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Name:
Eric Nush
What office are you seeking?
Board of Education - Lockport Township High School District 205
What is your political party?
Republican, but School Boards are non-partison
What is your current age?
34
Occupation and employer:
Director of Technology, Homer School District 33C
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
I have not held any elected public offices previous, however I have experience on School Boards for the past 17 years. My professional roles have always required me to attend School Board Meetings, and often prepare proposals and present at School Board Meetings. I have held various roles on non-public offices boards and advisory committees, including Home Owner Associations, Church Leadership Boards, Illinois Learning Technology Center Mentorship, and various other professional organizations.
City:
Lockport
Campaign Website:
N/A
Education:
Lewis University - Bachelor - Dean’s List, Early Graduation
National Certified Educational Technology Leader (CETL) Brainstorm K20 Conference Presenter (2025, 2024, 2023, 2019, 2018) IDEAcon Conference Presenter (2025, 2024, 2019)
Illinois Learning Technology Center Conference Presenter (2025, 2024) Illinois Education and Technology (IETC) Conference Presenter (2022, 2017) Certified Google Educator
Certified Microsoft Expert
Community Involvement:
As both a staff member and a parent at Homer School District 33C I have a unique opportunity to provide volunteer work with their PTO that utilizes my professional skillset. I have helped assist and setup for large events such as Trunk-or-Treat, Movie Nights, 8th Grade Social, etc. I have also regularly participate in hosting Classroom Parties for all three of my children, chaperoning for Field Trips, etc. While a lot of these events overlap with my professional responsibilities, they are completed as a volunteer basis.
I am also an active member of my church, volunteering my time and skillset to provide professional services. I also frequently volunteer at other school districts in Illinois in offering mentorship, advice, and labor when needed to help their Technology Department through complex problems.
Marital status/Immediate family:
I have been married to my wife Jennifer for 11 years, and we have three children. We moved to Lockport in 2020, and specifically choose the Lockport area due to the wonderful school districts. All three children currently attend Homer School District 33C, and will be future students at Lockport Township High School District.
Questions:
Do you think the district should keep investing money to keep Central Campus open or should the district spend more to build a new high school and if so where?
The topic of Center Campus is complex, and needs more investigation and transparency. I do not believe all the options have been considered or discussed (at least not at Public Board Meetings), and a lot of valid options have been dismissed already. The newly elected board will have the task of making the final determination of Central Campus. I personally do not believe spending more than $85 million at Central Campus is the best option at this time. It is not the best use of money for our Students, Teachers, of this Community. Even if all the proposed construction was completed at Central Campus, it will still lack many critical features that our students need. The community would have spent $85M+, and still had a building that lacks classroom space, lacks office space, lacks storage space, lacks parking space, lacks proper Physical Education spaces, and also lacks many common safety features. I also do not believe a brand new high school is an option at this time. It would result in a large tax burden on our community, and would result in excess/empty space at the current East Campus. I would encourage looking into the options of expanding the current East Campus to hold all of our students. Enrollment is continue to trend downwards for the next few years - and there are no projections of large growth in the near future. Through planning, minor renovations, and an addition to the building - there should be enough space at the East Campus to hold all of our students that currently attend Central Campus. It would also greatly improve the current facilities at East Campus, and the district could focus it’s efforts on one building. This could be completed for a smaller financial investment - and will also has many benefits. It would reduce the overhead of running a completely second school building, increase the efficiency of the taxpayer dollars, and improve the opportunities and learning environment for all our students. It could solve the Transportation Issues and provide Bus Services for all our students. We could solve the Parking Issues to ensure every student has the opportunity to drive/park at school (and not just the lucky few who win a lottery). There are opportunities to make small changes that will have a significant improvement for all our students.
How can the district improve reading and English proficiency and state test scores?
The first step in solving a problem is admitting we have a problem. We need to be able to look at the facts instead of cherry-picking statistics that favor good perceptions. If we compare all the School Districts in Illinois that have a High School, Lockport is exactly in the middle. Our score of 37 percent ELA Proficiency ranks as number 244 out of the 489 districts. That is exactly 50 percent. In the eyes of the state our 37 percent Proficiency is “average”, and I strongly believe our community deserves more than “average”. If we take away the outliers and compare ourselves only to districts with similar social-economical indicators; then we are actually “below average” and fall down to the 27 percent rank; and many spend less-per-student compared to Lockport 205 In basic terms, if you compare school districts across the state with similar communities as Lockport - 73 percent of them are achieving better scores while spending less money. In my eyes this is not acceptable, and we need to be focusing on a plan to improve this. I have watched every school board meeting for the past few years and there is very little focus on academic achievement. I strongly believe the districts top priority should be academics - and we should be setting high goals to achieve academic success. This issue starts with leadership. The School Board needs to set high goals for the Superintendent and closely monitor those goals.
