D97’s Barber, D200’s Millard running for re-election
Two more members of Oak Park’s school boards have decided to make another run to keep their seats.
District 97 board member Peter Barber said he will run for election, making an official announcement to Wednesday Journal last week. Barber, a married father of one Dist. 97 student, was elected in 2005. He said there was still a lot of work to do on the board, including maintaining the district’s finances. He added that the time commitment devoted to the board was a factor in deciding whether or not to run again. After talking with his family, Barber said they were on board with his running again. Among the other issues he wants to address, Barber, a long proponent of full-day kindergarten in the district, said he wants to explore how to provide more educational opportunities for pre-school children not in the district.
At Dist. 200, Dietra Millard confirmed her re-election run last week via a voicemail message to Wednesday Journal. Millard, a pediatrician, was elected in 2005.
D97 expects village TIF payments on time
District 97 officials said they expect to receive payments from the Madison and Downtown TIF (tax increment financing) districts early this spring. The districts are scheduled to receive more than $470,000 from the Downtown TIF and more than $180,000 from the Madison TIF, district officials said. Last spring, the village was late in paying close to a half million total from the Madison and Downtown TIF. That payment didn’t arrive until late 2008. District 200 also received late TIF payments from the village, who told both districts that the payment was late because the village was having cash-flow issues, according to Dist. 97 officials. The elementary school district did receive the last installment of money from its sale/leaseback deal with the village concerning its Madison Street central office.
The district received $1.185 million on Dec. 29, the second installment of the $2.37 million payment. In 2007, the village agreed to buy Dist. 97’s 970 Madison St. headquarters via Madison Street TIF funds, and would lease it back to the district for $1 a year until 2011. The district will buy back the building in 2011.
CONTACT: tdean@wjinc.com