Meet District 157C Board Of Education Candidate Larry Kociolek

FRANKFORT, IL — The upcoming election is less than three weeks away, and early voting has already started. In Frankfort, one of the contested local races is the race for the District 157C Board of Education. There are four open spots on the board in the upcoming election on April 2. Larry Kociolek is one of the five candidates running for a position.

Kociolek lives in Frankfort with his wife, Lisa, and three children. He has a MD from Saint Louis University School of Medicine and a Master of Science from Northwestern University. He has worked as a physician-scientist for the past 13 years.

Kociolek was appointed to the board in 2017, and is now seeking a 4-year term.

Kociolek said an imporant issue to him is to continue to advocate for the needs of all children.

"While test scores are among the best in the area, I understand that this is not the only marker of success," he said. "I will continue to encourage our school administrators to identify opportunities to improve academic growth among children whose learning style may not align well with the standard curriculum. I will also advocate for extra-curricular activities that appeal to a wide range of interests."

Other issues that define his campaign platform include: ensuring facilities are suitable, and recruiting and retaining effective educators.

"Our school district is in a fortunate position to be experiencing a period of strong academic growth and financial security," Kociolek said. "A successful term [as board member] would be to ensure continual growth, particularly among subgroups of children whose growth may be less than other subgroups, coupled with smart use of public funds to maintain a relatively low cost per pupil compared to other area school districts."

Kociolek also believes his professional background aligns with several responsibilities of a school board member.

"I am a pediatric infectious diseases physician and hospital epidemiologist, so I have a solid foundation in principles of child safety and public health," he said. "I am a scientist so I understand the need to make decisions based on reliable data with a plan to understand how decisions impact the intended outcomes. As a director of a hospital safety program, I understand that decisions can be made only with a clear understanding of how all stakeholders are impacted."

For more information, you can visit Kociolek's Facebook page.

There are four open positions on the District 157C Board of Education in the April 2 election. The other candidates are newcomers Sital Bhargava, Brian Skibinski and Michael Bouck, and incumbent Edith Lutz.

If you are a candidate in the upcoming April 2 election, you can email andrea.earnest@patch.com for a candidate questionnaire.