Four candidates will appear on the ballot to fill four open positions on the District 65 School Board in the April 9, 2013 election: Candance Chow, Claudia Garrison, Tracy Quattrocki and Sunith Kartha. Absent a write-in candidate, the race will be uncontested.
Peter Kaplan, who filed nominating papers to run for School Board, will not be certified to appear on the ballot, Pat Markham, secretary of the District 65 School Board, told the RoundTable. Mr. Kaplan failed to file on a timely basis a receipt from the Cook County Clerk certifying that he had filed a statement of economic interests with the Clerk, said Ms. Markham.
The School Code provides that nominating papers “are not valid” unless the candidate files the receipt with the secretary of the school board within the time required to file the nominating papers.
Mr. Kaplan said he had filed the statement of economic interests with the Clerk and had a completed copy of the receipt, but he had failed to file it with District 65 through “an oversight.” He told the RoundTable when he dropped off his nominating papers on Dec. 17, he had more than enough signatures and was led to believe he was all set. He added, “I am not blaming anyone other than myself though, as this was my responsibility.”
Candance Chow, an Evanston resident for 15 years, has two daughters who attend Kingsley. She previously served as PTA president at Kingsley and is a member of the District 65 Wellness Council, a founding member of Caring Outreach by Parents in Evanston, and a classroom volunteer. She holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and currently owns her own management consulting firm. She has more than 20 years of professional experience in leading improvements in both business and nonprofits in the areas of strategy development, innovation and operational performance.
Claudia Garrison formerly taught at Haven Middle School, having retired at the end of the 2011-12 school year. At Haven she served as chair of the Language Arts and Reading Department for seventh and eighth grades. For a period of time, she served as the representative of the District Educators Council (DEC, the teachers’ union) to the School Board’s Finance Committee.
Sunith Kartha, an Evanston resident for almost 12 years, has a daughter who attends Orrington and a son at Unity Nursery School. She has volunteered at both schools, and has served on the board at Unity; she is currently serving her second year as co-president of the Orrington PTA. She did her undergraduate study at Northwestern University and received a law degree from Chicago-Kent University. She practices advertising/promotions law and currently works as a contract attorney for Information Law Group.
Tracy Quattrocki, a long-time Evanston resident and alum of Evanston Township High School, has children who attend Dewey, Nichols and Evanston Township High School. She has served on the District 65 School Board for the last four years, currently serves as chair of the Board’s Policy Committee and has served on the Green Committee, the Park School Committee, the Inclusion Committee and the Joint District 65 and 202 Committee. Ms. Quattrocki received her Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies at Yale University and taught at the college level for several years. Before serving on the School Board, she was a volunteer in the District’s schools for many years, including president of Dewey PTA.
After being dropped from the ballot, Peter Kaplan said he considered running for the School Board as a write-in candidate, but that he decided not to do so “at this time.” He added, “If, as we learn more about the candidates, it is evident that I can add something to the Board that the current slate of candidates cannot, then I may toss my hat into the ring.”
Mr. Kaplan is a Lincolnwood parent, holds a masters in Public Policy and is a professional services consultant.