Summit Hill D161 Elected Board Officers

At the Summit Hill School District 161 Board of Education meeting April 30 the newly-elected board members were sworn in and officers were elected.

Sworn-in and seated at the Summit Hill School District 161 Administrative Center were newly-elected board members: Rich Marron, Pam Kohlbacher, Richard Ward and Dave Faber.

The terms for the former officers expired. The new officers were nominated and voted in. The board approved the following positions:  

President: Sean William Doyle

Vice President: Rich Marron

Secretary: David Faber

After the new board elected officers, board members discussed a desire to possibly abolish the policy committee. Doyle said the duty to initially review board policy changes from the IASB's PRESS service would then be handled by the full board rather than the board policy committee.  Some board members did suggest that the board finance committee be transformed into a superintendent advisory committee.  Both of these proposals will be considered at the May 8 meeting.

The board also discussed the possibility of abandoning its practice of hosting board meetings at district schools. Marron together with board members Kohlbacher, Faber and Ward agreed that technical problems frequently make it difficult for attendees to hear formal discussions. 

Members Stacey Borgens and George Perros agreed that while technical difficulties were annoying, the benefit of hosting meetings at the schools tend to override the issue. The two pointed out that the students and the school community in general seemed to appreciate the board coming to the individual schools. Borgens said the students benefited from the opportunity to present programs on their home turf before the board. 

Perros noted that he had observed a positive impact from the school community when the board held their meetings off-site. 

On the other hand, Doyle said the students seem to enjoy the more formal nature of the administrative building and its board room. The formal set-up of the room provides a sense of importance, something special.

Having heard each other's comments, the board voted 5-2 to maintain the practice of off-site meetings, adding that audio problems should be addressed. Marron and Faber cast the two "no" votes.   

The majority of board meetings are held at the Summit Hill District 161 Administrative Center, 20100 S. Spruce Drive.   

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