Four candidates running for two open seats on the Peoria Public Schools school board made their pitches for votes Saturday at a forum at the First Baptist Church, attended by about 100 constituents.
The election is March 17, with early voting starting Thursday.
None of the board candidates is an incumbent.
Andy Diaz and David Daye are competing for one of three board seats in the Central District, replacing Lynne Costic.
Diaz made an unsuccessful run for Peoria mayor in 2021, saying he learned a lot during the campaign and became even more engaged and involved in the community. He has four children who attend Peoria schools.
Daye is a Bradley University graduate and former student body president who now teaches at Bradley as he pursues a master's degree in not-for-profit leadership.
Doug Shannon and Sarah Howard want to represent the Northern District on the seven-member board. Larry Ivory is departing. There are three board members from the Northern District.
Shannon, the father of two Peoria Richwoods High School students, is a financial planner and substitute teacher in the district.
Howard is the mother of two special needs students who does research and is an analyst in political campaigns.
The board candidates were mostly in agreement on questions asked by forum moderator Roberta Parks from the League of Women Voters of Peoria, which hosted the event and provided the opening questions.
Superintendent search
One question asked about the candidates' stance on the recent selection of Jerry Bell as the new superintendent and Renee Andrews as the district's first deputy superintendent.
Bell and Andrews were the final two candidates in a recruitment effort to replace retiring superintendent Sharon Desmolin-Kherat.
The newly-elected board members will begin their five-year terms July 1, the same day Bell and Andrews start their new roles.
While the candidates had nothing bad to say about Bell and Andrews, they did criticize the hiring process.
Current board members Christina Rose and Brenda Wilson both cited the process as their reason for abstaining on their appointment votes.
Shannon said he was surprised the deputy superintendent position was created.
"We need another administrator, said no parent ever," he said.
"I would have voted no to those appointments," Diaz said. "Information about candidates was withheld from some board members and what the district and board did [appoint a deputy superintendent] was not what people were told would happen."
Daye said he felt there were better options financially and professionally than search firm Heart International Educational Services that was hired by the board, but he would have voted yes to not stall the appointments.
Howard said there was a lack of transparency in the hiring process.
Preparing students
Sending high school graduates into the world who aren't ready for a college curriculum was another concern expressed by the candidates.
"Our high school graduation rate is up, but our proficiency is down," Diaz said. "And it's gone down exponentially since the pandemic."
Daye said the best way to solve the problem is to make sure students reach benchmarks at every grade level as they make their way through the school system.
Shannon said improvements are needed in truancy and attendance, and Howard decried the uneven investments in schools across the district.
District finances
The district's financial transparency and late audits were panned by the candidates.
Shannon said his more than 20 years in the financial field can help address that problem, while Daye said the public has a difficult time understanding district finances.
"I just looked online this morning. The district's budget is 33 pages in a PDF. There should be an interactive tool for the public to ask questions," he said.
The candidates did not disagree with the premise of a question that said there's a culture of a lack of communication and transparency on the board.
"When you ask board members for their rationale for votes, all you get are crickets," said Diaz.
Howard said she was concerned about the district's funding cuts in the fine arts through the years.
"For some students, getting involved in fine arts can be life-saving," she said,
