Melissa Owens

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Melissa Owens

School District U-46 Board of Education At-large

Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

8

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

April 1, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Augustana College, 1990

Personal

Birthplace

Elmhurst, Ill.

Profession

Program coordinator

Contact

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Melissa Owens is an at-large member of the School District U-46 Board of Education in Illinois. She assumed office in 2017. Her current term ends in 2029.

Owens ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the School District U-46 Board of Education in Illinois. She won in the general election on April 1, 2025.

Biography

Melissa Owens was born in Elmhurst, Illinois. She earned a bachelor's degree from Augustana College in 1990. She has attended the Miami University of Ohio for graduate study. Owens' career experience includes working as a volunteer program coordinator with a local nonprofit organization and as a small business owner. Owens has served as a board member with the School District U-46 Educational Foundation, as a planning committee member for the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago, and as a volunteer with several habitat restorations in Kane and Cook Counties in Illinois.

Elections

2025

See also: School District U-46, Illinois, elections (2025)

General election

General election for School District U-46 Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

Incumbent Melissa Owens, incumbent Veronica Noland, and incumbent Dawn Martin won election in the general election for School District U-46 Board of Education At-large on April 1, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Owens (Nonpartisan)	34.5	12,552
✔		Veronica Noland (Nonpartisan)	33.3	12,126
✔	Submit photo	Dawn Martin (Nonpartisan)	32.1	11,684

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 36,362
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Owens received the following endorsements.

• Elgin Township, Illinois, Democratic Party

2021

See also: School District U-46, Illinois, elections (2021)

General election

General election for School District U-46 Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

Incumbent Melissa Owens, incumbent Veronica Noland, and Dawn Martin defeated LeJewel Crigler in the general election for School District U-46 Board of Education At-large on April 6, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Owens (Nonpartisan)	31.3	3,592
✔		Veronica Noland (Nonpartisan)	29.5	3,391
✔	Submit photo	Dawn Martin (Nonpartisan)	23.2	2,670
	Submit photo	LeJewel Crigler (Nonpartisan)	16.0	1,839

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,492
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: School District U-46 elections (2017)

Three seats on the School District U-46 Board of Education were up for election on April 4, 2017. Incumbents Veronica Noland and Donna Smith and newcomer Melissa Owens won seats in the race. Incumbent Cody Holt and challenger Enoch Essendrop were defeated in the race.

Results

School District U-46, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Melissa Owens	25.74%	9,824
Donna Smith Incumbent	24.64%	9,403
Veronica Noland Incumbent	24.09%	9,195
Cody Holt Incumbent	14.96%	5,710
Enoch Essendrop	10.56%	4,032
Total Votes		38,164
Source: Kane County Clerk, "2017 Consolidated Election Contest Results," accessed May 1, 2017DuPage County, Illinois, "Election Summary Report," accessed May 1, 2017Cook County Clerk, "April 04, 2017 Consolidated General Election," accessed May 1, 2017

Funding

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2017

School board candidates in Illinois were required to file campaign finance reports if they did one or both of the following:

• 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.

Owens reported no contributions or expenditures to the Illinois State Board of Elections in the election.

Endorsements

Owens was endorsed by the local teachers' union.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Melissa Owens did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Melissa Owens completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Owens' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Four years ago, I sought election to the Board of Education because of my belief that public schools are the foundation of our community. I wanted to play a role in making sure School District U-46 serves our students and families well. I still believe in the importance of a robust public school system. I am proud of our accomplishments over the past four years, including increasing the number of social workers, counselors, and mental health supports in our buildings; bringing one-to-one technology to all students – a process that was in place even before the pandemic; strengthening our career-readiness programs; and protecting local taxpayers by abating tax dollars toward our long-term debt. Looking forward to the next four years, the school board has numerous challenges to address. Many facilities are aging, and imbalances in capacity utilization exist across the district. We have service gaps resulting from the pandemic, and we are likely facing renewed funding constraints at the state level. The school board also needs to re-align our strategic plan goals to set up our students for future success. I welcome these challenges and respectfully ask for the opportunity to continue serving our community's residents.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Experienced District and Community Leadership

• Responsive and Equitable Use of Resources
• Support for a Culture of Educational Innovation

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Locally, recovering from the pandemic emergency is the most pressing concern. The pandemic obviously affected families, students, and staff members in profoundly different ways. The district must assess how students may have been affected (for example, social-emotional needs, learning gaps, missed opportunities in extra-curricular activities) and implement the services and programs necessary to help students recover some of those gaps. Beyond COVID-19 concerns, the district struggles with equity issues as evidenced by our persistent achievement gap and disparities in discipline and identification for specialized services. I am thankful for our Equity Committee's work and look forward to seeing progress in these areas under the Equity Plan framework.

