I trust Josh Gertz and Nate Mellman to serve in the best interests of our students and community and am proudly voting for them for the District 200 high school board. Josh and Nate’s campaign centers on the three issues that matter the most to me at our high school:
Keeping our kids safe, challenging all students academically, safeguarding tax dollars (1).
Josh and Nate support our teachers and want more resources for them and students while reducing administrative bloat.
The other candidates are running as a coalition, which comes with issues. Incumbent Fred Arkin voted not once but twice to bypass voters on an expensive, controversial pool project, the second time going back on his word to voters that he would put a pool project to referendum (2).
The coalition’s two incumbents voted, and its member of the board’s Community Finance Committee recommended to overtax property owners by $10-11 million in each of the last two years (3). Overtaxation has been an ongoing issue with the board since 2005, when it used a tax loophole that resulted in a $130 million cash reserve by 2013 (4).
Two coalition members are teachers. As the faculty and many administrators have education backgrounds, the community benefits from other viewpoints on the seven-member board.
Independent, fiscally responsible and trustworthy critical thinkers are needed on this board, qualities that describe Josh and Nate. These are the reasons that I support them and encourage you to do the same.
Sources:
(1) https://www.gertzmellmand200.com
(2) March 4, 2019: D200 candidate forum (Fred Arkin: “If we issue bonds, I will pledge that I will vote to have a referendum. … I am saying that publicly and you can hold me to it.” On April 27, 2023, Arkin voted to bypass a referendum on Project 2. https://youtu.be/K4afkgWjdVM?feature=shared, starting at 4:04)
(3) Five-Year Financial Projections: https://go.boarddocs.com/il/oprfhs/Board.nsf/files/DBDQ5K679A86/$file/5 Year Financial Projection.pdf
(4) https://www.oprfhs.org/about/business-office/fund-balance-background
Monica Sheehan
Oak Park