What is your stance on ICE agents accessing school grounds, and what policies would you advocate for regarding their presence on school property?
While this can be a complex issue, the law is very clear on the outcome. This is also a very rare occurrence and has a low possibility of impacting Lockport 205. Any Law Enforcement, regardless of their department, cannot force access on school grounds without a signed warrant. This is current Federal and State Law - and the school board has no choice but to enforce these Laws. This applies to ICE Agents also. All employees have to pass criminal background checks as a condition of their employment, and I’m confident our School Resource Officers would be aware of any convicted criminals with active warrants that are either employed or as students in the district. The school district does not track immigration status, so the school district has no information to present. There are State and Federal Laws that make it very clear; the school district has a duty to protect both staff and students from any illegal conduct. This includes not only the physical person, but also their personal information. The school district could not release information to ICE regardless of any policy, it is against FERPA regulations. Similar, if a properly signed warrant is presented, the school district would have to comply; regardless of any policy. Individual school policy cannot contradict or interfere with State and Federal Laws.
What are the top three issues that the school district is facing right now?
This newly elected board will have three priorities that have to be addressed in the immediate future. This election will determine who decides how these issues are addressed.
1) Building/Infrastructure/Financial Issues
The issue of Central Campus is not resolved and cannot be fixed overnight. The new board members will have to work together to find a solution to this problem. They will have to address how to solve the current issues, how to solve future issues, and how to financially afford it. Tough decisions will have to be made. In my option solutions can be found that will not pass costs to the taxpayer. The district needs to have a serious look at it’s Financial Health to find a way to pay for improvements without adding additional taxes. This problem has been overlooked for many years, but it cannot be avoided any further. It is time to make a decision, and should be a high priority for the new board.
2) Academic Achievement Issues
Lockport High School has potential to be a high performing district, but we are currently missing that significantly. The posted scores continue to fall every year, yet the district manages to cherry-pick statistics that look good. The Administration needs to be tasked to develop a plan to solve this. This cannot be fixed overnight, but can be addressed over the next few years. We need to set high standards and high goals - and hold Administration responsible to achieve those goals. Districts with similar social-economical status are higher achieving while spending less dollars; Lockport 205 needs a vision to resolve this.
3) Leadership Issues
This next School Board will determine the future leadership of Lockport 205. The current Superintendent has a Retirement Date already set, so we know a there will be leadership change. The Superintendent is the leader of the district, and follows the directives/vision of the School Board. It is critical that the best person for the job is hired for this role - and specifically someone who aligns with the School Board’s vision. The next School Board will be responsible for interviewing and selecting the new Superintendent. The new Superintendent will be responsible for creating a team to run the district. The School Board holds the Superintendent accountable, and the Superintendent has to hold their leadership team accountable.
What is your position on allowing students to use cell phones during school hours?
During instructional class time, personal cell phones should not be seen or heard. They can be in a pocket or bag, but should not be out and used. This should apply equally to both students and staff. There is no academic or instructional benefit to allowing personal cell phones to be used; however there is a benefit during emergency situations. For classroom needs every student already has a district-issued Chromebook to be used for instructional purposes. I am in favor of policy allowing responsible and common-sense cell phone usage during passing periods, lunch periods, on the bus, and after-school. All school policies would have to still apply (appropriate content, no bullying, etc).
Do you think cell phone policies should allow exceptions for emergencies or specific educational purposes? If so, how would these exceptions be defined?
Yes, I believe cell phones should be allowed to be kept on the student (either in pocket or bag) for emergency purposes. There is no harm in doing this, and policy can be created to cover these purposes. I do not believe they should be allowed for educational purposes. If there is an educational purpose for having access to technology, then the school district needs to be providing the technology. Not every student has a cell phone, and there could be various family finances or family reasons why a student does not have a cell phone. The technology provided by the district needs to be adequate to complete the required instructional purposes, and curriculum/lessons should be aligned and planned with the available technology in mind.
What steps would you take to address concerns about cyberbullying and inappropriate content access through student cell phones?
