The election is over. And we have our thoughts:
Congratulations to District 97 on passing its tax hike referendum. In this genuinely painful economy, in this ginned up anti-public union frenzy, to pass a tax hike and to do it by a margin of almost 10 points is a remarkable show of good faith by voters in their schools. That’s not to say that voting yes was a simple or easy choice for very many voters. This was hard.
This newspaper supported this referendum because we believe that, over the past 10 years, the District 97 school board has been a model of good governance and because we believe the current and incoming school board is laser-focused on containing costs and moving the district to a reform-minded, performance-based approach to faculty compensation.
Thanks also to the opposition, loosely organized and only surfacing in the final weeks of the campaign. It is hard to stand up in a progressive community and oppose more money for schools. It was a better debate because of the opposition.
There was no competition for seats on the River Forest village board. That’s bad. The past four years on that board have been fractious, bizarre, embarrassing to watch and, sometimes, effective. We’re glad to see the two cranky Steves — Hoke and Dudek — leave office. But we’ve got no interest in seeing a return to the yesteryear of head nodding, rubber stamping, strong president, numbed-up trustees that passed for governance in the latter Frank Paris years.
Carmela Corsini and Colleen Horrigan are the new village trustees. They join a board with some discernable talent. Let’s see what good can be accomplished when bright, attentive adults discuss, debate and decide the future of the village.
The Oak Park village board election went as expected, meaning Village Manager Association 3, Opponents 0. The good news is that the three VMA candidates are capable, dedicated (white) men. They ran on a platform of fiscal accountability. We were more interested in their professions of open government and open meetings. And that is what we will be actively watching.
And if the VMA is as all powerful and all knowing as the stunningly ineffective opposition claims, then our overlords will be strong and smart enough to find a worthy spot on a village commission — how about the Plan Commission? — for Lynn Kessen. She ran a good independent campaign and has a voice worth hearing.
At OPRF, the stage has been set by the current board for notable progress on many fronts. Voters did well in returning two of the three incumbents to the board. In the weeks ahead, this board will begin to make substantive decisions on policies related to drug and alcohol abuse. The board’s willingness to engage this issue is to its credit. Now they need the courage and creativity to take action.
Mid-term, this board will have opportunities to support its new superintendent as he completes his first year and begins to shape an agenda for educational progress at the school. We believe Steven Isoye has a special opportunity to foster change at OPRF, and the strong support of the school board will be essential.
In keeping with an increased focus on transparency in local government, we’d also suggest, and we’ve made this suggestion before, that the District 200 board begin considering changes to its meeting structure. The business of this district is done almost entirely in early morning committee meetings. They are open to the public but they are distinctly inconvenient. Meet more frequently as a board. And meet in the evening as other boards do. It will improve transparency.