Evanston RoundTable
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Seeking to fill a vacant spot on its board, Evanston/Skokie School District 65 garnered interest from 13 candidates for the position who submitted applications by last Friday, Sept. 2.
Marquise Weatherspoon, the former vice president of the school board, resigned effective immediately on Aug. 8. Weatherspoon herself was appointed to a vacancy left by Rebeca Mendoza in 2021, and she served for about a year on the board.
Under Illinois law, the school board has 60 days from the resignation notice to appoint a replacement, so it has a deadline of Oct. 7 to fill Weatherspoon’s spot. This week, the board approved closed session meetings scheduled for Monday, Sept. 12 and Wednesday, Sept. 14 to discuss the candidates and their applications, and Board President Sergio Hernandez previously said he and other members plan to announce their pick at the next regular board meeting on Monday, Sept. 19.
The RoundTable obtained the names of the candidates from School Board Secretary Adeela Qureshi. Below is a list of the applicants, with information about their backgrounds gleaned from online research:
Although some of the candidates are involved with education-related nonprofits, many of them work in business, finance or real estate as their day job.
The RoundTable submitted a Freedom of Information Act request with District 65 to obtain the applications submitted by each candidate, including their answers to free response questions about how they would approach the role and their priorities if selected. Currently, the district is working on adding necessary redactions to the applications before completing the request, according to Qureshi, but the RoundTable will post an updated story in the coming days with more details about the candidates once they are available.
Duncan Agnew covers Evanston public schools, affordable housing, City Hall and more for the RoundTable. He also writes long-form investigations, features and the morning email newsletter three times a… More by Duncan Agnew
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The Evanston RoundTable is the community’s leading source of news about local government, schools, civic and artistic activities, and other important issues facing our city. We seek to foster civic engagement and empower people to address complex issues facing our diverse community, promoting a better understanding and appreciation of people of all races, ethnicities, and income levels.
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