Meet District 157C Board Of Education Candidate Sital Bhargava

FRANKFORT, IL — The upcoming election is less than two weeks away, and early voting has already started. In Frankfort and Mokena, 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. Sital Bhargava is one of the five candidates running for a position.

Bhargava lives in Mokena with her husband Nikhil and their three children, who attend schools in the district. She went to medical school at Midwestern University and has a Masters in epidemiology from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She works as a family medicine physician.

Bhargava believes the most pressing issue facing the district is increased transparency.

"The schools are a vital part of the community and we should be aware of the issues that the school board discusses and decides upon. I would like to see a live feed of the school board meetings to include members of the community who cannot attend meetings," she said. "In addition, we should seek out the opinions of community members, teachers and other stakeholders when making decisions and I would like to see more public participation in meetings. One way to make this happen would be to provide detailed agendas so community members can prepare better for meetings."

She said her reason for running for the board stems from the lack of transparency with the Illinois Association of School Boards resolution regarding allowing guns in schools.

"The board did not provide any information regarding this vote to the community before they took a decision. There was no discussion involving parents, teachers and students. I would like this to change with key issues," Bhargava said.

Other issues that define her campaign platform include focusing on children's mental well-being, and improving diversity and cultural competency.

"I have been a family physician for 15 years, practicing with the highest ethics and standards. I would take this elected role seriously and do my best to include voters’ opinions and thoughts," Bhargava said.

For more information about Bhargava, you can visit her Facebook campaign page.

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

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