Dupage Policy Journal

Jammie Esker Schaer says she decided to run for the Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 board because she wants to make the board more transparent for the sake of the students.

"My children are my motivation," she told the DuPage Policy Journal. "I have a degree in accounting. So, I understand the numbers and I will hold the administration accountable. Some members on the board are just going along with whatever is proposed to them."

Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 educates more than 8,000 students from Elmhurst and small areas of Oak Brook, Bensenville, and Addison. Around 90% of students live in Elmhurst, with the remaining living outside of the city but within the limits of the District. The District has 14 schools: Eight elementary schools, three middle schools, York Community High School, a Transition Program and the Madison Early Childhood Education Center, according to the district's website.

Schaer, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Illinois State University, said the board needs better fiscal management, which is partly what prompted them to run.

"Our recent school board has been voting every year to raise taxes at the maximum level and this has kind of created a slush fund for them," she said. "They voted again this year to raise taxes, and say it's because of the increased costs of busing when that's only 3 percent of our budget and half the cost of it is already paid by the federal government. That's just poor fiscal management."

More than 80% of York Community High School students participate in at least one extracurricular activity, including cross country, law, business, vocational skills, theater, art, music, and many others, the district said. 

Schaer, who has been married for 22 years, is a mother of five. Her two oldest children, 21 and 19, both graduated from District 205.

"Right now, I have a son that's a junior at York, one in eighth grade and another one in third grade," she said. "Our district has stopped teaching certain different subjects years ago, and I think it's contributed to declines in efficiency. We need to get back to basics."