Candidate for District 15 School Board 2-Year Term: Barb Kain

Help the Engage D15 candidates bring new, and needed leadership to the District 15 School Board. Click here to get voting information for the April 4th election!

Meet Barb Kain

Barb Kain is a concerned District 15 parent and a founding member of the group 4RD15Kids, who played a key role in the recent defeat of the $130 million referendum. She works in the education field, and is the mother of children who attend Gray M. Sanborn Elementary School.

Barb has been married to her husband, Pat, a 37-year Palatine resident, since 2006. Together they are parents to two boys, a 3rd and 2nd grader, in addition to Molly, the family dog. The family has been involved in Palatine Youth Baseball (PYB) and Celtic Soccer where Pat has been a coach to their sons’ teams for the last three years, and Barb has been the Team Mom. Other community involvement includes her volunteering for the D15 Community Closet, The Bridge Youth and Family Services Walk/Run 2016, and the League of Women Voters, as well as being a member of the Sanborn PTA and serving as a room mother.

As co-founder of 4RD15Kids, Barb acted as the spokesperson for the group and worked tirelessly to engage, inform and educate D15 stakeholders about the inherently flawed building bond referendum. The ballot question was defeated by a near 3-1 margin. The group’s position was that, although many of the proposed ideas had merit, the plan was too rushed, lacked sufficient community engagement, and was not vetted thoroughly enough to justify the goals or the price tag connected to it.

Barb’s recent experiences working to educate the community about the referendum inspired her to become more active and involved with D15 by running for the Board of Education. Her overarching goal is to provide stronger and more comprehensive representation for the children, families and D15 community at-large. Additionally, she wants to ensure all students receive a top-notch education, while holding D15 administration to the highest standards of fiscal responsibility and accountability.

Barb holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is employed by Township High School District 214, where she works in the District Office. She previously worked in the Student Services Department at Glenbrook North High School, and is a member of the National Education Association.

Why run for school board? Barb’s goals are to help restore the community’s trust in the school board by focusing on greater transparency and community involvement in decision making. The rich history of the community and its school buildings are important to Barb, and she is committed to ensuring proper work is being completed to keep community buildings safe and updated, while also ensuring that space is being utilized to maximize learning and student opportunities.