When SESP Prof. Nichole Pinkard learned she had won a seat on the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education, she said she felt tremendous gratitude for her supporters — and a sense of urgency.
“I instantly was like, ‘Okay, we gotta get to work,’” Pinkard said.
Pinkard is one of four newcomers elected to the board, alongside former District 65 educator Patricia S. Anderson, Foodsmart Vice President of Clinical Operations Maria Opdycke and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Prof. Andrew Wymer.
In a crowded field of 12 candidates, Anderson led with about 16% of the vote, followed by Pinkard with almost 14%, Opdycke with almost 12% and Wymer with almost 11%, according to unofficial results from the Cook County Clerk’s office Tuesday.
The newly elected board members will officially take office in May as District 65 prepares to implement Phase 3 of its Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, which outlines a potential $10-15 million in spending cuts aimed at achieving long-term financial stability.
On the campaign trail, each candidate pledged to improve community trust amid potential school closures.
Meanwhile, four candidates sought four seats on the Evanston Township High School District 202 board. John Martin, a senior manager at a tax software company, was elected to fill the open seat currently held by retiring board member Gretchen Livingston. Incumbents Pat Savage-Williams, Pat Maunsell and Mirah Anti kept their seats.
Martin said because residents are “overall very happy” with Evanston Township High School, his goal is to listen to the community’s concerns and tap into his strengths.
“For things like the financial perspective, which is what I do for a living all day every day, I’m able to easily apply the lessons I’ve learned and the approaches that I’ve seen work and be able to offer some of that guidance,” Martin said.
All five new board members attributed their campaigns’ success to community engagement, from holding events like coffee chats to maximizing the use of social media and email blasts.
Pinkard said that of all the coffee chats she had during her campaign, only one was hosted by a friend she knew prior to the election. Pinkard said that signaled that people were connecting with her message.
During the early voting period, Opdycke worked to ensure voters knew how to find her name on the ballot. Her name appeared last on the ballot due to the randomly selected order and could only be selected after scrolling on digital voting machines.
“I went to every single polling place on election day to make sure that the poll workers knew that they should be telling people to scroll down to get all the names,” Opdycke said.
Martin said much of his campaigning was conducted at extracurricular activities, where he could easily communicate with community members and support ETHS students in their “passion projects.” He said he aims to continue attending such events as a board member.
To begin building relationships with his colleagues on the board, Martin added he has already met with each of the board’s members individually to have a “very open dialogue” without predetermined “agenda points to get through.”
Wymer is excited to quickly build relationships with his new colleagues so they can continue addressing the district’s financial crisis, he said. The other newly elected District 65 board members echoed a similar sentiment.
Anderson, whose granddaughter attends Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies, said she hopes the district avoids repeating the mistakes it made when considering the school’s impending closure.
“That’s one of my strengths — being in the community, talking to the community, collaborating with the community,” Anderson said. “I’m there to help make decisions but not without input from the people that it’s going to affect.”
As a board member, Opdycke’s goal is to improve the board’s relationship with the district’s schools. The district currently has a liaison system, where board members are assigned to be the point person for specific schools.
Opdycke said her priority is getting the board members more involved with each school’s PTA, so parents have more access to their assigned board members. She added that she wants to partner with Community Organizing & Family Issues, an organization that prioritizes families from marginalized groups, to ensure voices underrepresented in PTAs are heard.
In consideration of further SDRP spending cuts, Pinkard said she wants the district to evaluate its partnerships with other organizations in the city, such as the McGaw YMCA and Evanston Public Library.
“The school doesn’t have to be the provider of everything, but it should be the connector of resources and the people,” Pinkard said.
Wymer said he aims to help develop a five-year strategic plan with “clear benchmarks” to track the district’s equity work. This would replace the current plan, which is set to expire at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
Anderson questioned the legality of federal executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public schools and insisted board members should remain focused on the needs of District 65 students. Wymer agreed.
“I’m proud that (my campaign) said we don’t have to compromise our values in order to be financially sustainable and accountable, and I think that resonated with folks,” Wymer said. “We are in a climate right now, where nationally, there’s a lot of risks for our marginalized populations and communities.”
Email: j.baker@dailynorthwestern.com
X: @jdowb2005
Email: a.prakash@dailynorthwestern.com
X: @anavi_52
Related Stories:
— Quiana McNeal named new ETHS principal
— Anderson, Pinkard, Opdycke and Wymer pull ahead in D65 election
— Martin wins open seat, incumbents reelected in D202 election
