|
Nearly 6,000 men and women serve on school boards in the state,
which covers 852 school districts.
Some incoming members will have the responsibility of allocating
part of hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent COVID-19
relief money. Reatha Owen, senior director of Field and Equity
Services with the Illinois Association of School Boards, said
preparation for incoming board members will be important.
“I think research is the key,” Owen said. “Looking at what do
they have as far as district goals in their strategic plan, what
are the priorities that they are focusing on, what are some
large initiatives that the board will be focusing on.”
Revenue sources for Illinois schools come mainly from local
taxes, about 43.5%, while nearly 32% comes from the state, and
24.7% is from the federal government.
A new law that takes effect on Jan. 1 mandates school board
members to receive training on “trauma-informed practices.”
Practices include “the prevalence of trauma among students,
including the prevalence of trauma among student populations”
and “the effects of implicit or explicit bias on recognizing
trauma among various students in connection with race,
ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation,” among other
things.
School board candidates must have at least 50 signatures from
registered voters in their district to file nominating
petitions. The deadline to file is Dec. 19.
With few exceptions, governing school boards consist of seven
members elected to serve four year terms. Terms are staggered so
there are three to four seats contested at each biennial
election.
In many school districts, candidates run at-large. This means
members of the board can live anywhere within the district and a
voter can vote for any candidate or candidates.
The next consolidated election will be April 4, 2023.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
|
|
