Two-term District 97 Board of Education member Peter Traczyk is running for the District 200 high school board.

Traczyk released a statement Thursday announcing his run next April. Traczyk announced last month that he would not seek a third term on the D97 board. He was elected in 2007 and 2011 and is a former board president. A 17-year Oak Park resident, Traczyk is a certified financial planner with Voya Financial Advisors. Prior to his election on the D97 school board, Traczyk served on the district’s finance advisory committee and was a Beye PTO member. He has three children, one attending Julian Middle School and two at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

In an interview Thursday afternoon, Traczyk said he’s currently circulating petitions, having finally decided to run on Tuesday. At D200, Traczyk said he hopes to play a role in the high school’s effort to reduce its $100-plus million fund balance. Traczyk was a member of the school’s Finance Advisory Committee which recommended an aggressive approach to bringing down the reserves.

The construction of a new pool facility is another issue Traczyk hopes to see through on the D200 board. He currently sits on D200’s pool site evaluation committee that’s charged with finalizing the site and funding options.

Traczyk offered praise to D200 member Jeff Weissglass for his leadership on the pool committee and the FAC, both of which Weissglass chaired. Traczyk also had praise for Phelan, the board’s current president, for improving the working relationship between D200 and other local taxing bodies.

“I think I can add value to this board similar to District 97,” Traczyk said. “I’m very collaborative and can look at the bigger picture. The District 200 board has made leaps and bounds as a collaborative body. I think they can still move that a little further.”

He served as D97 board president from 2009 to 2011. In his two terms, the elementary and middle school district passed a tax hike referendum in ’11, hired a new superintendent in 2010, and launched a full-day kindergarten program beginning in 2008. Traczyk said he had hoped to make his announcement for the high school board after wrapping up a new teacher contract in D97, but that wasn’t going to happen as contract talks have lasted all year.

The next bargaining session is Tuesday, with the hope of reaching a tentative agreement at that time and ratification by early January, he said.

“I am surprised and concerned that it’s gone on so long. My sincere hope is to ratify a deal early next year. It has certainly been a distraction to our staff and administration to keep going back to the bargaining table. All sides want a ratified contract,” Traczyk said.

The filing period for the April 2015 election is Dec. 15-22. Two of the three D200 seats up next April are open. Incumbents John Phelan and Ralph Lee are not running while incumbent Sharon Patchak-Layman is. In D97, four seats are up April 7. Incumbents Bob Spatz and Jim O’Connor are seeking another term, while Denise Sacks declined to run again.

CONTACT: tdean@wjinc.com