D123 Board Candidates Face Off In Forum

OAK LAWN, IL -- Candidates for on the Oak Lawn-Hometown Dist. 123 school board faced off in a forum Tuesday evening at Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School. The candidates forum was hosted by the Dist.123 PTA Council sponsor and facilitated by the Orland-Palos League of Women Voters.

Voters will decide on three candidates in Consolidated Election on April 2. Early voting is underway in suburban Cook County.

Incumbents Theresa Roche, Jennifer Fortier and Julie Misner are being challenged by newcomers John Byrne, Robert Crosby II and Beverly “Becky” Pacetti. The candidates fielded questions from the audience, including:

1. If you win a seat on this board will your role primarily as a representative of the community, or as representative of the school system?
2. What specific strengths will you bring to the board table and do you have any personal goals you hope to accomplish?
3. What do you believe the maximum class size should be for grades K through 5?
4. How will you work with teachers and administrators to stop bullying in general and cyber-bullying in particular?
5. Have you reviewed the Dist 123 strategic plan which is the roadmap for the district for the next 5 years and if so, what do you think of it?
6. What is your opinion of SBG Standards Based Grading?
7. Do you believe that security for the district is adequate and would you ever support arming teachers?
8. How can the district improve on inclusive education for the children with disabilities and how would you improve special education?
9. Do you think it’s possible to cut costs and still provide great education and provide Art, Spots and Music?
10. Why are property tax amounts for Dist. 123 so much higher than Dist. 122?
11. What do you see as the most important issue currently facing Dist. 123?

The forum lasted two hours, including opening and closing statements. Patch streamed the forum live on Facebook. Watch the whole forum or part of it to find out where the D123 board candidates stand on the issues. Read their bios on the D123 website.

Replay of D123 board candidates forum live stream.