The way William Mercantz sees it, his run for the Hinsdale 181 School Board is all about giving back to a system that’s made for some of his proudest moments.
“My kids have gone through the entire Hinsdale 181 school system,” he told the DuPage Policy Journal. “Now is an opportunity for me to give back, and I’m excited by the possibilities.”
Filling a vacancy on the school board for the last six months has left Mercantz with more than a fair idea of just what he’s getting himself into and a still-evolving plan for what would be a best course of action.
William Mercantz
“In my time of filling the opening, I’ve been a member of the board working on the teacher’s contract that’s up in June, and I’d like to be a part of maintaining that continuity," Mercantz added. "I think the greatest asset we have are our people. Right now, we’ve really got a great superintendent, a respectful board, parents that really care and teachers that go over and above to put extra into things.”
Being willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done is something Mercantz can surely relate to.
After a period as a top-level financial services executive for world-leading architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) grad co-founded Chicago-based information technology company Whittman-Hart, followed by his creation of Lakeview Technology, which he built into a $50 million operation with a customer base of over 3,000 installations, according to HowTheyDidIt.com.
Mercantz said the Board's vision for Hinsdale 181 becomes clearer all the time.
“As a board, our top priority is recruiting, hiring and maintaining the best superintendent that we can, stewarding a fair and balanced relationship between our teachers and students and being a safe steward of taxpayer’s funds,” he said.
The 62-year-old Mercantz resides in Hinsdale with his family and still serves on such boards as the Dean’s Business Advisory Council at UIC’s College of Business Administration, the UIC Foundation, participating in its Investment Policy, Membership and Audit Committees and as active chairman of the Athletic Director’s Development Committee for UIC Athletics. He also previously served a senior member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Technology Association, adding the duties of treasurer over a four-year period beginning in 2003.
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