JOSHUA GERTZ

candidate for 2025 District 200 School Board

Joshua Gertz 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 sets you apart from other candidates? What metrics of success do you plan on holding yourself accountable to?

2. What do you see as the three biggest challenges or opportunities facing District 200 in and what role do you see the Board playing to address them over the next four years? 

3. What is your decision making process? What steps can the Board take to ensure transparency, clear communication, and community engagement – hearing from the broad spectrum of families about their experiences of the Oak Park River Forest High School, and the full range of District 200’s constituents? 

4. Please share your thoughts about District 200’s current financial picture. What’s your understanding of the Board’s role in the budgeting process and the allocation of resources? Do you have organizational finance experience?

5. What would you say to voters who are worried about the tax burden? What are your thoughts about the Imagine Project, ongoing facility maintenance projects and how capital costs should be approached and balanced with the educational program offered to students?

 

6. How will you work to ensure that District 200 provides an excellent educational experience for each student? What metrics of success do you plan on holding yourself accountable to? 

7. Special education is required by federal law. Please share your understanding of the special education programs at District 200 and how you will work to ensure that District 200 provides an excellent education for students in need of special education?

8. What is your impression of the implementation of District 200’s Access for All detracking curriculum redesign program and of detracking efforts generally? 

9. District 200 has taken some steps to move away from policing and surveillance in schools toward restorative justice, mental health supports, and other services in schools. Do you think these moves have been successful? Please explain. What work do you believe remains to be done in this area? 

10. Do you see a role for the District 200 Board in ensuring that OPRFHS is welcoming and safe for students in minority populations, whether immigrant, racial, religious identity, LGBTQ+, etc.? What specific actions or policies would you support? Please share your thoughts about District 200’s role in responding to recent national executive orders.

11. Researchers continue to report that significant numbers of students experience poor mental health. Many students seriously consider attempting suicide and a subset of these students attempt suicide. What can District 200 do to address this trend? 

12. What approach should District 200 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 with other local and or regional governing bodies and nonprofits?

13. Should District 200 handle the question around the removal of books from library and classroom shelves, curriculum and other instructional tools if community members deem the content to be inappropriate, too controversial or objectionable? 


14. One of the District 200 Board’s primary responsibilities is oversight of the Superintendent. What criteria do you believe the Board should use to evaluate the performance of the Superintendent?

15. Last November, Oak Park voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that proposed that voters be able to approve ordinances and policies though a direct vote. At this point the vote on the ballot initiative was advisory or non-binding. The next step is for the Village or any other taxing body in Oak Park (as reported by the Wednesday Journal, November 7, 2024) to decide whether or not to place the issue on the ballot as a binding referendum. Please share your views on this initiative.