Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 school board candidates Ralph Bonatz, Katherine David and Jean Forrest have banded together as the Parents With Purpose slate in an effort to sweep the election.
They started their own Facebook page to promote their campaigns for the school board, their platforms have similar goals in lowering property taxes while maintaining the quality of education in the district and they are using their Parents With Purpose social media page to introduce themselves to the community and share their reasons for running for the school board in Township District 211.
"I’m a parent … who wants the best education that D211 can offer," David posted on Feb. 17. "I’m a taxpayer …who believes the D211 portion of our property tax bill can be lowered without sacrificing the quality of education. I’m your neighbor … who can represent the community’s voice on the school board."
Forrest expressed similar views in her Feb. 28 post. A parent of two high school students, she said that students should be the first priority when allocating funds. The school board should use the resources provided by the community to provide the best education possible for all its students.
In later posting on March 13, Forrest said: "If elected, I would like to freeze or lower the D211 property taxes without sacrificing the quality of education received. I would also like to foster efficient and prioritized use of funds and to optimize the value obtained from district-owned assets."
Bonatz also posted about his interest in ensuring that students receive the best possible education while district residents receive value for their tax dollars. He pointed out that he would balance the needs of the district with the taxpayers' limitations and concerns. He also pointed to his experience in leadership and problem solving in the IT field.
The three candidates faced controversy in recent school board forums. All six candidates in the race, the Parents With Purpose slate plus incumbents Anna Klimkowicz and Robert LeFevre Jr. and former District 211 board member Ed Yung, faced the question of transgender students' access to bathrooms and locker rooms.
The basic question asked during the first forum was: "Can a person ever change his or her gender from what a medical professional recorded it at birth?"
Bonatz and David said no. Forrest said that the question was irrelevant. The other three candidates answered yes to the question.
A follow-up question came from the audience, asking the candidates if transgender students could use the locker room of their identified sex instead of their biological sex.
Bonatz, David and Forrest all said no, while Yung said yes. Klimkowicz was in favor of restricted access. LeFever indicated that access was a privilege without actually answering yes or no to the question.
The Parents With Purpose slate were in favor of providing special accommodations to protect transgender students' privacy rights without affecting the other students. David spoke of her concerns after her daughter reported that transgender students could use the restroom. She was apparently not informed of this right, though it had been a policy for nearly two years.
While the transgender issue continued to be a lightning rod in the school board race, the Daily Herald reported that the discussion in the second forum took less than 10 minutes. The school district's budget and tax levies were also brought up during the forum.
The incumbents and Yung defended the tax levies and spending policies of the district. The slate of Bonatz, David and Forrest disagreed and expressed their support for freezing property taxes and using excess revenues to help pay the district's expenses.
The Parents With Purpose slate is facing off against the other candidates for the three school board seats on April 4.
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