find pathways for staff to receive vaccinations but I would not make

them mandatory. It is a parent's choice whether or not to vaccinate a child. At the present time, the CDC is not even recommending vaccines for students so this question is also

premature. IS THERE ANY REASON YOU WOULD NOT SERVE YOUR FULL TERM OF OFFICE, OTHER THAN THOSE OF HEALTH OR FAMILY?: No THE BEST ADVICE EVER SHARED WITH ME WAS ____________: To always be a

life learner. There is always something you can learn at any age and you should take advantage of every opportunity afforded to you - be it a book, a class, conference or seminar. It is your

responsibility to then share what you learned. Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.