Pictured left to right: Scott Coley; Michael Toohey; Steven Gustis, President; Dr. L. Cricel Molina De Mesa; Thomas Ruggio, Vice President; Stuart Vanorny; Joshua Christ

The Board of Education establishes a vision for the community’s schools that reflects a consensus of the board, community, and district staff. The school board has a wide variety of additional responsibilities, including, but not limited to, adopting a balanced annual budget, adopting the school calendar, negotiating contracts with employee unions, and approving curriculum programs. Some questions the school board asks when determining this vision include: What philosophy of education do we want our local schools to have? What should our students know and be able to do when they graduate? How can schools best educate students who come from diverse backgrounds?

School board meetings must be open to the public with the agenda publicly posted in advance in accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/). A lot can be learned about your district’s policies, successes, and challenges by attending a meeting.