A slate of candidates that received endorsements from a local caucus, an educator union and a support staff union appears poised to win seats on the Glenbrook School District 225 Board of Education.
With all 62 precincts reporting Tuesday night, April 1, unofficial results showed incumbents Peter Glowacki and Matthew O’Hara and newcomers John “Jack” Downing and Beth Hope receiving a majority of the vote over opponents, and newcomers, Julian Cheng, Lowell Paul Eisenstadt and Lisa Kane.
District 225’s two high schools serve students in Glenview, Northbrook and Northfield Township, or portions thereof.
Glowacki, O’Hara, Downing and Hope ran together for four open seats on the seven-member school board after receiving an October endorsement from the newly created District 225 Board of Education Caucus. The candidates were later endorsed by the Glenbrook Education Association, the union representing District 225 teachers, as well as the union representing District 225 support staff.
Slate members identified mental health support, teacher and staff shortages, school safety, rising costs and providing an education that does not “adversely impact any student” as key issues facing the district.
“We feel good. We feel like our message was positive and well-received,” Downing said on election night.
A graduate of Glenbrook South, Downing said his high school years were influenced by what he called a “kids first culture,” in which educators helped students to find their successes and the confidence to pursue them.
“I’m really looking forward to refocusing on that and building on the standard of excellence [District 225] has had for so long,” Downing said, noting that the district last year was ranked second out of 12,192 schools in the nation by Niche, a school research company.
Glowacki, a resident of Glenview for more than 20 years and an attorney, currently serves as vice president of the board. This will be his third term.
“I’m proud of the race we ran and look forward to serving all the children and families in Glenbrook,” Glowacki said Tuesday. “Additionally, I’m excited to continue to support the strategic plan we developed and all the fruits it will bear for our families and children in the coming years.”
Matthew O’Hara is a Glenview native and a retired attorney who is completing his first term on the board.
Hope is a 14-year Northbrook resident and a licensed clinical social worker.
The four candidates were the first to be endorsed by the District 225 Board of Education Caucus, which identifies itself as a non-partisan group comprised of school board presidents and board members from five elementary feeder districts in Northfield Township.
