For 16 years, Evanston Township High School District 202 board member Gretchen Livingston has shaped education policies and navigated contentious board meetings. That is “long enough,” she told The Daily.

An attorney by training who was first elected in 2009, Livingston said she’s ready to have “more fun” with fewer obligations. While she decided not to seek reelection this spring, she still holds “plenty of opinions” about D202’s past, present and future.

This week, The Daily spoke to Livingston about the board’s accomplishments, racial equity and the challenges facing the district as she prepares to step down.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

The Daily: What went into your decision not to seek another term on the D202 school board?

Livingston: Don’t you think 16 years is long enough for a part-time volunteer job? That’s the short answer.

My husband’s retiring — we need to have more fun and fewer obligations, and it’s really that simple. Over the past 16 years, I’ve been elected four times, including after two hotly contested races. I don’t need to do that again, and I think there are plenty of qualified people. You need to make space for others.

The Daily: What is your proudest accomplishment from your time on the school board?

Livingston: When I was new to the school board, we had a unanimous decision to change the freshman year experience at ETHS. We decided that every first-year student who is reading at grade level should be placed in the same English and history classes. It led to a controversy in our community. 

Ultimately, the school board voted to make the change, and it was a unanimous vote. 

I remember there was a group of people who were angry because they thought I had voted against the policy, and there were others who were angry because I voted in favor of the change. That just goes to show you can’t please everyone. What I would say today almost 16 years later is, “Relax, everybody. Things worked out quite well.”

We’re not perfect, and I’m the first to admit that we have a lot of work to do at ETHS. But I think the board has been open-minded about making changes where it’s needed and doing so thoughtfully.

The Daily: Recently, racial equity — whether in academics, attendance or discipline — has been a major point of contention for the district. Looking back on your long tenure on the board, how has the conversation around this issue evolved? And where do you see it heading in the future?

Livingston: I think that conversation will remain front and center. When I joined the board, that conversation was becoming more important, and I think the focus on issues around racial equity has only grown.

This is an issue across the country, and it’s an issue in Evanston. We still see disparities in academic achievement and discipline, but we’ve managed to do some really good things to work toward change. I think we offer a good model for other districts, and ETHS is pretty unique because it’s a large suburban public school that is majority-minority.

The Daily: This week’s school board meeting focused on the district’s Department of Multilingual Services. You’ve previously expressed concerns about data concerning Latino students’ sense of belonging at ETHS. How should the board address this issue moving forward?

Livingston: It’s been interesting to observe changes in our student population over the years. We have had student representatives who are Latinx on the school board, but we’ve never had a Latinx board member. Our board can’t really solve that problem — somebody needs to step up and run.

There are efforts underway to make our staff reflect the student body’s demographics, but I think we have to recruit more Black and Latinx teachers.

It’s extraordinary how many languages are spoken and how many different countries are represented at the high school. ETHS is only going to become a more diverse place.

The Daily: Do you have any advice for people seeking this position or future board members?

Livingston: Sometimes people get caught up in the excitement of running for elected office. Also, the school board is often people’s first and only elected office, so they may not have a lot of experience in either running a campaign or serving once elected. Those are two very different things.

The school board isn’t there to micromanage. Keep your head out of the weeds and focus on the big issues. I would say, “Read your packet, educate yourself, and don’t operate by the seat of your pants.”

The Daily: Nationwide, school boards are increasingly politicized and drawn into “culture wars.” How should D202 manage this challenge?

Livingston: We’re really lucky to live in Evanston, and that’s not to say everybody holds the same view on every issue. We have all sorts of opinions in this community, but overall residents are hugely supportive of what we do at the high school.

Political rhetoric is one thing, but the work is often quite different.

Email: jackbaker2028@u.northwestern.edu 

X: @jdowb2005

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