Community Consolidated School District 21 Board of Education member Phil Pritzker recently lead an Illinois delegation of public education supporters to Washington, D.C. to meet with elected officials and advocate for public schools. The 24-member delegation, made up of 17 board members and 7 superintendents representing 14 different Illinois school districts, joined with more than 700 other school board members and administrators for the National School Board Association’s Advocacy Institute.
The Illinois delegation advocated for students and schools in meetings with Congressmen Schneider, Hultgren, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, and LaHood; Senators Duckworth and Durbin; and staff from the offices of Congressmen Kinzinger and Roskam.
“With a new administration promising to expand public dollars for private schools, it is incumbent on all school board leaders to advocate fiercely for our students and schools,” Pritzker said. “It is critical that school boards retain local control along with the responsibility for accountability in order to make decisions that prepare all students for success.”
Delegates also received briefings on topics like Title I and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) grant funding, the Child Nutrition Act, and federal mandates and the importance of local control. In addition, delegates heard from a variety of senators and representatives, including Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Patty Murray, the chairperson and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Pritzker is president of the Illinois Association of School Boards and has served the CCSD21 community as a school board member since 1989.
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