Oak Park Election Endorsements: The Journal Makes its Picks

The Wednesday Journal makes endorsements for village president and the crowded District 200 school board race.

The Wednesday Journal made endorsements this week for the local elections that are contested, including the village president seat and the crowded District 200 school board race. The election is Tuesday, April 9. By policy Patch does not make endorsements during elections. But read below for the Journal's picks and links to its full endorsements.  Agree? Disagree? Tell us who you'll vote for in a letter to the editor.  Endorsed: John Hedges Also running: Anan Abu-Taleb What the Journal says: "By his actions as a village trustee over the past six years, John Hedges has proven himself to be an independent person with a critical eye, particularly on spending levels at village hall and the lack of forward motion in solving nagging process …

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Letter: Steve Gevinson Most Qualified, Trustworthy Candidate for D200

An OPRF graduate writes in support of school board candidate Steve Gevinson.

Thirty years ago, early in his career as an accomplished and dedicated OPRF English teacher, I was Editor of Tabula and Steve was the yearbook’s faculty advisor.  Over hundreds of conversations about literature, yearbook excellence and navigating an often overwhelming high school, Steve became a trusted mentor and friend. From this, I know firsthand the deep and lasting influence Steve has on individual lives. In the years that followed, I watched Steve rise to English Division Head, chair the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, and serve on the longstanding Governance, Management, and Organizational Structure Committee.  Through these leadership roles, he helped diverse groups tackle complex issues and arrive at consensus solutions – …

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Lower Tax Bill Coming After OPRF Board Approves Abatement

District 200 board members voted to abate the bond and interest levy, aiming to provide relief to taxpayers.

Residents in Oak Park and River Forest can expect lower tax bills in 2014 from District 200 because of the board's action on the tax levy earlier this week.  The school board approved a tax abatement of about $2.4 million, the entire amount of the bond and interest levy, part of the district's tax extension that was approved Dec. 20.  "The abatement was brought forward in an effort to provide some relief to taxpayers without affecting the district’s ability to levy in the future," according to a district news release. With approval of the abatement, District 200 will transfer money from the working cash fund to its bond and interest fund to pay its debt this year. This is a one-time reduction of the tax bill followed by a larger increase …

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Dennis Bracco

11:26 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013

Folks, here's your chance in April. His name is Anan Abu-Taleb- for Village President. Time to bring real financial understanding into Village government...he's actually run a business! And brings consensus and discipline to organizations. Stop in and meet him at his restaurant- Maya del Sole. Dennis Bracco Life-long Oak Park Resident   more ›

D.200 Superintendent Gets New Five-Year Contract

Agreement assures that Steven Isoye will remain at OPRF until June 2018.

Oak Park River Forest District 200 has given its superintendent a ringing endorsement, awarding a new five-year contract to Steven Isoye. At a special meeting, the school board by 5-1, with one absent, decided to give him a contract that would keep him as the district's leader through June 30, 2018. His current agreement expires June 30, 2013. The lone dissent, Sharon Patchek-Layman, made it clear she supported Isoye's employment and believes he is the person to do the job. However, she wanted to see more detailed language about his goals included in his contract, district spokesman Karin Sullivan said. “I am so proud and so thrilled at the opportunity we have in front of us,” Board President Terry Finnegan said in a statement released on …

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OPRF Board Wrestles Again With Racial Gap in Student Success

District 200 board calls disparity in testing scores "abysmal, unsettling, uncomfortable."

OPRF Closed Campus Budget Partially Approved

Nearly $500K will help implement new policy, while $1.8 million for renovations is put on the backburner.

The school board for Oak Park-River Forest High School moved forward with its partly closed campus implementation by approving more than $470,000 for the modified campus budget, according to Wednesday Journal. That money will go to annual budget additions, including personnel, furniture and security upgrades, as well as one-time items, including installing a new security system and upgrading technology. An additional $1.8 million for facilities renovations in the proposal wasn’t decided on at the July 12 meeting, after members said they needed more details about what the money would be spent on, Wednesday Journal reported. The board approved the new closed campus model in May, restricting juniors and seniors to off campus lunch privileges…

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Conway Recognized for Service

District 200 School Board praises his commitment to students and the community.

Jacques Conway has attended an Oak Park and River Forest High School board meeting for the last time. After swearing in successor Valerie Fisher at Thursday's District 200 board meeting, the board unanimously adopted a resolution paying tribute to Conway's years of service to the community. A former member of the Oak Park police force, Conway was first elected to the board in 2005 and re-elected in 2009. He served as school board president and liaison to a number school and community organizations. He resigned in May for professional and personal reasons, leaving two years remaining on his term. Calling him impossible to replace, former colleagues noted that students were always at the heart of his service to District 200. Fisher said …

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District 200 Seeks Replacement for Conway

Sudden absence leaves spot on board vacant — and you can apply to replace him.

Now that two-time Oak Park River Forest High School District 200 board member Jacques Conway has resigned his post, the search is on to fill his vacant seat. School officials say the Illinois Board of Education will accept letters of interest through June 15 from Oak Park and River Forest residents who want to serve the rest of Conway's term, which ends in April 2013. According to the state's rules, an appointment must take place within 45 days of the departure, but officials say there's not much in the way of procedures to guide the replacement process. Now, the board is opening up the process to anyone in the community who's interested. Any registered voter or qualified elector who's a resident of Oak Park or River Forest and is age 18 …

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OPRF Campus Will Remain Open to Some, With Conditions

District 200 school board will decide next week exactly how to change long-standing lunch policy.

Freshmen at Oak Park and River Forest High School who were looking forward to being sophomores next year for off-campus lunch will have to wait a while longer. The status quo will be out to lunch, literally. After getting letters, e-mail and phone calls from residents for weeks about the merits of closing campus or allowing it to remain open, the District 200 school board weighed in for the first time Thursday. Using a nonbinding straw vote, board members unanimously dropped the current policy that’s been in place since the 1990s – a closed campus for freshmen and open campus for sophomores, juniors and seniors. Now, a majority of the board is leaning toward allowing juniors and seniors — under certain conditions —to leave campus during …

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