Serve LTHS Hispanics Better: New Board Member

LA GRANGE, IL – Elvia Nava, an engineer from La Grange Park, is the newest member of the Lyons Township High School board.

At a special meeting Wednesday, the board unanimously voted for Nava as the seventh member. She fills a seat left vacant by Julie Swinehart, who resigned a day after graduation.

In emails Thursday, the board told rejected applicants that it had settled on a candidate. It did not identify the person.

Of the 15 candidates, Patch had been able to confirm on Monday that nine had received the rejection letters. Nava and Leah Werab, a former La Grange School District 102 board member, declined to say.

In Nava's case, she told Patch that it had called her work phone and that she could not speak about the school board position. She declined to answer whether she was the chosen candidate, likely because she was told to keep that fact secret.

Nava, who lives in La Grange School District 102, said she grew up in a blue-collar, low-income, underrepresented community. She said she surpassed major barriers to succeed in life and graduate from a Big 10 university, studying engineering.

"(U)nfortunately, the majority of the Latino ... families at LTHS are still of lower income," Nava, who is Hispanic, wrote in her application to the board. "It is important for these students and families to see minorities in leadership roles (in) their community... LTHS has a 25% Latino population that I believe has room for improvement to be served better."

Nava also said her engineering construction background would be helpful in assessing which building improvements need to be made on the school's two campuses.

On LinkedIn, Nava lists herself as a senior project manager at Parsons Corp. in Des Plaines.

She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering. She later received her master of business administration degree at National Louis University.

As a board member, Nava must undergo training in the state Open Meetings Act, which requires that most public business be discussed in the open.

A couple of months ago, the Attorney General's Office issued a rare binding opinion finding the board in violation of the open meetings law. The office required the board to release recordings of two Jan. 23 closed sessions.

The meetings were about the school's controversial plan to sell its land in Willow Springs to industry.