Science Teacher Jessica Pritzker is running for the District 34 School Board, along with two other canidates James Dolan and Eva Giglio, whom run unopposed. The election takes place on  April 1.

    Meeting once a month, the board discusses the best choices regarding the Glenview community, Pritzker said. Looking for academic and social growth for students, as well as progress for teachers, the board works to create plans to create a stronger school system, Pritzker said.

    “[The District 34 Board] oversees the [District 34] budget, hiring and firing [teachers], and different policies,” Pritzker said. “There are committees of administrators, teachers, and board members that help run certain aspects [of District 34].”

  Each candidate initially applies to run on the caucus, in which an interview is held, asking the candidates about opinions on certain issues regarding the district, Pritzker said. The caucus helps to discuss policies and elect canidates.

“There are [different districts] around Glenview, and they have two [representatives each], with an alternate representative from each precinct,” Pritzker said. “Each neighborhood [will] have somebody on the caucus.”

   Being an involved Glenview citizen, Pritzker offers many valuable characteristics to the board. Since there are no teachers on the board, Pritzker is looking to offer a well-rounded perspective to the district.

   “I was a student [at South], I’m a parent in the district, and I’m a teacher [at South],” Pritzker said. “I’ve also been an administrator, so I have a lot of knowledge [about the community].”

   As the members are working to help the community as a whole, there is not solely one goal of the board, Pritzker said. Having heard about how school boards are becoming more politicized and intense when discussing controversial topics, Pritzker wants to bring citizens’ voices in a calm manner to discussions within the board.

   “Politics should be about working together as a unit to help the community, not one person in particular,” Pritzker said. “A lot of people have feedback, and the only way to make a functional school board is to step up and [talk about it].”