There are current policies that address cyberbullying and inappropriate content. This applies to both district-owned devices and personal owned devices. The same policies apply to cell phones as they do to handwritten notes or magazines. If the content is inappropriate, it does not matter how it was accessed; it’s still inappropriate. If bullying occurs, it does not matter what device it occurred on; it still occurred and needs to be addressed. The school board needs to ensure the policies and rules are being followed appropriately, and that expectations are being enforced.
What is your plan for making district financial reports, including budgets and expenditures, publicly available and easy to understand?
Financial information should be presented monthly at board meetings. There are many simple ways to present this in easy-to-understand methods. A simple chart showing expenditures compared to budget should be standard. Further broken down budget items should be presented and accessible. This doesn’t need to be a long monthly report, but a five minute update can give the community a great snapshot of the Financial Health. The district should also have a dashboard on their website that shows all this financial information. It should never be hidden, and should never be complicated. Currently this information is buried in the Board Agendas, and is multiple PDFs that are hard to understand. There should be an easy interactive tool to see the financial information and track if over time. There needs to be more transparency regarding finances and where the money is being spent.
How would you involve parents and community members in the decision-making process for curriculum or policy changes?
All curriculum and policy changes need to be approved by the school board during public meetings. However the planning and discussion leading to these changes should also be held during the public meetings. It does not show transparency or trust when a item is voted on at the board meeting with no discussion; that just shows that the item was already discussed previously and the decision was made. This can be changed with setting up Board Committees for Curriculum, Policies, and any other items that need attention. A Board Committee would require open public meetings to be held; not just private meetings with handpicked representation. This could be a open discussion style of meeting that encourages participation. All viewpoints need to be heard and understood, and then the school board is tasked with approving the final decision. The school board cannot just be a rubber stamp - they need to work together with parents, teachers, administrators, and the community.
What is your position on banning books in school libraries or classrooms, and how do you define the criteria for such decisions?
There is current Illinois Law that does not allow banning of a book specifically, however it does allow schools to moderate and control the topics/content of their school libraries. School libraries need to be used for educational purposes, and the content of the library needs to support the instructional needs of the district. Parents should have full visibility into the library catalog, and visibility into the materials being checked out by their students. This should be accessible in an easy-to-use platform provided by the district. If the current system cannot handle this, then a new system needs to be implemented. There also needs to be a review process in place that will allow for inappropriate content/topics to be reviewed by Administration and the School Board.
How would you balance maintaining appropriate class sizes with the current teacher staffing levels?
Class Sizes need to have a firm limit - and once that limit is reached a new section needs to be opened. What the exact limit is depends on many different variables. This includes certified staff available, classroom space available, budget allocated to hiring teachers, special education ratio mandates, etc. While lower class sizes are generally a perceived benefit, an in-depth review would need to be done to see what the current levels are at, and what room there is for improvement. I am in favor of lower class sizes, but if we need more physical classroom space then that needs to be addressed first. There are also considerations that to lower class sizes specific electives or offerings may need to be reduced. These are all items that will need to be reviewed and discussed by the School Board.
Do you believe the district is allocating enough resources toward hiring and supporting teachers, and if not, what changes would you make?
It is difficult to make this determination as a current parent because I have never seen a presentation done on this topic. This is a topic that more transparency needs to be done on. I know that payroll is significantly the largest part of the annual budget; however it is not broken down on where that payroll goes to. I believe a review of the full payroll needs to be done to see exactly where the dollars are going to. What amount is spent on teachers versus administrators. What percentage is spent on paras, clerical, custodian, and other support staff. I feel there are some areas where there is a current perception of overstaffing; but without a detailed presentation it is hard to make that determination. The main purpose of a school is to educate students; so every dollar should be prioritized to go towards instruction and teaching staff.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I believe there needs to be more availability and conversation with the school board. There needs to be more “Town Hall” style meetings where open discussion is encouraged. The Public Comment at School Board Meetings is not designed for this. Currently all the public sees is the final decision, and they do not see any of the discussion and justification for the decision. There needs to be a strong focus on building trust and transparency with the community. Many times a simple conversation can correct any misunderstandings or calm any fears. I am well known for being an open person and have the ability to talk to anyone. That can be in person, over the phone, or via email. There also needs to be an open platform for discussion for those who cannot physically attend meetings. With current technology every school board member should be available via an official school email address, and should be expected to respond in a reasonable amount of time.