Indian Prairie School District 204 board hopefuls talk safety, diversity and budget priorities at candidate forum
The candidates at the forum were current board president Laurie Donahue, current board vice president Susan Demming, current secretary Supna Jain, current board member Allison Fosdick and resident Allison Albert.
At the virtual event on Thursday, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Naperville and the Indian Prairie Parents' Council, the five candidates answered questions about topics ranging from school safety to block scheduling in the district.
The Indian Prairie Parents' Council fielded questions from the school community to create questions for the forum, Shelby Schultz, the president of the Executive Committee of the council, said at the forum Thursday. It was moderated by Jan Dorner from the League of Women Voters of Elmhurst, and did not include debate or comments from the public.
Donahue is a retired senior director in the telecom industry, who said at the forum she has subbed at least once at 30 Indian Prairie schools.
Demming, the current board vice president, is a public relations, marketing and workforce development consultant, according to past reporting, who has been involved in the district since her children began school there in 2001.
Jain works as a senior lecturer for North Central College, and Fosdick is an adjunct professor of English at Aurora University. At Thursday's forum, both Jain and Fosdick also noted having children in the district.
Albert, the only non-incumbent, said at Thursday's forum that she is a business owner, former teacher and parent.
The first question asked of candidates was about digital literacy and technology use.
Donahue noted how technology can allow students to get extra support on lessons, but cautioned that content needs to be moderated on school computers. Fosdick and Jain said they want the district to ensure students know how to differentiate between biased and unbiased information, between accurate news and misinformation. And both Demming and Albert talked about digital literacy as a critical workforce skill.
The district's bond sale referendum in November came up in discussions of school safety, with candidates emphasizing improving safety as a top priority and lauding the improvements the referendum is set to pay for – like stronger security at the entrances of school buildings. Jain also noted the district's strong relationship with local police.
Possible changes to district programs and operations were also up for discussion – namely, the future of the district's Project Arrow program – a program for academically talented students – and possible changes to the district's school day schedule.
In terms of Project Arrow, the current board members emphasized that the district is auditing the plan to determine if it was having a positive impact and whether changes should be made going forward.
Albert noted a need for more transparency about the program.
'Educating parents more on Project Arrow and how it is that children are selected for that program … will allow more parents to advocate on behalf of their student for entry into that program, for access to those opportunities,' Albert said at the forum.
The group was split, but largely opposed, when asked whether the district should consider a modified block schedule and an altered school start time schedule like the one recently proposed in Naperville District 203.
Albert and Fosdick said they were not supportive of a change to block scheduling and shifting start times so high school students started later at this point. Families rely on their older children to get their younger siblings to school, both candidates said, and it could pose transportation issues. Fosdick also said it might not be best for students who struggle to focus for extended periods of time.
Jain also noted concerns about transportation, but said that block scheduling might allow classes to dive deeper into subject matter and better prepare students for college classes. She said she would be open to a pilot program.
Demming and Donahue said the district would need to do more research on the possible benefits and downsides before trying to implement a similar change.
Conversations about diversity and inclusion in the district also factored into candidates' answers about the district's Equity Belief Statement, mental health resources for students and budget and staffing priorities.
All of the candidates were supportive of the district's statement, and several of the candidates were involved in its crafting.
'We are one of the first … districts at the state to make sure that that equitable lens was at an administrative level,' Demming said, noting that District 204 presented its statement at the state level to other districts.
Albert said the district should do more.
'We've had a persistent, consistent achievement gap that has not … decreased over a long period of time,' Albert said. 'The actions need to match the statement.'
In discussing mental health challenges for students and staff, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, both Jain and Demming noted their interest in maintaining equitable access to mental health resources by removing cost and transportation barriers. The district spent time pursuing grants to offer free counseling sessions for students. Several candidates also pointed to the district's mental health symposium on March 8.
As for budget and staffing priorities, Fosdick, Demming and Donahue said staff to assist English Language Learners was a major concern.
'Unfortunately, our infrastructure isn't set up to support that,' Fosdick said at the forum. 'I know that we will need to find a way through probably some creative budgeting as we've done in the past.'
She suggested that using the bond sale referendum money for capital projects might free up operating fund dollars to use for staffing needs.
Not limited to ELL support, candidates said they hoped to prioritize smaller class sizes and more teaching staff.
'I want teachers and other staff before I want more administrators,' Donahue said, noting that she hoped to encourage the district to pursue outside grants to supplement their budget.
The district is currently funded at 85% adequacy based on the state's evidence-based funding model, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Having a more diverse teaching staff was also a top priority for several candidates.
Albert noted the importance of attracting high-quality teachers, and said that as a board member, she would be interested in supporting alternative licensing programs which might allow, for example, community members who do not have traditional educational backgrounds but who want to become educators to do so at a lower cost and in a faster timeline.
Indian Prairie is more than 50% minority-identifying students, according to 2024 data from the Illinois State Board of Education, but its teaching staff is nearly 90% white. Jain said students' experiences would be improved by having their identities be represented in the teaching staff.
'I'm a big believer … that, if possible, the staff should reflect the community that they are serving,' Jain said. 'I constantly ask our administrators to look for staff and educators that reflect our students.'
A recording of the forum is available at the League of Women Voters of Naperville's YouTube Channel. And the Indian Prairie Education Association and Indian Prairie Classified Association's candidate questionnaires, which discuss the candidates' views on and priorities for the district, can be found at https://www.ipsd.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=4426&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=14797&PageID=1.
Both DuPage County and Will County have early voting options by mail, and in-person starting March 17. A list of all early voting locations and how to vote can be found on the DuPage County and Will County Clerk's Office websites. The election will be held on April 1.
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