I enthusiastically support Ralph Martire for the District 200 high school board. Ralph served for eight years on the District 90 school board in River Forest; I have had the pleasure of serving with him for three of those years.
During that time I saw Ralph’s effective and thoughtful leadership skills. He believes in good governance, evidence-based decision-making and complete transparency. In fact, two of his key initiatives were to 1) move a few of our board meetings to a town hall format and 2) hold a community “listening session.” Both of these allow community members to engage with board members and administrators in a more interactive way.
Ralph brings significant experience in public policy and school finance and has a deep understanding of how to bring change to big institutions. He was co-author and advocate of the new school funding formula for the state of Illinois — a process that required diligence and patience.
Ralph’s work with the D90 Equity Committee would be an asset to D200. He is driven by an insistence on learning from best practices and on creating tangible and measurable goals. He was an integral part of creating the Tri-Board Equity Committee which facilitates broader collaboration across districts 90, 97 and 200.
As the only River Forest resident currently running, Ralph would bring a needed voice to D200 — a school that is shared by two communities. He is well-positioned to serve that role.
Stacey Williams
River Forest
