Patricia Anderson, Nichole Pinkard, Maria Opdycke and Andrew Wymer lead the race for the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education, according to unofficial results from the Cook County Clerk’s office as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Mail-in ballots postmarked by April 1 are still being counted, and official results are not yet available. Voters could select up to four of 12 candidates when voting.
The new board members will be sworn in as the district combats a $13.2 million deficit with its Structural Deficit Reduction Plan and prepares to consolidate its schools in the coming years.
Anderson, who spent 35 years of her career working in District 65 as a physical therapist, has earned the most votes, with 9,752 votes of the 18,957 ballots counted.
During her campaign, Anderson told The Daily she wants to regain the community’s trust while implementing the district’s SDRP and generating criteria for school closures. She also emphasized the importance of building relationships with the rest of District 65’s board members.
A professor at Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy, Pinkard has received 8,249 votes. She has argued that data should guide all of the district’s decisions and should be accessible to the public. She said this transparency would allow the District 65 community to better understand the “hard” choices the board will make about school closures.
Opdycke, who has earned 7,155 votes, said community engagement should be the cornerstone of the district’s financial plan. The Foodsmart vice president of clinical operations said this would ensure the District 65 community is aligned with the board’s decisions.
“While the situation at District 65 is very complex, I’m confident that with the new board members, existing members, the administration and community support, we will find a path to an excellent education for Evanston’s children,” Opdycke said.
Wymer has received 6,525 votes.
A professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Wymer focused his campaign on educational equity and building a strategic plan that reflects the District 65 community’s values.
“The way that things are done with the board is going to be deeply relational,” Wymer said. “And so the first thing I want to do is start talking to my colleagues and see what we can do working together to bring this stuff to life.”
Anderson and Pinkard were not immediately available for comment.
The four new members will fill the seats currently held by board members Soo La Kim, Biz Lindsay-Ryan, Joey Hailpern and Donna Wang Su. None of the incumbents sought reelection.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Email: a.prakash@dailynorthwestern.com
X: @anavi_52
Email: j.baker@dailynorthwestern.com
X: @jdowb2005
Related Stories:
— D65 Board of Education candidates challenge special education policies at forum
— District 65 parents brace for an election-induced shakeup with 4 board seats up for grabs
— District 65 board hears demography, equity progress indicator reports
