District 135 Welcomes New School Board

During District 135’s special and organizational Monday evening meetings, newly elected School Board Members Tara Schreiber and Dave Shalabi were sworn in alongside Linda Peckham-Dodge who was later elected Board President. The Board thanked outgoing members Angie Sexton and Greg Okon for their service. Sexton withdrew her candidacy in late February, citing personal and professional reasons, and Okon was defeated in the four-way race for three seats earlier this month.

The election that swept Orland Park with change brought Shalabi, a local real estate agent, back to a familiar role as a District 135 Board member where he served for two years after being appointed in 2015 to fill a vacancy. Schreiber is a political newcomer who works as a corporate accountant and holds a commercial pilot’s license. Both have children in the district and cited frustrations with recent changes such as Common Core and standards-based grading as their motivation to seek office.

Approximately fifteen minutes after the 2017-2019 School Board adjourned for the final time, the Organizational Meeting was called to order with Shalabi and Schreiber taking their seats for the next four years. The first three actions unanimously elected the new suite of Board officers; Linda Peckham-Dodge replaces Dr. Laura Berry as Board President, Michael Maratea replaces Devin Hodge as Vice President, and Sandra Kulak replaces Angie Sexton as Secretary. Berry and Hodge will continue to serve as members of the board, both will be up for election in 2021.

Brief discussions followed regarding the appointment of board members to the board committees, organizations, and the new advisory committees, of which applications for are currently open to community members, parents, and staff members. The application will remain open until May 12, the day before the next board meeting.

The new board will be diving in head first to tackle some serious and imminent issues, including filling a vacant Superintendent’s position, developing advisory committees, and balancing a budget currently $2.1 million in the hole. These pressing issues are compounded by continuing concerns from parents surrounding technology integration, Common Core, standards-based grading, and transparency.

The next board meeting will take place on May 13 at Century Junior High. The Committee of a Whole meeting will begin at 6 PM and the regular meeting is scheduled to start at 7 PM, as usual. The Board is expected to appoint board members to board committees, establish delegates to organizations to which the Board belongs, and discuss the selection of advisory committee members from the applications received.