Wanted: One public elementary school board member.
So far, District 97 has heard from eight applicants interested in replacing departing school board member Jennifer Reddy.
A married mother of three, Reddy announced on Sept. 13, that she will be resigning from the board, effective Sept. 30. Her family will be moving out of the district to New York because her husband, a physicist with Argonne National Laboratory, has a new job there.
“With much sadness I will be resigning from the board … and it’s been a great ride with you all,” she told fellow members at last week’s board meeting, “but we are very excited and it’s a great opportunity for my husband.”
Reddy currently sits on the board’s policy committee and is liaison to the PTO Council. She’s the second member of an Oak Park school board to resign this year. Jacques Conway left the District 200 high school board over the summer. That board appointed Valerie Fisher, a former member, as his replacement.
Per the Illinois School Code, school boards have 45 days to appoint a replacement member after a sitting trustee resigns. Peter Barber, president of the D97 board, said they would appoint a new member within that 45-day window. Barber and D97 Supt. Albert Roberts expressed appreciation for Reddy’s time on the board.
“As a superintendent, it’s always difficult to see an excellent board member leave, and clearly you’ve made a difference and a contribution to this board and the kids in this district, so I want to thank you,” Roberts said.
Barber added, “I am personally and professionally saddened to see Jennifer go. She’s become a really good friend and a great board member.”
Reddy’s final official meeting will be on Sept. 27. She was elected in an uncontested election in 2009, along with first-term member James Gates, a former D97 teacher, and incumbent Peter Barber. Her term is up in 2013.
The 45-day appointment period begins on the day a school board member officially leaves the board. In Reddy’s case, that will be after an official letter is submitted to the board secretary on Sept. 30; the 45-day period ends in mid-November.
If the board fails to appoint someone within that period, the regional superintendent of schools will make the selection. Barber said D97 board will appoint their own member. The interviewing of candidates, he added, will be done in executive session, while an actual vote for a replacement will take place in open session.
CONTACT: tdean@wjinc.com
From D97
The application prospective candidates will need to fill out in order to be considered for the position is currently being developed and will be made available once Jennifer Reddy submits her formal resignation.
In the meantime, the district says, “we strongly encourage individuals who wish to apply for the position to review the bylaws and provide Board Secretary Sheryl Marinier with your contact information at smarinier@op97.org or 708- 524-3004.
“We will use a variety of resources (the district’s family of websites, community listerv, Twitter account, etc.) to keep the general public informed and updated throughout our search for a new board member. Anyone who has comments or questions about the search process can share them with the board via email at d97board@op97.org.”