DeKalb District 428 school board candidates talk DEI

DeKALB – While the majority of candidates voiced strong support for programming and initiatives centered around diversity, equity and inclusion, one DeKalb School District 428 board hopeful said she’s concerned about potential lost federal funding.

Seven of 10 school board candidates answered questioned a recent virtual forum by Shaw Local News Network.

Funding concerns

President Donald Trump’s administration issued a memo on Feb. 14 warning America’s schools and colleges that they could lose federal money over “race-based preferences” in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life, The Associated Press reported. On Friday, the U.S. Education Department announced that more than 50 universities were under investigation for alleged racial discrimination as part of Trump’s campaign to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The February memo focused on higher education institutions, though Trump previously signed an executive order threatening to cease federal funding for K-12 schools that teacher “discriminatory equity ideology” or “gender ideology.” But it’s unclear exactly what programs the state would have to end to comply with the orders. The Illinois State Board of Education responded that it won’t tell Illinois schools to ban DEI programs, despite funding threats, however.

Candidates respond

School board hopefuls in attendance – Nick Atwood, Kristin Bailey, Brandon Elion, Erin Grych, Marilyn Parker, Derek Shaw and Howard Solomon – were asked whether they support initiatives and programs in DeKalb schools that have started as a result of district jobs centered around diversity, equity and inclusion and why.

Candidates Jose Jaques, James Mitchell, Twangie Smith and Mark Charvat, who is running unopposed for a two-year unexpired term, were not in attendance.

The consolidated election is April 1.

Candidates' responses, listed in alphabetical order, have been edited down for length. To check out their full responses from the recent forum, see the video or listen to the podcast at www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/election

Atwood

Works as an appellate prosecutor for the state of Illinois and is an NIU law school graduate and adjunct faculty professor.

Response to DEI question:

“We have a very diverse school district. It’s almost a third, a third, a third between Hispanic students, African American students and white students. So, we have to have those types of programs because that’s reflective of who we are as a community. So, it’s very important that the kids are able to have those conversations, learn how to understand each other, interact with each other in a meaningful way and allow everyone to feel included.”

Bailey

Works as a marketing and communications specialist for an agriculture machinery manufacturer.

Response to DEI question:

“These issues are systemic, and this is something that I’ve studied a lot in my Ph.D program firsthand through qualitative research as well as through secondary research. In terms of understanding, I think it’s important in a lot of different ways not only for people who are historically marginalized and continually subject to hurdles that not everyone is. I think these efforts are important for them, but they’re also important for those of us who have various degrees of privilege in certain areas and ways for us to learn about our different experiences, our very different lived realities.”

Elion

Has a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology with an emphasis in criminology and works at Nestle.

Response to DEI question:

“I think we should invest in them more. Not just DeKalb but DeKalb, Cortland, Malta – everything that encompasses District 428 – it’s extremely diverse. If you look outside of the district, the state, the world – everything is diverse. I think our children all need to have equal access to the education. If we’ve created jobs whose main role is to support initiatives towards making sure that everything is equal and cost-effective, no matter how much money you make, where you live, I think we need to do everything possible that we can understand the sun, the moon, the stars to support that."

Grych

A music teacher, who attended DeKalb schools.

Response to DEI question:

“I think we need to hire based on merit not on numbers. [...] I think gender identity is not something we should be teaching. [...] We are to be the adults, we are to be the protectors. And I don’t think it’s helpful to tell teachers, and belittle them for who we are. I think we all bring our own diversity no matter if I’m white. I do not feel that I have white privilege. And I feel that we are beating our teachers over their heads saying ‘You are a bad person if you’re white.' And if we look at Martin Luther King, that is not how we are supposed to judge each other. We are supposed to judge each other based on the content of our character.”

Parker

Has a Masters of Arts degree in educational administration, a Bachelors of Science degree in home economics and a license and certification in special education.

Response to DEI question:

“I concur with the other candidates who agreed that DeKalb is a diverse community, and that we should continue to strive for equity. Why? Because we are DEI. The university, our community, our stakeholders – look at us. This is what we do. This is our life now. And our children are going to school together. And we should strive to make sure there’s equity."

Shaw

Works as a graduate teaching assistant for the Earth, Atmosphere and Environment Department at NIU. Has Masters degree in public administration from Kansas State University.

Response to DEI question:

“We need to address systemic racism. People pretend like those factors don’t exist because of the current political climate. It’s just reality. We need to not go back, not regress on society as educators just because it’s the time that we’re in right now. But we also need to be able to find common ground. I think it’s good that parents have shown more interest in what their kids are learning since COVID, and that’s not a bad thing. But I think there needs to be a balance. There should be a little bit of trust instilled in our teachers. They do a hard job for not a lot of money during these times. So, it’s very important that we try to support them as much as we can and not try to put all these executive orders on them. But let them teach and have academic freedom.”

Solomon

Previously served on school board from 2015 to 2019. Holds a Ph.D. in instructional system design from Florida State University, Master of Education from NIU.

Response to DEI question:

“I absolutely support diversity, equity and inclusion. It strikes me we’ve actually remodeled buildings, put in exit ramps that are for inclusion so that a child can get to a classroom in a wheelchair. It’s going to make our schools way back better. It has made our schools better. The general sentiment that says we have to exclude it is flat-out wrong. If I am granted the opportunity to decide anything that relates to diversity, equity and inclusion, I am going to support it.”

The Associated Press contributed.