2009-03-22 School Board LTE

I support Sue Rasmus, Mark Rising, Cathy Piehl, Dawn DeSart for the Indian Prairie District 204 School Board.

In February I knew very little about most of the people running. I attended both candidate forums, read campaign literature, watched interviews, had conversations with people throughout the district, and spoke with some of the candidates before arriving at this conclusion.

These four have been actively involved in their own children’s schools and care deeply about providing excellence for all of the district’s students. They have a known history of integrity and several years of community involvement. They have shown that they are capable of the time commitment this unpaid position requires.

They have an understanding of where the district has been and where we’re headed as well as some ideas for improvement. They will not need time to get up-to-speed with district issues. They have no hidden agenda and are not associated with one another.

From my perspective, their hearts are in the right place and they know the balance between the role of the school board and the role of the administration, which is made up of paid professionals who provide the necessary expertise in areas such as curriculum, finance, and law.

They have a variety of experiences and viewpoints. I do not agree with all of them on everything nor do they agree with each other on everything. This is a good thing as a board should be comprised of independent thinkers with differing views.

I give this endorsement as a parent of four, with fifteen years of involvement in this district in a wide variety of ways, as both a Naperville and an Aurora resident and one of six finalists interviewed for last fall’s vacant school board seat. Others whom I know and respect have individually come to the decision to support these same candidates.

Please vote for Rasmus, Rising, Piehl, and DeSart on April 7.