Two District 186 board of education members who will be sworn in at Monday s meeting said they will look to add fresh perspectives and new ideas at an unprecedented time.
The addition of Buffy Lael-Wolf in Subdistrict 5 and Erica Austin in Subdistrict 6 means four of the board s seven members have served two years or fewer. It s amazing how much the board has evolved in just two years, observed Micah Miller, who was elected from Subdistrict 4 in 2019.
Monday will mark the final board meeting for Judith Johnson, who has represented Subdistrict 6 for the past 20 years. The former school board president announced in November that she wouldn t seek another term in the April 6 consolidated election.
Jennifer Gill was a newly-minted principal assistant at Dubois Elementary School when she got a visit from just-elected District 186 board of education member Judith Johnson. Our friendship started there and it s continued to grow, Gill said. For 20 years, she s been walking alongside me in my work here in District 186.
Johnson was presented with several gifts, including a platinum pass to get her into all District 186 athletic events. Johnson is an avid sports fan, especially basketball.
Johnson s successor in Subdistrict 6, Erica Austin, took her oath of office, along with other newcomer Buffy Lael-Wolf from Subdistrict 5, Anthony Mares of Subdistrict 1 and Mike Zimmers of Subdistrict 4. All were elected in the April 6 consolidated election.
By WMAY Newsroom
(Springfield Education Association / Facebook)
Springfield’s teachers union says it has reached a tentative agreement with District 186 to extend their contract for another year.
The current contract with the Springfield Education Association was set to expire this summer. If approved, the extension would avoid the need for lengthy negotiations on an entire new contract as teachers prepare for a full return to classrooms in the fall. There are likely to be ongoing talks about specific issues related to the resumption of five-day-a-week in-person instruction.
No details were released about what, if any, changes would be made to the current contract. The agreement must still be ratified by teachers later this month, and must also be approved by the school board.
Mike Zimmers career path in a lot of ways ran parallel to Chuck Flamini s in School District 186.
Teacher, union activist, school administrator and school board member. I don t know anyone who didn t like or respect Chuck Flamini, said Zimmers, recalling his former colleague and friend, who died Wednesday. He touched a lot of lives here and he was a proponent of 186.
Flamini was 74.
A Springfield native, Flamini returned to the city in 1968 after graduating from Eastern Illinois University. His landing spot was Lanphier High School, his alma mater.
Flamini was principal at Springfield High School when he retired in 2002, but he kept on teaching, including a class called Dealing with Diversity at the University of Illinois at Springfield. It dealt with racial, ethnic, gender and sexual diversity.
Buffy Lael-Wolf The Springfield Public Schools Board of Education will soon welcome two new
members who could shift the balance on decisions like the best way for students to return in the fall. Both are newcomers to public office and work in the medical field. Both were also endorsed by the Springfield Education Association, which represents teachers in District 186. Erica Austin, who won the Subdistrict 6 seat, is deputy director for the office of community care at SIU School of Medicine, where she s assisted COVID-19 testing and vaccine efforts. She s also pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education administration. Austin beat Tom Shafer, a retired firefighter and frequent candidate for local office, and Michael Washington, a former District 186 employee and volleyball coach.