North Cook News

At the very start of the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 school board election campaign, the local teacher’s union hosted a forum, and at least one of the Moms for District 211 candidates was not in attendance.  

“Apparently they held a forum and I wasn't invited but they invited other candidates,” Kristen Steel, a candidate for Schaumburg District 211 school board, said.

Since then the Northwest Suburban Teachers Union has endorsed Curtis Bradley, Tim McGowan and incumbent Anna Klimkowicz, according to the Daily Herald.

“It's a grave conflict of interest for a board candidate to be endorsed by the teacher's union and then, taking that a step further, for them to fund a very large portion of their campaign," Steel told North Cook News. 

Steel is a member of Moms for District 211, a group of four candidates who say they prioritize the community and students above all else.

“Moms for District 211 is a hashtag we created because we happen to be parents,” she said. “We happen to be females and mothers and we have children who are students in District 211 schools currently.”

Other Moms for District 211 candidates who did not receive a teacher’s union endorsement include Jessica Hinkle, Robi Vollkommer and Denise Wilson.

“There would be no way to get an endorsement from the teacher’s union because they didn't even take the time to reach out to invite me to the forum,” Steel said in an interview. “I've never spoken to the teacher’s union.”

Steel previously told the Daily Herald that she’s an entirely independent candidate who is not accepting endorsements or financial support from any organization. She added that even if offered an endorsement, she would decline.

“I don't want to be beholden to anybody much less the teacher's union for anything,” she said. “Members of the board of education need to be accountable to each other on the board, the community, and students need to be the first priority. The union’s job is to take care of, watch out for and be accountable to the teachers. The students do not have a union, which is why the students need the board of education to do what's right for them.”

Moms for District 211, according to Steel, are running on a platform of accountability to the community both singularly and collectively.

“We want better fiscal responsibility like voting against the maximum tax levy when we're sitting on millions of dollars of a reserve and proceeds from a land sale,” she said. “In the community, participation in our free and reduced lunch percentage has very much risen and our unemployment rate is 7.8%, and yet we're looking to approve the maximum tax levy. Why not keep that money in the pockets of our taxpayers instead of taking the maximum tax levy when we have all this money and are debt-free?”