For the first time in 13 years, three elected North Chicago residents are part of the legislative body — the Independent Authority — overseeing North Chicago School District 187.
Dora King, the chair of the Independent Authority since its inception in 2012, when the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) took control of the struggling district, said the three new members joining the authority is the first step toward returning the district to local control.
“This is very exciting,” King said. “We have worked very hard to get the community prepared for an elected school board for the past year. We worked with the candidates, teaching them how to be good school board members.”
Gerald Coleman, Thomas Coleman and Veronica Lynn Collins took their oath of office Thursday at North Chicago Community High School as members of the Independent Authority elected in the April 1 election. The Colemans are not related.
The ISBE took control of District 187 amid serious financial problems and a subpar academic performance. A financial oversight panel was put in place, and the ISBE dissolved the elected school board.
In September of 2022, the state board voted to return District 187 to an elected school board with three members chosen in 2025 and four more two years later, at which time there will be seven elected members.
When those seven are seated, King said the Independent Authority will be disbanded and there will once again be a locally elected District 187 Board of Education. It will be the first time in 15 years that there will be community control.
Progress was slow at first. District 187 Superintendent John Price took control of the district in 2015, and things began to change academically. The graduation rate went from 56% to 86% this past year. Teacher retention went from 60% to 80%, and standardized test scores got much higher.
Though the Independent Authority will be replaced by an elected school board in two years, King said the Financial Oversight Panel will remain in place for a few more years. Mentoring the newly elected members so they can do the same for the newcomers in two years is a priority.
Mandatory training sessions will be provided for the three newcomers by the Illinois Association of School Boards. King said it is important for Collins and the Colemans to learn as much as they can about the position.
“It’s important for them to become mentors for the people who will be elected in 2027,” King said.
All three elected Independent Authority members are North Chicago natives with deep roots in the community. Gerold Coleman retired from District 187 after 14 years, including 10 as its winningest basketball coach with 398 victories.
Spending 10 years of his career in the district as the student advocate, Coleman said his job was working with students to help them stay on the right track. As a coach, he counted victories not so much on the court, but as part of a student’s overall success. That philosophy will now guide him, he said.
“If you put the kids first, you will be fine,” Coleman said. “You have to focus on the kids.”
Collins has spent her working life in education since 1999, first in District 187 and now as the executive assistant to the superintendent in Milburn School District 24 in Wadsworth. She is the clerk of the Board of Education for District 24.
Thomas Coleman said he has worked at both Waukegan and North Chicago high schools as a coach, security officer and truant officer.
