Eric Brown for District 219 School Board

• Establish Key Performance Indicators and Comparators

How do we measure success?  Graduation rates, Standardized Exams, etc. are metrics how we gauge the students. The electorate is also interested in maximum value, as D219 is funded by tax revenue. The school board is where the adage “no taxation without representation” comes to life. Every citizen in D219, whether homeowner or renter, pays taxes to the school district directly or indirectly.  I wish to represent you on the school board.

A pillar of my platform is Financial Responsibility and oversight. I would ask the board to consider me for service on the Finance committee, where the budget is discussed in detail and put up for a vote by the full board, which hopefully carries unanimously.

I believe the current board has made decent financial decisions in the past few years’ budgets. However, I believe that $ / student is year-over-year about 20% too high, when compared to similar schools and controlling for external factors. This clearly must be reviewed, starting with the largest line items.

• A Vocational Path for Everyone

Success is achieved when we transform youths into prepared and informed citizens.  Completion of the senior year of high school should be necessary and sufficient to find a suitable career or career path. Although preparation for trade and post-secondary are obviously important learning paths, our student will have the ability to engage in self-learning using the skills developed in D219. 

I will ask the Superintendent to provide the board with a full accounting of the state of the “Shop” and other life /vocational skills — those things parents have to watch YouTube videos on but should have learned in high school.

We should welcome recruiters from the Armed Forces to speak with students about a career path that is the highest form of civic duty.

• Support Family and Consumer Sciences

Whereas vocational skills affect what you do to earn a living, FACS (including “Home Economics”) is how we live.

Understanding credit & interest, taxation, and rights as a citizen and consumer. How can knowing how to sew help restore clothing to like-new?  Save by plunging a sink instead of calling a plumber.  (Even better, we prepare people for trade school! Win, Win!)

What life skills are being taught in D219 schools? Are these just as important as advanced calculus? An emphatic “Yes!”

• Promotion of Extra Curricular Activities

As a student, I struggled with the daily curriculum.  I just didn’t find it interesting. I really came to into my own in extracurricular activities, including music and theatre. My first exposure to Niles Township schools was at the extracurricular activities fair.  It was bursting with energy and diversity!

As board member, I will make support of extracurricular activities a high priority, which ensures that the students have the opportunity to take a deep dive into their passions.

• Governance Model

The Board has a challenge: how to ensure that the broad interests of the electorate are met to its fullest satisfaction, thus being a source of community pride.

I am running to be a member of a board whose sole executive vehicle is the Superintendent. The Superintendent must maintain an “A” grade by acclamation, in order to be retained. In exchange, the Superintendent should be given the support and guidance required to achieve success. The Superintendent must give the board (and electorate) a summary of KPIs in tabular and pictorial form, with complete coverage of District 219’s purview. A $150 million organization should have a dashboard.

I will fight for district employees and in exchange insist that they make “A”-level contributions to the school. Their compensation should be highly competitive as it is both the right thing and good for morale. Teachers and staff must have a way to communicate avenues for improvement even if they may be unpopular in the moment. Innovation and better value should be rewarded, as this is how our schools continue to evolve to meet future challenges.

A Note on Social and Political Topics

Over the years, social and political ideas have found their way into school discourse. It is critical to point out that I am running in a nonpartisan election. I have no relevant opinions on political or partisan matters. These matters are the purview of the state & federal governments.  I — and an overwhelming majority of the electorate — wish that agitators would find a different venue.  We need to talk about the budget, taxation, facilities: things we can do something about as a school board.

My principal political interests lie civil libertarianism (Bill of Rights, Equal Protection applies to everyone equally, etc.). These apply to every citizen, regardless of other affiliations.