Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education member Patricia “Pat” Maunsell said she has been “peeling the onion” of the district. 

In practice, this means consulting community members, digging into the district’s policies and steering its policy committee.

This week, as she campaigns for another term, Maunsell sat down with The Daily to reflect on her tenure, the district’s evolving approach to racial equity and challenges ahead.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

The Daily: What went into your decision to seek another term on the school board?

Maunsell: First of all, I love ETHS, and I’m grateful to contribute to the board’s forward-thinking work. When I ran the first time, it was 2017, and I thought, “I’m not sure what I can do as everything changes around me, but I can certainly protect something that’s good.” I feel the same way now. 

We hired Marcus Campbell as the superintendent (in 2022), and he’s doing an amazing job. I want to serve another term to continue supporting him.

The Daily: What is your proudest accomplishment from this term, and what are your biggest priorities moving forward?

Maunsell: I’m very proud of hiring Superintendent Campbell. We conducted a very thoughtful, thorough search process that brought in the community members and ETHS students, and we concluded he was the right person for the job.

We’ve also made sure the district is financially secure. I give all the credit to the CFO and superintendent, but this is one of the board’s highest priorities, especially as the future seems increasingly uncertain.

In my work on the policy committee, language is very important to me. A few years ago, we had a disciplinary category called “unauthorized presence.” I hated the term — I still do — because what does it actually mean, and whom does it apply to? 

According to our data, it disproportionately affected Black and brown male students, so we refined the definition. To me, there’s a connection there: when policies are clearer, the people enforcing them are more thoughtful about how they apply them. It’s not perfect, but any improvement that helps our students is important. Wherever we can root out inequities, I’m all in.

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 tenure on the board, how has the conversation around this issue evolved? 

Maunsell: The fight for racial equity is never complete. Our work isn’t “one and done.” The district’s staff, including teachers, school resource officers and administrators, completes implicit bias training. Everybody has a basic understanding of racial equity, and that’s pretty unique. It produces a culture of inclusivity, compassion, organization and self-reflection, and shapes the district’s academics, activities and discipline policies. 

The Daily: The number of Latino students at ETHS has steadily increased throughout your term. How should the district support them?

Maunsell: Quite honestly, I’m very worried. We have policies that prohibit ICE from entering the building unless they have a warrant. The superintendent has put out some really powerful statements recently. He has made clear ETHS is not abandoning our values, and we’ll always support our kids and their families.

Last year’s wellness report indicated that students of all racial backgrounds felt ETHS teachers respected them, and we have organized annual Latinx Student Summits. We should increase the number of Black and Latino teachers.

It’s important to evaluate the big picture, but you have to consider the nitty gritty. What are our students saying? What do they need, and how are we addressing those needs? The answers are there, but the district is doubling down on this approach.

The Daily: Nationwide, school boards are increasingly politicized and drawn into “culture wars.” How should District 202 manage this challenge?

Maunsell: The politicization of school boards reflects broader polarization, but our job is to educate kids. We should have civil conversations about what a quality education looks like.

I think our board does a good job of explaining our vision for public education and how we plan to achieve it. We listen to our students and will continue adapting to their needs.

Email: jackbaker2028@u.northwestern.edu 

X: @jdowb2005

Related Stories:

— Q&A: D202 board member Gretchen Livingston reflects on tenure, future of ETHS

— D202 board looks to expand multilingual services

— D202 board scrutinizes post-high school planning, academic performance