North Cook News

The Team Glenbrook 225 school board slate is reaffirming its pledge to institute a minimum one-year freeze on the school tax levy.  

“The Team Glenbrook 225 candidates will continually balance the need for education spending with budgetary constraints and maintain excellent education quality,” the group posted on its website. “The District 225 budget now stands at $140 million per year with a cash reserve balance of $80 million. Great schools are essential for strong communities, but the board has a responsibility to live within its means and show much greater respect for all taxpayers.”

Concerned parent Glen Farkas is sold on the slate of Carol Schmidt, Bo Herbst, Mai Lin Noffke and Paul Kelly.  

“The current school board talks about transparency and district communication, but often disregards their own guidelines and operates in a way that serves their own personal interests,” he said in a press release. “The most recent example is the extension of Superintendent Charles Johns' contract. Less than one and a half years into a three-year deal (at $250K per year), the Board extended his contract two years with little advanced notice and no community input. Did Superintendent Johns outplay his current contract? Thousands of District parents would argue otherwise. TEAM Glenbrook 225 will honor the rights and views of all families, as well as the federal and state laws that require public school districts to remain apolitical and non-partisan.”

Farkas argues Team 225 is also much more likely to fight for the safe return of in-person learning on a full-time basis.

“The current school board members failed miserably early last summer to acknowledge the scope of the issue and delegated the key strategic planning to administrators,” he said. “Regrettably, and against the wishes of over 80% of parents in the District, the administrators announced in June that all classes would begin as remote learning for the 2020-2021 school year. The teachers’ union, led by their representative Matt Whipple, continued to make unreasonable demands for our children to return to school, which has led to a lost year of education, activities and social development. The District 225 teachers’ union is supporting and endorsing the same incumbent school board members who failed the community last year.”