Candidates Key to 205's Future Success

Good Evening!

By now, a few of you may know that I will enthusiastically be giving Bojana Carey, Christopher Kocinski, and Stephan Schlesinger my vote in the upcoming election for the Community Unit School District Board of Education. I hope I have sufficiently articulated why, but, in going to restate the reasons (and in addressing this "Letter to the Editor"-style post) realized I had perhaps omitted the most important one--WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE.

Many if mot most of us are more than residents. We are "friends of 205" and various campaigns within it between election cycles. Sometimes we are supporters of it, and sometimes we are thinkers and questioners within it. But, from new parents who move into the district to seniors who take pride in the multiple ways they have helped invest in the growth it has experienced, we all are more than "connections" to 205, more than its pals or homeowners who dwell within boundary lines. We ARE 205.

As we approach Election Day, April 2, we have eight candidates running for four School Board positions. Each brings experience and his or her piece of the 205 story to the table. Some were heavily involved in that recent chapter in which we voted to move a $168.5 million referendum from a ballot initiative to a ratified master facility plan. No matter how everyone felt about the referendum, the efforts of the aforementioned candidates marked a significant moment in 205's history.

However, I would argue that an even more significant achievement will be implementing the MFP in a manner that addresses the visions and concerns of all stakeholders, that makes transparency and meaningful engagement a natural part of our everyday dialogue, and that prioritizes accountability but paves the way for a future in which we will be able to concentrate even more on collaboration.

Bojana, Chris, and Stephan are all Edison parents. Yet they are not part of an Edison slate or even a common slate. They are unique individuals with views that do not always prove identical to each other. Having dialogued with them about class size concerns, which extend far beyond Edison, I have witnessed in them a willingness to obtain the most comprehensive research to assert the most logical and persuasive arguments. They value the spirit of compromise but are also people of strong character; thus, they'll work with everyone at the table to find a solution to a problem but will never, along the way, forget the problem that first stirred them to take a stand in the first place.

During this campaign season, I have heard Bojana, Chris, and Stephan tackle topics including but not limited to: changes to special education, teachers' ability to express their perspectives freely and/or to communicate with the Board, equity throughout the district, and, unsurprisingly, class size. I have watched parents/voters reach out to them and entreat them, quite simply--if elected--to be trustworthy. To not just hear problems presented to them, to not just be "connected" to them. This election, voters want more than a friend of 205 or a representative of various individual (albeit amazing) initiaitives. They want candidates who ARE 205. Who ARE the community.

To me, Bojana, Chris, and Stephan mean something that extends far beyond one event, one moment in our past such as the referendum. They are more than our present . . . which is arguably at hand in the decision we will make when we vote. Bojana Carey, Christopher Kocinski, and Stephan Schlesinger are our potential for the best implementations possible. They're the future WE deserve as 205 stakeholders--and that, most importantly, our children deserve as direct beneficiaries of the outstanding Board of Education these three candidates can help comprise.

Please support Bojana Carey, Chris Kocinski, and Stephan Schlesinger on or before April 2. It's time to consider who we are, how that is embodied in our Board--and who will deliver the future we can and should have.

Katie Marsico

39-year-Elmhurst resident and mom of six