The rancor of the campaign season was put to bed last week as the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 board installed its new board president and seated its new and returning members.
Former president Tom Cofsky departed after swearing in the four winners — two incumbents and two newcomers — in the April 1 election. The newly constituted School Board quickly selected Audrey Williams-Lee by acclimation to be the new board president. Williams-Lee had been the board’s vice president for the last year.
“I appreciate the support of my board peers,” Williams-Lee said after the May 1 meeting.
Williams-Lee was nominated by Tim Brandhorst, who was selected as vice president moments after Williams-Lee became president. Brandhorst said it was important to maintain continuity in board leadership.
“Audrey is the right choice for two reasons,” Brandhorst said in a text message the day after the meeting. “First, through her wise insights and hard work, she’s earned the respect of all her colleagues. Second, she’s had the chance to work closely with Tom and (Superintendent) Greg (Johnson) over the past year as our vice president.”
Incumbents Williams-Lee and Fred Arkin and newcomers Kathleen Odell and Josh Gertz were sworn in at the meeting and took their seats at the board table. In the April 1 election Odell finished first followed by Williams-Lee, Arkin and Gertz. Williams-Lee, Arkin, and Odell ran a joint campaign along with unsuccessful write-in candidate Dave Schaafsma, who finished sixth, while Gertz ran on a slate with Nate Mellman who finished fifth.
Williams-Lee was initially appointed to the School Board in 2023 to fill a vacancy created when Kabreab Henry resigned from the board because he moved out of state.
Williams-Lee grew up in Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern and a master’s degree in organizational behavior from Benedictine University. She has spent her career working in human resources for major corporations and was the head of human resources at Lurie Children’s Hospital until leaving that position earlier this year.
Arkin, who is by far the most senior member of the School Board and is beginning his third term on the board, was fine with Williams-Lee taking over as board president.
“She runs circles around me,” Arkin said.
Before leaving the board table Cofsky recounted his experiences and achievements in his 12 years on the School Board. He served as board president for the last three years.
“I’ve greatly enjoyed my time on the board in large part because of the people I have met and worked with,” Cofsky said. “I’ve learned a tremendous amount and the work has really enriched my life.”
Cofsky said one of his proudest accomplishments was bringing financial discipline to OPRF and working to reduce the large fund balances that had accumulated since a tax referendum was approved by voters in 2002.
“We changed our levy philosophy from tax to the max to levy what was needed and I’m very proud that after maximum levies in years directly preceding my service we have completed 12 consecutive years of not taxing to the max, something unheard of, leaving roughly $80 million, plus interest, in our taxpayers’ pockets — this equates to roughly one full year of D200 taxes.”
OPRF has been spending down its fund balances to more reasonable levels by using reserves to pay, in part, for major improvements in the building and facilities.
“After over a half century of stagnation in our facilities, we have made significant longterm investments for students attending this school over the next century,” Cofsky said. “Over $170 million has been invested or committed.”
Cofsky said boards he served on made some tough decisions.
“We have taken action and made bold decisions in areas that have been talked about for decades,” Cofsky said. “I have found that lasting change can happen, but it requires time, energy, patience, persistence, collaboration and buy-in, amongst other things.”
Cofsky thanked his wife and children and his employer, Oil-Dri Corporation of America, for putting up with the time commitment that his service on the School Board required. He got choked up as he thanked his late father who died last year.
“He was always an inspiration and good ear to talk to,” Cofsky said.
In his time on the School Board Cofsky was known for his meticulous preparation and thoughtful comments and questions as well as his dry wit. He brought an engineer’s rigorous, analytical mind to his work with the board, always speaking deliberately and logically, typically from handwritten notes. He was not shy about occasionally expressing his dissatisfaction with administrative work or reports that did not meet his high standards.
“Your energy for the work that you do is absolutely prolific,” Superintendent Greg Johnson told Cofsky early in the meeting after board members had praised Cofsky. “I can’t imagine anybody ever coming into a role similar to yours in this community and showing up with greater energy and consistency for the job.”
Johnson also noted that Cofsky had become a friend and partner.
“You’re a mentor to me in many ways,” Johnson told Cofsky. “You’ve been a good friend, at times a wonderfully critical friend, but most importantly you lead all of us with what is in the best interests of the students in this school and this community at large.”
Fellow board member Brandhorst praised Cofsky for leading a cultural shift on the board and administrative levels at OPRF with his insistence of rigorous goal setting and adherence to goals and sound business principles.
Arkin also praised his longtime colleague.
“The change you helped lead has reshaped the future of this district,” Arkin told Cofsky. “The district is now aligned to provide 21st Century learning to all of our students.”
Cofsky ended his comments with a couple of swipes. In congratulating the newly elected board members he took a shot at unnamed critics of the School Board.
“There are some who may claim to represent this community, constantly challenging and sometimes disrupting the work of the board or trying to set its agenda stating that board members have no courage to say what they want to hear while remaining on their stone throwing perch willing to provide complete judgement on incomplete information,” Cofsky said.
Cofsky also referred to the April 1 election in which three of the four candidates that he endorsed, Odell, Williams-Lee and Arkin, swept the top three spots running far ahead of Gertz and Mellman who were critical of some current policies and practices at the school.
“In this recent election our community members were essentially asked to choose between staying the course outlined over this past decade or going backwards and I’m delighted that there was strong support to stay the course,” Cofsky said.
After the meeting Gertz reacted to the swipe without rancor.
“I don’t think it was necessary but, you know what, Tom has put in a great deal of service to this board, he’s really changed it over the last 12 years, he’d done a lot of great things, I respect him; I’m not offended by it,” Gertz said.
Gertz said that he is looking ahead. He said that he has met with school board members since the election to get to know them and to try and build a rapport with them.
“The election’s over, the campaign’s over, and so we’re all professionals, we have to work together moving forward for the best interests of the district,” Gertz said. “I look forward to bringing a critical viewpoint and I think there are a lot of issues that Nate and I raised during the campaign that are perhaps not as controversial as they might have been portrayed, surrounding specifically school safety which I’d like to explore and get to work on improving.”
Departing board member Mary Anne Mohanraj, who like Cofsky decided not to run for another term, was not at the May 1 meeting because she had another engagement.
Brandhorst praised Mohanraj for always being an advocate for the most vulnerable at OPRF.
At her last regular board meeting on April 24, Mohanraj, who was never afraid to speak her mind, spoke briefly about her one term on the School Board.
“It’s been the hardest volunteer job I’ve ever signed up for,” Mohanraj said.
Bob Skolnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
