Jean Forrest
Jean Forrest was a candidate for at-large representative on the Township High School District 211 school board in Illinois. Forrest was defeated in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017. Forrest ran as part of a candidate slate with fellow challengers Katherine David and Ralph Bonatz.[1] None of the members of the slate won election to the board.[2]
Forrest participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read Forrest's responses.
Elections
2017
Three seats on the Township High School District 211 school board were up for general election on April 4, 2017. Board incumbents Robert LeFevre and Anna Klimkowicz filed for re-election to their seats on the board. They were joined on the ballot by challengers Jean Forrest, Katherine David, Ralph Bonatz, and Edward Yung.[3][4] LeFevre and Klimkowicz won re-election to their seats, and Yung won the other seat on the ballot.[2] Forrest, David, and Bonatz ran together as a candidate slate.[1]
Results
| Township High School District 211, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Anna Klimkowicz Incumbent |
20.16% | 10,093 |
| Robert LeFevre Incumbent |
17.66% | 8,843 |
| Edward Yung |
16.51% | 8,267 |
| Katherine David | 16.07% | 8,045 |
| Ralph Bonatz | 14.80% | 7,412 |
| Jean Forrest | 14.66% | 7,340 |
| Write-in votes | 0.15% | 73 |
| Total Votes | 50,073 | |
| Source: Cook County Clerk, "Consolidated Election April 4, 2017 Summary Report," accessed April 19, 2017 | ||
Funding
School board candidates in Illinois were required to file campaign finance reports if they did one or both of the following:[5]
- Accepted contributions or made disbursements in an aggregate amount of more than $5,000 during the calendar year
- Accepted contributions or made disbursements in an aggregate amount of more than $5,000 during the calendar year for communication via television, radio, or internet in support of or in opposition to a candidate, political party, or public policy
The first campaign finance deadline was February 27, 2017, and the second campaign finance deadline was April 3, 2017.[6]
Forrest reported $9,364.00 in contributions and $77.33 in expenditures to the Illinois State Board of Elections, which left her campaign with $9,286.67 on hand in the election.[7]
Endorsements
Forrest was endorsed by Illinois Family Action and the group D211 Parents for Privacy.[8][9]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Jean Forrest participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[10] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on March 9, 2017:
| “ | School board officials are entrusted with the stewardship of community resources to provide educational opportunities for all of our children. I value education highly. As a mother of two high school students, I want to make certain that our students take first priority when allocating funds. We have a great school district now, and I am passionate about taking our school district to the next level of excellence. At the same time, I am committed to respecting our neighbors’ tax dollars by using them efficiently and responsibly. I want to maximize the return on investment for taxpayers, making the very most of their hard-earned resources to serve our children.[11][12] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Illinois. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| “ | Currently our district has about 134 million in cash reserve which is over 50% of the annual budget. This is much more than is called for in the Board policy and more than needed to achieve a high rating with the state. The reason for this big cash surplus was because the expenses were overestimated so basically we were overtaxed in the past. Our district's enrollment has gone down in the past several years and the spending has gone up. As an actuary with over 10 years of working experience in financial auditing and asset/liability management, I can help our school board make sound fiscal decisions. If elected, I would like to freeze or lower the D211 property taxes without sacrificing the quality of education received.[12] | ” |
| —Jean Forrest (March 9, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Standardized tests are a partial metric of student achievement. The current grading system seems to be adequate. However each student is an individual, and we will need to be careful when it comes to measuring the success of each individual. We can have less reliance on standardized tests and more emphasis on teacher recommendations for placement. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. I understand that the teachers work long hours beyond the regular workdays to grade homework, to follow up with school parents and to participate in school activities. the district should have more flexibility in giving out monetary rewards to highly effective teachers. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. While I like the idea of having broader choices for our students and their families, it is not within the school board’s discretion to decide on the voucher system or any other means of school choice. Again, I am proud of our topnotch public school system and am passionate about continuing the excellence of our school district. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used as a last resort. The school board should review expulsion cases individually and get the parents involved. The school board should consider alternative solutions before a student with behavior problems be expelled. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Student-teacher ratio |
Slate website
Forrest, David, and Bonatz highlighted the following issues on their slate's campaign website:
| “ | WATCHDOGS FOR OUR PROPERTY TAXES
REPRESENT
|
” |
| —Ralph Bonatz, Katherine David, and Jean Forrest (2017)[13] | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Daily Herald, "District 211 candidates debate finances, management," March 9, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cook County Clerk, "April 04, 2017 Consolidated General Election Search For Results," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Cook County Clerk, "Candidate Filing for April 4, 2017 Consolidated Election," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Township High School District 211, "Board of Education," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "A Guide to Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed January 5, 2017
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar 2017," accessed January 5, 2017
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Disclosure Search," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Illinois Family Action, "Candidates for School Board in Districts 211, U-46 and 15," February 21, 2017
- ↑ D211 Parents for Privacy, "Alerts and Action Steps: April 4th, 2017 - Local Consolidated Election," accessed March 30, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Jean Forrest's responses," March 9, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bonatz, David, Forrest for D211 on April 4th, "Issues," accessed March 22, 2017
| Township High School District 211 elections in 2017 | |
| Cook County, Illinois | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Anna Klimkowicz • Incumbent, Robert LeFevre • Ralph Bonatz • Katherine David • Jean Forrest • Edward Yung |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
