Readers React to School District 161 Candidate Forum

Following the Flossmoor School District 161 candidate forum, residents and attendees were quick to share their opinions with Patch on Facebook and the Homewood-Flossmoor Patch website. With five candidates running for four seats on the board of education, the impressions left by the candidates might be what sways the polls in their favor.

See what area residents said about the forum below.

Lilly Melin said: “We will definitely be voting for Stephen, Lisa and Christine. Not impressed with the others.”

Tammy Anderson said: “In my opinion, the best statement of the evening was made by Stephen Paredes when he said that learning is a social experience, and technology is—and will always be—a tool that needs to be implemented by human beings to be successful. The worst statement was made by Timijanal Boyd Odom. Unlike every other candidate who recognizes the need for greater transparency in the wake of what has been going on in the District recently, she thinks the best thing to do is sweep things under the rug and "not air our dirty laundry in public" for the sake of our real estate taxes. I was dumbfounded.”

Flossmoor Gal said: “It's true though that if rumor, gossip and innuendo continue to be spread then people in and outside of our district will perceive that our schools are inferior or in trouble. I took Ms. Odom's comment to mean that, as opposed to sweeping real issues under the table. I thought the two incumbents (Marks and Odom) were more informative, knowledgeable and obviously more experienced than the rest but also Ms. Harrell and Dr. Amuh seemed genuinely interested and competent and had some good points. Those four will get my votes.”

Nick002 said: “Is the focus on "open communication" referring to plans regarding curriculum, finance and technology, which I wholly agree with, or is this more about folks wanting the nitty gritty details about personnel matters with which they disagree? If it's the latter, it is way off base. Any Board member who promises to be more open about that is inviting lawsuits against the district. If Odom's comments were an artless way of making this point, she is nonetheless correct. If you air dirty laundry about people you're letting go, you'll never be able to recruit good ones to replace them. They'll see how the board and community handle these types of conflicts and stay away.”

Don Popravak said: “Flossmoor is an affluent community with a median income of $110,000 dollars which is double the State of Illinois median household income. Also, the majority of our citizens 25 years and older (66.3%) have a Bachelor's degree or higher. We are not the City of Chicago school systems! Basic education skills like reading and math begins at home with both parents participating in the early development skills to prepare children for a successful educational path. It's a known fact that children who are involved in music arts perform at a higher level of math than their peers. So in my opinion any early childhood education should include a music programs. Additionally I would include foreign language being taught at a much earlier level, we start much too late in our school system.”

What are your thoughts on the forum and the candidates? Let Patch know in the comments section below.

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