By Joyce LeeThe Daily Northwestern
The seven candidates running in the District 202 Board of Education elections in April range from a veteran incumbent to a music producer to a high school senior.
“It is an interesting group,” said Ernie Norrman, co-president of the Evanston Township High School Parent Teacher Student Association.
There are three positions available for the district, which oversees ETHS and its 3,000 students. Board President Ross Friedman is stepping down after his four-year term expires and two incumbents, Jane Colleton and Mary Wilkerson, are running for re-election.
The five others who filed petitions for candidacy are Boris Furman, a former board member; Adrian A. Dortch, an ETHS graduate and Evanston-based music producer; Omar R. Khuri, a past president of the parent association; William Wideman, an ETHS graduate; and Jacob Novar, an ETHS student graduating this year. The elections are scheduled for April 17.
Seeking her third consecutive term serving on the board, Wilkerson said she is not sure whether changes in the school system or in the district are needed.
“I think that we need to stay on course in implementing our goals: support systems, student achievement and remaining financially stable,” said Wilkerson, a retired fair housing supervisor with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Dortch, 29, filed for a seat on both the District 202 and District 65 School Boards.
“What’s excellent is that I’m an alumni from 65 and 202, so I’m a product of all the businesses, schools and churches there,” said Dortch, who runs an R&B and hip-hop music company called Big Banc Productions. “I’m a product of these districts, and if the product is good, the manufacturing must be good, too.”
Although his dual candidacy has raised eyebrows, state law allows a candidate to run for seats on two school boards serving that individual’s district of residence. However, district meetings sometimes fall on the same night, meaning faithful performance of board duties could prove difficult if Dortch succeeds in both elections.
“If I’m a parent and I have a child in both districts, it makes sense to run for both boards,” he said. “I’m not going to change anything. I think it’s just the communication between the providers and the people they’re serving – it could be better. I think I could be good in bridging that gap.”
Eighteen-year-old Novar said he sees a generation gap that needs closing.
“I chose to run because I felt like my input was greatly needed,” he said. “So far, the board has been making decisions from an outsider view. With myself on the board, I will be able to give input from an actual insider perspective.”
The teenager said he plans to stay in the area next year, either to attend Northeastern Illinois University or Columbia College Chicago.
“There are certain security measures that need to be addressed,” he said. “A lot of the youth do not feel safe and, to me, that is probably the biggest problem the school is facing.”
Omar Khuri is a 1995 ETHS graduate, current member of the school’s Booster Board and was president of the ETHS parent association from 2004-06. He favors smaller budget cuts in many areas over eliminating entire programs and believes activity fees or corporate sponsorship could raise additional funds for the school, according to his Web site. Khuri did not return calls made to his home phone number Monday and Tuesday.
William Wideman is a 1997 ETHS graduate and current DePaul University student pursuing a master’s degree in public service. He said he would increase black student achievement and implement productive student programs concentrating on leadership.
Jane Colleton is a four-term incumbent member of the board, a preschool teacher and mother of four ETHS graduates. Colleton declined to comment about her campaign.
Boris Furman is a retired Harvard-educated market maker for the Chicago Board Options Exchange and former member of the District 202 Board from 1995-99. He said that he wants to prevent the district from dedicating itself to more expenses than it can afford and plans to reform the teachers’ four-year labor contract, which comes up for renewal next year.
Reach Joyce Lee at [email protected].
