Joliet Township High School board candidates talk test scores, diversity at forum

Joliet — Four candidates for the Joliet Township High School District 204 Board of Education spoke to members of the public Wednesday night at a forum organized by the Joliet NAACP and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority at the Joliet Public Library.

Some of the issues that candidates Christine Lynn (Bartz), Lorraine Guerrero Neumayer, Matthew Kennedy, and Sam Coffey were most focused on included test scores, student services, attendance and diversity of both students and staff in the district.

The election for the School District 204 Board of Education is on Tuesday, April 1. Voters will be asked to vote for three of the four candidates.

Matthew Kennedy

Kennedy has been on the board since 2019. He is a former JTHS teacher and currently serves as the dean of students at Chaney-Monge School District 88.

During the forum, he touted the district’s strategic plans to improve the school facilities and focus on improving students' college and career readiness by offering more dual credit, AP and career-focused courses, and by working to promote a county-wide internship program.

Some of the achievements Kennedy highlighted included the new culinary arts facilities at both high schools, new athletic fields and the new “link” connection designed to improve traffic flow within Joliet Central between its buildings and expand available classroom space.

Kennedy also praised the district’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts, including the hiring of district DEI director.

Part of the reason for the position, he said, was to increase hiring and retention of Hispanic and Black teachers, in order to be more reflective of the student population.

While Kennedy praised the school’s staff as “one of the best in the state,” he acknowledged that the district has a lower retention rate among Hispanic and Black teachers.

“We’ve made significant improvements in the last five years,” he said. “Not all people leave because of negative reasons, some move, and some have opportunities come up they think would be good for their careers. The fact is, there are only so many teachers of each ethnicity in the state and lots of districts are fighting for them. Our job is to be attractive to those teachers and make them want to come here and stay here.”

When asked what the district’s biggest weakness is, Kennedy said “academic performance is not where we want it to be,” acknowledging the district’s below-average test scores.

“Our data tanked after COVID, but we were going in the right direction before that, and we’re going in the right direction again,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy also addressed the district’s financial stability, in light of recent federal policy proposals. He explained that while he “knows people are worried” about potential funding cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, District 204 only receives 5% of its funding directly from the federal government, which would insulate it from significant budget issues if the department makes cuts or is shut down.

Lorraine Guerrero Neumayer

Neumayer was appointed to the school board in October 2020 and was first elected in 2021.

Neumayer works as a social worker for the State of Illinois and emphasized the importance of school programs that assist students in the district’s “high needs population” going through crises. She said that she wants to focus on those initiatives and expanding community partnerships if reelected.

“I’m so grateful we are in Illinois, in Will County, and in Joliet where we are surrounded by people who care and will keep making these changes no matter what happens at the Department of Education,” Neumayer said.

Drawing on her own experience she said as a Joliet Central student with a troubled home life, Neumayer suggested that issues with academic performance are linked to students feeling safe and stable.

“You can’t see student achievement unless they’re in school and they feel safe,” she said.

On the issue of safety, Neumayer addressed complaints that the district did not issue an immediate response to fears about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducting raids at schools.

“Before issuing a statement, we sought guidance from throughout the state and nationwide,” Neumayer said. “We wanted to make sure we were not targeted like locations in Chicago were, but we realize that we had to say something because kids won’t come to school if they don’t feel safe.”

Sam Coffey

Coffey is the only non-incumbent seeking a school board position. He is 19 years old and graduated from Joliet West in 2024. He is currently a student at University of Illinois Chicago.

Coffey emphasized his youth as an advantage, stating that he understands students' perspective.

Coffey said he believes the district needs to work on fostering a better school culture and to “bring the community into the schools.”

Some of the ideas he put forth to improve school culture included “getting rid of confrontational security practices” and “giving students a little more control over their days.”

Coffey also suggested that in order to prepare students more for post-high school education or careers, regular appointments with counselors should be facilitated starting during freshman year.

Coffey also argued that not enough was being done for students' mental health.

“I don’t think we do a good job preventing mental health crises,” Coffey said. “We need to be more proactive about it.”

When asked by the Herald-News what steps he believes teachers or staff could take preventatively to stop students from experiencing mental health struggles, Coffey said “if students have a good support system, it’s easier to deal with issues when they come up.”

He also suggested that more time with counselors could be used to foster better mental health.

“I think a good approach includes regular counselor check-ins to make sure students feel supported, ensure thy have a solid group of friends, and make sure they are building good relationships with adults in the building,” Coffey said. “We need to make sure students aren’t taking on challenges alone.”

Coffey drew the ire of the incumbent candidates during his remarks on school spending when he criticized the decision to build the link addition at Joliet Central saying it was “irresponsible to spend $20 million on a hallway.”

Kennedy called the assessment “a gross misrepresentation” of the project.

Christine Lynn

Lynn was first elected to the school board in 2020 and works as a teacher at Bolingbrook high school.

Lynn touted her educational experience as a multi-subject teacher, including time spent in special education and as an english second language teacher, as an asset in setting policy for District 204.

Lynn said her priorities for the district if she is reelected would be to focus on improving attendance, and “figuring out what we can do differently to help kids who catalyst isn’t working for.”

Like Neumayer, Lynn emphasized the importance of providing services for students who are facing difficulty at home or mental health issues, and said it is key to improving academic outcomes.

“Students can’t learn if they’re in mental crisis or if they don’t have food,” she said. “Fortunately, we have services for those things. Anything a kid might need to be success is here.”

One service Lynn suggested could be added to help improve absence and tardy rates is to have a staff member call home when a student comes in late or is regularly absent to find out why the problem is occurring and to address root issues.

Lynn also addressed several issues around the diversity of the district’s student body, including wanting to take a closer look at disciplinary data to make sure Black students weren’t be disproportionately punished.

“Most of our referrals are to Black students, which doesn’t not reflect our demographics,” Lynn said. “Most of our population isn’t African American, so what are we doing?”

When addressing a question from the public about the fact that students at District 204 speak 27 languages but all state tests are provided in English, Lynn acknowledged that it is a barrier, and said “kids are more than test scores,” suggesting that other means of evaluation are sometimes necessary in such a diverse community.