Mirah Anti Appointed To Evanston Township High School Board

EVANSTON, IL — After no one ran for an open seat on the Evanston Township High School District 202 board in this year's local elections, the other six members of the board this week appointed an administrator from another north suburban school district as to fill it.

Mirah Anti is the director of equity and inclusion at Township High School District 113, which includes Deerfield and Highland Park high schools.

"I am truly honored to be on the 202 Board. I look forward to learning with and from ETHS staff, students, community members, and the Board," Anti told Patch via email.

District 113 created the districtwide position of equity and inclusion coordinator in 2018 and hired Anti to fill it.

Anti started as a social studies teacher in the district in 1994, later becoming a diversity coordinator at New Trier High School before returning to the district to teach social studies at Highland Park High School, according to the district.

Board President Pat Savage-Williams, an administrator at New Trier, said eight applicants were interviewed in closed sessions this month as part of the process, the Evanston RoundTable reported.

"I can say that there were highly qualified applicants. And therefore, the decision we made was difficult," Savage-Williams said. “Mirah is highly qualified, and I as well as my colleagues look forward to serving our community with Mirah, beside her in this capacity. "

Anti's eldest child is headed toward her junior year at ETHS while her younger is set to begin his freshman year, according to the RoundTable.

Growing up as both Jewish and Black shaped her career, Anti told EvanstonNow. Evanston may have an ethnically diverse population and racially integrated schools and workplaces but, she said, "we're not playing with each other."

The vacancy was created after former board member Jude Laude declined to run for reelection. No candidates filed paperwork to get on the ballot — or to run as write-in candidates, a method by which any of those who sought appointment by the board could have secured the seat simply by voting for themselves.

According to state law, her term lasts through the April 2023 elections, which will determine who fills the seat until 2025.

Related:
District 65 Names New Member To Fill Vacancy On School Board
Applications Open For Evanston School Board Vacancies
District 113 Appoints Equity, Inclusion Coordinator