Funding continues to be my biggest concern at the state level. The district made significant investments in our students due to the funding formula change passed in 2017. However, to continue to make gains in reaching funding adequacy, the current law calls for minimum increases to school funding each year to be distributed to the highest-needs district – including U-46. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, funding was held flat for FY21 and will likely be held flat for FY22. Holding funding flat may cause the district to lose ground in reaching the same funding targets as many of our neighboring districts. If elected, I will continue to advocate for fair funding with our locally elected officials.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I was to my first term as a U-46 Board Member in 2017. Previous to that, I was a member of the U-46 Community Advisory Council beginning in 2010. During that time, I held the following leadership roles: Special Education Committee Co-Chair 5 years, Vice-Chair 1 year, Council Chair 2 years. I have also volunteered at various school and district functions, including spearheading a special-needs parent resource fair which ran for five consecutive years. I am passionate about public education and am committed to doing the work necessary to offer our students an outstanding educational experience. As a board member, my highest priority will continue to be to listen with intention to the community, consider differing viewpoints, carefully weigh our options, and work toward decisions that reflect the best interest of the community as a whole. I welcome these challenges and respectfully ask for the opportunity to continue serving our community's residents.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The role of a school board member involves several different responsibilities. Central to these responsibilities is the need to be well-versed in local educational challenges across the entire district. School District U-46 comprises 57 schools encompassing all or parts of eleven different municipalities across three counties; keeping abreast of local issues requires a considerable amount of time and effort. Board members must be prepared for agenda items in advance of board meetings so that there is time to solicit answers to questions on a wide range of items, including instructional initiatives, proposed curriculum, expenditures, contracts, student or staff concerns, policy changes, or budgetary items. Board members should listen and acknowledge constituent concerns and should alert the superintendent when an action is requested or necessary. Board members should advocate for the community's interests but must also respect the board's decision once a vote is cast. Board members should also remain informed on state and federal legislation, legal opinions, and local developments that directly impact the delivery of educational services.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first clear memory of a historical event was coming home from school to the news of President Ronald Reagan's attempted assassination in 1981. I was 12 years old at the time and in Junior High School. That proceeding fall was the first time I remember having a mock election in school; I was probably more aware of President Reagan than any President before him because of that activity. Even though I was still pretty young, I remember sensing how destabilizing the event was to the adults around me.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

The primary role of a school board member is to guide the direction of the school district. We do this by setting the vision and strategic goals for the district, implementing and revising district policies, approving and overseeing the budget, approving curriculum and instructional initiatives, and employing a superintendent to execute the goals set by the Board. To accomplish that, board members must continually monitor student learning and progress, listen to constituent concerns, and engage with the public-at-large.

Who are your constituents?

Of course, our students and families are our most direct customers and are the stakeholders most affected by the decisions of the Board. That said, our staff members are also heavily reliant on a well-managed school district and an active and engaged Board of Education. Also, I believe that public education is one of our most important public institutions and is the cornerstone of a healthy and vibrant community. Residents of our community not only fund public education; they also have an enormous interest in the degree to which our students become productive members of the community as adults. As a current Board Member, I believe that all of these groups - students, families, staff, and members of the community - are stakeholders with a vested interest in the district's success.

What are your views on how to address schooling during pandemic times?

On July 27, 2020, the U-46 School Board authorized a fully remote start to the school year, followed by a phased-in hybrid solution for families wishing some in-person learning, which I supported as the safest way to proceed for the school year. Aside from a pivot back to fully remote learning between Thanksgiving and the winter break due to spiking COVID-19 numbers, we have stayed relatively on-track with that plan. Along the way, I have advocated for additional flexibilities in meeting the needs of students. I also advocated for finding ways to safely and equitably increase in-person instructional time in ways that do not negatively impact students that have opted to remain in distance learning.

With new guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education and the CDC, we have a revised plan to increase the in-person instructional time for students already in our hybrid learning model for the remainder of the school year. I support this additional in-person time; however, I will continue to press for instructional equity between in-person and remote students. We already know that BIPOC communities have been disproportionately affected by both COVID-19 and inequities in educational settings. As the second-largest school district in Illinois with a large BIPOC population, it is incumbent on the Board to monitor student learning and advocate for needed resources for our students most at-risk of pandemic-related challenges.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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