Activist Toolkit

Holly Spurlock has not submitted answers to the Activist Toolkit questionnaire.

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1) What motivates you to seek this office? What makes you qualified to serve? What metrics of success do you plan on holding yourself accountable to? 

2) How do you make decisions? 

3) How will you work to ensure that D97 provides an excellent educational experience for all its students? What metrics of success do you plan on holding yourself accountable to?

4) How would you approach the budgeting process? 

5) What would you say to voters who are worried about the tax burden? 

6) Special education is mandated by federal law. How can District 97 better work to provide an excellent education for students in need of special education? 

7) How do you define equity? Have recent discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking? 

8) How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing our schools in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process? 

9) How should the District assess its policies and progress with respect to the racial disparities in its learning outcomes? As a Board Member, how will you determine whether the District is succeeding? 

10) Public schools have been faced with deciding whether or not to remove books from their shelves if a parent or group of parents deem the content to be inappropriate, too controversial or objectionable. How would you handle this issue and how should District 97 handle this question? 

11) After a two year hiatus, District 97 recently adopted a new intergovernmental agreement that creates a partnership with the Oak Park Police Department. What is your vision for a safe school environment? How do police officers in the schools relate to that vision? 

12) What approach should District 97 take towards intergovernmental cooperation initiatives such as the Collaboration for Early Childhood Development? Are there other specific initiatives that you would like to implement or expand upon? 

13) What approach should District 97 take towards intermunicipal cooperation with neighboring communities? Are there specific initiatives that you would like to implement or expand upon? 

14) What lessons learned from the pandemic’s early years do you believe will continue to be applicable to the ways that schools operate? 

15) The School Board’s primary responsibility is oversight of the Superintendent. District 97 hired a new superintendent, Dr. Ushma Shah, who started with the district in 2022. What criteria will you use to evaluate the success of Dr. Shah’s tenure? 

16) Do you see a role for the Board in ensuring that the climate at District 97 schools is welcoming to students in minority populations, whether racial, religious identity, LGBTQ, etc.? What specific actions or policies would you propose? 

17) A new report issued by the Centers of Disease and Control found that in 2021, very large numbers of students experienced poor mental health. Twenty-two percent of students seriously considered attempting suicide and ten percent attempted suicide. These feelings were found to be more common among LGBQ+ students, female students, and students across racial and ethnic groups. What can D97 do to address this trend?