Feed ’em Soup is hosting Meet Your School Board Candidates today to give citizens an opportunity to learn more about the five individuals running for a District 428 school board seat.

DeKalb County Clerk John Acardo said there will be three seats vacated on the District 428 school board at the end of this term.

“DeKalb has several school boards,” Acardo said. “This year, for specifically the DeKalb school district, there are five people on the ballot for three seats.”

Desirable qualities of a school board member are subjective, said District 428 Superintendent James Briscoe.

“I think the local residents have different perspectives on who they want,” Briscoe said. “Members who are passionate about education and positive about the school district tend to serve the board of education in a positive manner.”

Board Vice President Tracy Williams said he thinks integrity is the biggest asset of an effective school board member.

“The board is there to guide and set the example for the school district,” Williams said. “And the board needs to have that integrity if they expect others below them to have it; leading by example. The idea is you want candidates with integrity so that they can lead by example.”

Members of the school board complete a variety of tasks. The state of Illinois defines a school board as an entity put in place to support the superintendent of its respective district. Williams says the board does more than that.

“…Whether it be of a publicly traded company or not for profit or governing body, what a board is there to do is be the liaison between stakeholders and management,” Williams said. “That is the job. You are there to bridge the gap between constituents, stakeholders, taxpayers and administration, and make sure executives are carrying out the wishes of the constituents, stakeholders or taxpayers.”

Being a board member is a time-consuming duty, Briscoe said.

“It’s a very complicated position, because as an elected official you have to learn about school finance, district policy and all the different aspects of school organization, including facilities and state funding,” Briscoe said. “It’s a complicated system, so it takes board members time to learn when they first get elected, and as they learn all of that, it gets easier for them to serve.”

DeKalb, Malta and Cortland residents fall in District 428. Residents of the three cities are invited to attend the event today, which will be moderated by Cindy Lofthouse, DeKalb High School staff supervisor. Anyone who plans to attend may submit questions to ask the candidates immediately prior to the event.