Jill Willis-Brown doesn’t like lawn signs, even if they are endorsing her campaign. She doesn’t like wearing the typical politician’s vote-for-me sticker either, but bears it occasionally.

Running against six other candidates for four open seats on the Evanston/Skokie District 65 School Board, Willis-Brown, 52, said she’d rather deal with the issues than worry about the trivialities of campaigning.

"I can’t be bothered with these extraneous things that politicians care about," she said .

A first-time candidate, she didn’t intend to join the race. But after parents and community members showed confidence in her ability to address their concerns, she decided to run, beating the filing deadline by 30 minutes.

Willis-Brown, who has lived in Evanston for 13 years, said that having children in Evanston schools makes her a more passionate candidate. Her 10- and 12-year-old sons attend King Lab School and her oldest son, 15, is a sophomore at Evanston Township High School.

"When you’re not a stakeholder your commitment might not be as strong," she said.

Her experience as a social worker and a lawyer with her own practice has taught her how to deal with others’ opinions and disagreements.

"I am comfortable with conflict," she said.

Willis-Brown is not unaccustomed to leadership positions. She was president of the Black Law Students Association at the University of Chicago. She also is on the board of directors at Sunny Ridge Family Center in Wheaton, Ill.

As the only black female candidate running for the District 65 board, Willis-Brown hopes to encourage minority community members to take a more active role in the district.

At the same time, she does not want her race to be her ticket onto the board.

"I don’t want someone to vote for me just because I’m black," she said. "I want them to vote for me because I have the credentials to do the job and the interest and commitment, and because I understand the issues."

One of her main goals is to unite community members of different racial and socio-economic groups.

The current board is just "going through the motions" of trying to be more inclusive, she said.

Willis-Brown said she thinks hand-picked advisory groups in schools offer only a small range of opinions, and early morning meetings make it hard for parents to participate in committees.

Marian Casey, a delegate to the Candidate’s Nominating Committee, a group of volunteers who evaluate and endorse District 65 school board candidates, supports Willis-Brown. After hearing her speak at a Candidate’s Nominating Committee meeting, Casey was impressed with Willis-Brown’s commitment to increase parent participation in District 65.

"I like her message that everyone needs to be at the table to make decisions about our children’s education," Casey said.

Willis-Brown said she also hopes to address District 65’s budget problems. She said she feels the board does not plan far enough ahead. She also said she believes school board members should create a dialogue with community members when deciding what programs to cut.

"Even if at the end, members of the community didn’t get what they had wanted, they will at least appreciate that the conversation was had," she said.

Willis-Brown said District 65 should also look to businesses in the community as well as Northwestern for resources.

She said a more afrocentric curriculum would motivate black students, helping them perform better in school. Black students would try harder if teachers expected more of them, she said.

"I think it has nothing to do with their inability to learn," Willis-Brown said. "I think it has to do with how they are being taught and the teachers’ attitudes."

Reach Lensay Abadula at [email protected].