It is progress and we’ll take it.
Last week the school board at Oak Park and River Forest High School conducted a series of six interviews with finalists for an open board position in public. This was a suggestion made by Tim Brandhorst, recently elected to the District 200 school board, as the institution moves to fill the seat of Kebreab Henry who resigned to move out of state.
We’re always in favor of adding transparency to public bodies. The appointment of a new school board member is an obvious place to start. Any person running for office is part of a fully public process. Why should seeking an appointment be any different? That is also why Wednesday Journal filed a FOIA request with the school to learn the names and see the applications of all 13 people who applied for the open seat. Those names are included in Bob Skolnik’s report on page 10.
It is an impressive list of candidates. These villages have a wealth of talent. With Henry’s resignation and Gina Harris not seeking re-election in April, this school board is now very white and very male. Of the six finalists, five were Black and four were women. That will most certainly allow OPRF to make progress in returning some diversity to this critical board.
