Involved with her children’s education since they were young and now a great-grandmother, Dora King knew little about school operations until she became chair of the Independent Authority overseeing North Chicago School District 187 in 2010.
Assuming the position of board chair when the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) took control of the district that year because of its financial condition, North Chicago native King quickly learned the responsibilities of sitting on a school board.
With District 187 returning to an elected school board in stages over the next three years, she said she and her colleagues on the Independent Authority want to impart their knowledge to both potential elected board members and the entire community.
“We want the community to know what it means to be a school board member,” King said. “The singular mission is to know what it means to support education and the kids in our schools. We’re going to engage the community about our elected school board.”
King and other officials told a group of more than 90 people about the significance of District 187’s return to an elected board of education Tuesday at North Chicago Community High School inaugurating a yearlong campaign to create public involvement.
Currently overseen by the seven-member Independent Authority of local individuals and a three-person financial oversight panel appointed by the ISBE, King said three members will be elected in 2025 replacing appointed ones as it moves to a fully elected board in 2027.
Though potential board members cannot begin to circulate nominating petitions until the fall, she said she wants people to become engaged with the schools and their needs. Only three will be elected, but everyone must become educated voters before they must choose.
“We begin by becoming informed,” King said. “We’re taking a year to engage all the people about the importance of an elected school board, and what you need to know to be elected.”
North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham, Jr., another city native and product of its schools, said electing members of the school board is important to the community and it should be involved.
“Educating our children is at the top of our list of the work we need to do,” he said. “We’re going to help people know what it means to have an elected school board (again), and what they can do.”
As the district started to make academic and financial progress, state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, and state Rep, Rita Mayfield, D-Gurnee, started working with state officials to help the district return to an elected board.
Over the past four years, the graduation rate at the high school climbed to 87.7% from a little more than 50% and freshmen on track to graduate is around 92%, according to the most recent annual ISBE report card.
“All you need to do is continue to keep your schools strong and work to get even better,” Johnson said.
Johnson also had some political advice for the people in the room, telling everyone 18 or over to register to vote if they are not on the voter rolls and become informed about the schools. Mayfield endorsed the advice.
“Register so your voice is heard,” she said.
During her time chairing the board, King said she has learned a lot about school operations, management and finances. She also understands the importance of knowing how to work with a superintendent. He is like the CEO of a major corporation, she said.
“The school district is a multimillion-dollar business,” she said. “The superintendent has to always keep thinking about what is next. My role is to make sure I understand the needs of the community.”
