By Annie MartinThe Daily Northwestern

Five Evanston/Skokie School District 65 School Board candidates discussed issues ranging from school board-superintendent relations to school funding at a PTA-sponsored forum Friday.

The event, at Chute Middle School, 1400 Oakton St., was the first of several opportunities for parents and other residents to listen to the candidates voice their views on audience-prompted topics. About 35 people attended.

The next forum, sponsored by the Candidate Nominating Committee, will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave. The five candidates running in the April 17 election are Katie Bailey, Adrian Dortch, Bonnie Lockhart, Andrew Pigozzi and Keith Terry.

One of the focuses of debate was the school board’s role in the district, especially in relation to the superintendent.

“The board’s job is to hire the superintendent and delegate responsibility to him,” Pigozzi said. “We have to respect what the role of the board is, and not step over that line.”

With regard to funding, several candidates noted that the board has little control over fiscal issues, and thus must sometimes be willing to make compromises in order to balance the budget.

“We have to live under the same guidelines as before which is why the board needs to be fiscally sound,” Terry said.

The candidates also were asked about how the district would be affected if the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Seattle School District can’t use race as a factor in determining school assignment. Several of the candidates said one of the things they liked best about the district was its racial diversity.

“The demographics of Evanston have changed,” Lockhart said. “We moved to Evanston largely because of the diversity and the schools.”

Chute parent Candace Hill said that although the case doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of attention in Evanston, it could be important for the district.

“If the Supreme Court rules against the Seattle School District, it means the Evanston School District might need to restructure,” Hill said. “I don’t think people have been thinking about it.”

Oakton Elementary parent John Bates said the board needs to focus on allocating funding and developing evaluation methods in the next few years.

“The members need to have an understanding of community needs, work well with other members of the board and challenge the administration when necessary,” Bates said. “I want them to develop solid guidelines for the programs they’re implementing.”

Lloyd Shepard, who had three children attend District 65 schools, said one of his biggest hopes was that the new board members could cooperate and work well together.

“The board needs to act as a board and govern without all the dissension that has been on the board for the last three to four years,” Shepard said. “The differences between board members have been centered around how the board views governing in terms of micromanaging the superintendent and the staff, and that is not the board’s job.”

Hill also emphasized the importance of the new board members being able to work well together.

“(Community members) don’t want school board members duking it out in letters to the editor,” Hill said. “They want them working together as a cohesive group because there are important decisions to make.”

Reach Annie Martin at [email protected].