The following are questions developed and shaped by the Lake Forest-Bluff community for prospective school board candidates endorsed by the Lake Forest Caucus, and any challengers that may arise.

FISCAL MATTERS

Currently, 55% of property taxes go toward LF schools, and only 46 cents of every dollar in gross revenue is allocated toward classroom instruction- including teacher salaries. 

Q1: Do you feel that the current property tax rate and allocation to classroom spending is acceptable? If not, what steps will you take to create meaningful reforms?

 

TRANSPARENCY

There have been several instances where the District did not promptly inform the public that employees were terminated or resigned due to misconduct involving inappropriate relationships or activities with students. This lack of disclosure arguably (1) undermines trust and accountability within the District, (2) limits the ability to identify additional student victims, and (3) fails to deter future misconduct.

Q2: Do you believe the Board should establish and publicly share clear protocols for reporting misconduct allegations and ensuring transparent communication with parents and the community?

Q3: Do you think the District should promptly report any sexually related misconduct to the community and to the parents of children who were in contact with the alleged perpetrators?

Transparency and public access to information are essential to effective governance, as mandated by the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA operates on a presumption that all public records are accessible to the public unless they fall under specific exemptions. These exemptions are to be interpreted narrowly to promote government accountability. Under Illinois FOIA, while certain documents may qualify for exemption, it is generally permissive rather than mandatory for the District to withhold them, allowing discretion to release information unless restricted by another law.

Q4: How do you view the role of FOIA in ensuring transparency in school district operations? Do you support a policy where the District exercises discretion to release information whenever possible, even if it qualifies for an exemption? What would be your approach to handling FOIA requests and discretionary disclosures as a board member?

 

STUDENT SAFETY

The Illinois legislature passed Faith’s Law to protect children from adults who might use their positions in schools to commit sexual misconduct. This law includes provisions to prevent a school district from quietly terminating employees for sexual misconduct or grooming, which could allow those individuals to be hired by another school without the new employer knowing the reason for their previous termination.

As of July 1, 2023, the Act requires school districts to conduct employment history reviews as part of the hiring and vetting process for new employees. This suggests that employees hired before July 1, 2023, may not have undergone these employment history reviews.

Q5: Do you support retroactively reviewing past employers for employees hired before Faith’s Law was enacted?

 

ACADEMICS

The charts below reflect declining Math and English scores on the SAT by LFHS students since 2017, as reported in the Illinois Report Card. 
 
Q6: Why do you believe SAT performance at Lake Forest High School has consistently declined compared to four to six years ago, and are you satisfied with these lower scores? 
 
Q7: Do you feel the current school board has effectively addressed this issue, and what additional measures would you recommend? Would your plan include a thorough audit and evaluation of the curriculum and teaching practices?

APPROACH TO THE ROLE

A school board member’s approach can range from providing oversight of the school administration to fully supporting and implementing the administration’s vision and priorities. 
 
Q8: On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 represents a role focused on enabling the administration’s goals and 10 represents a role centered on oversight, where do you see yourself? Please explain.