Maintaining fiscal responsibility and preparing for changes in federal oversight under President Donald Trump are key topics for the nine candidates running for four 4-year seats on the southwest suburban High School District 230 Board.
Four incumbent board members are seeking election, including incumbent Tony Serratore running unopposed for a 2-year term.
The other three incumbents face six other candidates. Incumbent Kate Murphy-Peterson is not seeking reelection after 12 years on the board.
The district is made up of Orland Park’s Carl Sandburg High School, Tinley Park’s Victor J. Andrew High School and Palos Hills’ Amos Alonzo Stagg High School.
Recently appointed board members Nadine Scodro and Chris Kasmer are both running as part of the 230 United slate along with board veteran Susan Dalton and Mark Kelly, who is on the Palos Park Elementary District 118 Board.
Candidates Lukas Verzbicas, of Palos Heights, and Tim Danlow and Mike Martinez, of Orland Park, make up the Inspire 230 slate “which aims to prioritize transparency in every decision and action, fostering trust and collaboration with our community while ensuring fiscal responsibility,” according to their website.
Other candidates are James Bax and Tesneem Amine, both of Orland Park,
The Inspire 230 slate criticized the district’s most recent tax levy in a Feb. 28 social media post and said March 13 that student achievement has declined under the current board.
“District 230 has fallen behind neighboring districts like Lincoln-Way, Lemont, Lockport, and Downers Grove in nearly every academic metric,” the slate said in their March 13 post. “It’s time for bold, innovative leadership that prioritizes academic excellence, financial responsibility, and a strong vision for the future … We will be relentless in our mission to make District 230 one of the top performing districts in Illinois.”
In light of Stagg High School’s finishing its $15 million expansion, Kasmer said in an interview with the Daily Southtown in January that it’s time to shift focus from facility upgrades to academic achievement.
The Orland Park resident said his experience working in trades will continue to aid his ability to best serve a wide range of students, not just those seeking a traditional college education. Kasmer is president of Carpenters Local 1027 and a trustee to the Chicago Transit Authority’s Retiree Health Care Trust.
Kasmer also said he supports the district’s chosen metrics of student success, but as a parent of freshmen, sees room for improvement on communication with those entering the district.
“I really think that probably some of the best work that I’ll be able to do as a school board member is going to be in my first couple years as a parent in the district,” Kasmer said. “Some of the things that the administration thinks that they’re communicating, you’re not getting all of that … It’s like sometimes just having fresh eyes, and fresh eyes of somebody who’s experiencing it as a parent, is I think valuable.”
Dalton said in January that she is proud of the board’s achievements over the course of her four-term tenure, which includes removing barriers for students looking to take advanced courses and balancing fiscal responsibility with giving students the best education possible.
She said the Stagg expansion, which made way for 11 new classrooms, four science labs, seven offices, a 20-person conference room, a rooftop garden and teacher workspaces, is an example of how she and other board members have worked to make improvements under budgetary constraints.
“We’ve had over 20 years of a balanced budget, which within the state is really kind of unheard of — it’s very difficult to maintain that,” Dalton said. “We’ve always been fiscally responsible with those taxpayer dollars while still increasing our offerings … We work really hard to make sure that those dollars go to the students.”
District 230 Board members announced Thursday they would need to adjust the budget for fiscal year 2025 to take into account an increase in teacher salaries that’s part of the recently passed union contract. They said they will hold a public hearing on the budget adjustment at 7 p.m. on May 29 at 15100 South 94th Ave, Orland Park.
Serratore, who was a community representative on the district’s Building and Finance Committee for five years before joining the board in 2013, said the amendment proposal does not include any changes for taxpayers and keeps the budget balanced.
Serratore said district financing has become increasingly more challenging over the past decade, and potential federal funding cuts to schools across the country could make matters worse. Serratore said about 82% of District 230’s funding comes from homeowners, but the small funding they get from the federal government are “funds that we don’t want to lose.”
The board referenced Trump’s executive order signed earlier Thursday that looks to dismantle the U.S. Education Department, which he has called wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology.
Michelle Etchason, president of the District 230 Teachers’ Union, reminded “those who are anxious about the executive order” that the president’s action is likely impossible without an act of Congress.
“We will fight any bills that harm any of our students, our precious, precious students,” Etchason said to applause. Dalton, who presided over the meeting in board President Lynn Zeder’s absence, echoed the sentiment.
Serratore said the Business and Finance Committee has deliberated how Trump policy changes could affect the district, and immediate concerns lie in receiving grants that support district programs and operations. He said he trusts Superintendent Robert Nolting and others in his administration to watch upcoming decisions carefully and handle them in the best ways they can.
“It’s just so early right now, and what’s going on, we really don’t know,” Serratore said. “It’s really hard to make a determination of what kind of impact it’s going to have.”
Serratore said he is running independently, rather than alongside his fellow board members, to encourage flexibility among voters to elect the candidates they think are best suited for the board.
“It’s the first time we’ve had this many people running in a long time,” Serratore said Friday. “I’m ready to say, ‘you know what, folks? Take a look at what’s out there — take a look at what they have to offer.’”
Serratore, who has been on the board for 12 years, said he considered not seeking reelection this year, but decided to opt for a 2-year term in order to keep members with experience on the board amid Murphy-Peterson’s stepping down.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
