The Teachers Council, which represents the teachers in Evanston Township High School/District 202 would like to see two current school board members keep their jobs, and be joined by a newcomer as well.
In the race for four-year terms, the union endorsed incumbent board Vice-President Monique Parsons and non-incumbent Leah Piekarz.
Piekarz is a retired ETHS counselor and long-time Teachers Council member who had been part of the union’s contract negotiating team.
Teachers Council president Rick Cardis said Piekarz has a “wealth of experience and intimate knowledge about the inner workings of the district.”
Board Vice-President Parsons, first elected in 2015, was praised for her “deep connections to the community” and her “committment to the district’s race and equity goals.” She is also president and CEO of the McGaw YMCA.
The two other candidates in the race for a four-year position, incumbent Elizabeth Rolewicz, and non-incumbent Kristin Scotti, were not backed.
Rolewicz, who owned a graphic design company, won her first term in 2019. She has also been the Equity and Social Media chair for the Oakton Elementary School PTA.
Scotti holds a Ph.D from Northwestern University, and has spoken to the board about the impact of attendance policies on students with disabilities.
The teachers union also endorsed current board member Mirah Anti for a two-year term.
Anti, who was appointed in 2021 to fill a vacancy, is running as a write-in to complete the remaining two years in the position.
Anti’s name is not on the ballot, but as the only verified write-in candidate, she is guaranteed to win if only one person enters her name.
Anti, the director of equity and inclusion in a nearby district, was described as someone whose experience in education “contributes to a keen understanding of how systems at ETHS can be improved.”
Both in-person early voting and mail-in voting are currently under way.
Election Day is April 4.
District 202 will definitely end up with at least one new board member, and possibly two.
That’s because for the four-year terms, there are four candidates, three positons, and two incumbents.
Another incumbent, Stephanie Teterycz, had filed for re-election as well in the four-year category, but withdrew due to other personal and family time committments.
The Teachers Council, which represents the teachers in Evanston Township High School/District 202 would like to see two current school board members keep their jobs, and be joined by a newcomer (Piekarz ) as well. That should be all the voters need to know. If you vote for the teacher’s endorsed candidates you have made the conscious, but lazy decision to undermine the school board’s purpose of parent and community oversight. The Teacher’s council endorsement of Piekarz (a 22-year ETHS insider) and the incumbents, et. al., is an obvious red flag. If Rolewicz and Scotti are not endorsed by the Teacher’s council, those are the candidates for me. Foxes should not be guarding the henhouse.
In Washington DC, as of the end of last year, more than 400 former members of Congress are currently working as lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The idea of the school board is to be certain the interest of parents and the community are represented. The very idea of the Teacher’s Council endorsing candidates is reprehensible.
Checks, balance, oversight.
This. Anyone who votes for a Teacher’s Union candidate deserves the terrible educational outcomes in their district. Just see CPS for an example of what Evanston could deteriorate into.
I might typically agree with you, but I’d encourage you to actually look at candidates’ platforms and actions in this case. While basically all the candidates are equity consultants/activists and while I believe having that perspective on the board is important, it’d be nice to get some varied experiences/perspective (perhaps someone with more of a business background for example). But we’re not given that choice, so you have to judge what viewpoints align most with your own.
Scotti, for instance, is likely the most progressive candidate of the bunch, which you may like, but if you’re saying you want to “avoid the way of CPS” and I’m reading between the lines there, you likely do not share her views and she would not be the candidate aligned with your ideas of governance and oversight.