“I was a question mark when I first came on the board,” recalled James Gates, the new president of the Oak Park District 97 Board of Education during a recent interview. Gates was referring to how his past as an instructor and former president of the Oak Park Teachers Association (OPTA) from 2003 to 2006 was perceived by his colleagues at the time.
But that was six years ago. Since then, the question mark has folded into a period, because two terms into his board tenure, he says there’s no questioning where his interests lay.
“I raised my right hand in 2009,” he said, “and took an oath to all stakeholder groups to never show partiality toward any stakeholder group. My background as an OPTA president is a previous life.”
He did, however, note that his past as a longtime teacher gives him a unique perspective on classroom issues. He said his particular skillset amounts to only one of many value-added factors that each board member brings to his or her respective roles.
“When I ran for the board, I believed I brought a particular educational and instructional skillset,” he said. “Amy [Felton, D97 board vice president] brings a legal background; Graham [Brisben] brings a logistical background; Jim O’Connor brings an assessment and evaluation background; Bob Spatz brings a strong financial background; Holly Spurlock brings incredible communication knowledge; Rupa Datta brings an analytic background. So what you have on our board are seven intelligent, professional people, each of whom brings a skillset to the board that leverages their talents in the best interests of the community.”
Gates said that complementarity is part of what’s made the last several board configurations relatively friction free; that, and the combination of personalities.
“The friction-free boards have been going on for, I’d say, at least the last two board rotations. Prior to that, you’d have one, sometimes two, board members with a different agenda. There was much more friction back in the 1980s and early 1990s, especially between the board and various bargaining units. When I first started teaching, there were three strikes in the first four years I taught. They were unpleasant and there were statements made by board members that shocked me.”
Gates said his past as OPTA building representative, secretary, treasurer and eventually president (“I did everything, you name it”) was reflective of his ability to build consensus — a quality he said he’s carried with him to the D97 board.
“People thought I was good at building consensus and had a good approach to working with people and so they thought I should run for president,” he said. “When it comes to board decisions, I have one interest and that’s everybody’s.”
Felton, the new board vice president, reinforced Gates’ point.
“Jim’s not wearing [the former OPTA president] hat when he’s in the room with us,” she said. “He’s looking after the best interests of our kids and how we, as a district, can move forward from great to world-class.”
Gates said he put his beliefs into action during the recent negotiations on the new teachers’ contract, which was approved in January. At the time, Gates was the board vice president. Now president, he said negotiations with the OPTA are over and the board has established a committee on implementation and maintenance of the contract — a committee Gates said he has nothing to do with.
CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com