Statewide Advocacy Award Given To District 58 Assistant Superintendent

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — A District 58 assistant superintendent recently received the Michael A. Jacoby Advocacy Award, which is given to school system business officials to honor their exemplary work in advocacy. Assistant Superintendent for Business and Chief School Business Official Todd Drafall received the award, in part, for his efforts behind the National School Lunch Program, a bill that helped to give schools more agency in ensuring their lunches are high quality.

“Probably his biggest achievement on the advocacy front is the one that just happened recently, and that had to do with making a change to the bidding requirements for the National School Lunch Program,” former teacher Dr. Jacoby, the award's namesake, said in a statement.

Dr. Jacoby added, “It takes years to push those kinds of things through the legislature and many don’t make it. And he stayed with that one. He kept on it. He was dedicated to it. And in the end, it came through. So we now have a better playing field for kids in terms of quality of lunches in Illinois, primarily because of Todd’s diligent work on that particular bill.”

During the past seven years in his role with District 58, Drafall has been instrumental in integrating a five-year plan to help balance the district's budget. He also helped develop the budget for the $179 million bond referendum, which voters supported for District 58 during the Nov. 2022 election and was "within budget" as of April 2025, per district officials.

Drafall is set to retire this summer.