Decision time.. who will lead the 2012-2013 School Board

Remember last year when the process for choosing who would sit at the head of the School Board was questioned?

Well it's that time of year again and as far as I know, nothing about the process for choosing has changed. 1470 WMBD is reporting that current board vice-president Chris Crawford and board member Martha Ross will likely be nominated for board president. Ross has been on the School Board for nine ten years, longer than any other member. Crawford has been on the School Board since 2010.

Last year it was Ross vs. Linda Butler, with Butler winning the seat. Board member M. Lynne Costic voted with Ross. Voting for Butler, in addition to herself, were Debbie Wolfmeyer, Chris Crawford and new board member Rick Cloyd, who was sworn in that day. Laura Petelle was absent.

Currently, the only qualification to be president is to sit on the board for at least one year. A past policy required a board member to be vice president before becoming president. Source

Dist. 150 school board expected to elect new president

The Peoria District 150 school board apparently will be under new leadership the next fiscal year.

Sources tell 1470 WMBD current board vice-president Chris Crawford and board member Martha Ross will likely be nominated for board president when the panel holds its annual reorganization meeting Monday.

Current board president Linda Butler will not seek another one-year term as president.

Board member Rick Cloyd will likely be the lone nominee to replace Crawford as vice-president.

Board members could make other nominations during the meeting which starts at Noon Monday at the District 150 administration building. Source

Costic goes to bat for Ross

Recently appointed District 150 School Board member, M. Lynn Costic went to bat for Martha Ross at Friday afternoon's school board meeting. Costic, who was appointed to the school board via the straw poll process in January of 2011, expressed concern for using the straw poll process to decide who the school board president will be.

Yesterday's meeting gives citizens some insight into the divisions that may exist within the BOE. The discussion around fairness is disappointing, as the students and parents expect this BOE to be focused on the serious issues that we are facing here in Peoria. Division does not encourage stability.

Linda Butler chosen as District 150 board president Longest-serving member Martha Ross questions 4-2 vote's fairness

District 150 School Board Vice President Linda Butler was elected Friday as president of the board, which again passed over longtime member Martha Ross.

Ross has been on the School Board for nine years, longer than any other member. After Friday's 4-2 vote, she said the practice of selecting a board president was "unfair" and "biased."

"We as a board are supposed to model how we want our children to perform. We want our children to treat each other fairly ... but yet I really feel that is not what is happening with this board and it is a personal feeling that I have not been treated fairly for whatever reason," Ross said during the meeting, adding that "it has the appearance in this community as being discriminatory and biased."

Board member M. Lynne Costic voted with Ross. Voting for Butler, in addition to herself, were Debbie Wolfmeyer, Chris Crawford and new board member Rick Cloyd, who was sworn in Friday. Laura Petelle, who gave birth to a boy on Wednesday, was absent.

Costic questioned the straw poll process of determining who will lead the board meetings.

"I am just going to call it. Mrs. Ross is continually getting passed over and passed over, and there is a major concern from the community as to why this continues to happen, and if she is not being told why she is not being selected for the office of president after serving on this board for nine years, then shame on us as a board. She needs to know. I would like to know." - M. Lynn Costic -

Wolfmeyer, the board's outgoing president, said "This is an individual decision that board members make as to who they want at any given time to lead the board."

Butler said she supported Ross for two years after coming on the board, even nominating her one year as president, but that the votes just didn't fall in her favor.

Currently, the only qualification to be president is to sit on the board for at least one year.

Ross said the process "has been changed many times to fit the people who wanted to be in the position." A past policy required a board member to be vice president before becoming president, she said.

Butler, an administrator at South Side Mission who has been on the board since 2007, said her two priorities for the next year are student academic improvement and the district's finances.

"I believe we have made some good decisions, but clearly there is a lot of work ahead of us," Butler said of the past year.

Cloyd, installed during the board's annual reorganization meeting, was elected earlier this year. He replaces outgoing board member Jim Stowell, who finished his five-year term.

"It's humbling and exciting at the same time and I appreciate the opportunity to serve - I've lived in the Peoria area my whole life and went to District 150 schools," Cloyd said. "This is a great opportunity to give back to the community. I think we're on the start of a good path and I want to help us stay on it." Source