Ronnie Petrey: Candidate For Summit Hill 161 Board Of Education

FRANKFORT, IL — The consolidated election, which features several local races, will be held on April 1, with early voting starting on March 17. As a way to help keep voters informed, Patch offers candidate questionnaires for all candidates in local races.

One of those races in Frankfort is the race for Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education. There are two candidates running for one unexpired 2-year term; and eight candidates running for four 4-year terms.

The Summit Hill race is slightly crowded and contentious, in part due to a December 2023 vote by the Board to close two of the District's schools. The school district boundaries pull students from parts of Frankfort, Frankfort Square, Mokena and Tinley Park.

One of those candidates is Ronnie Petrey, who is running for a 4-year term. Petrey recently filled out the Patch candidate questionnaire, and his answers can be found below:

Your Name:

Ronnie M. Petrey

Campaign website:

https://www.facebook.com/profi...

Age (as of election day):

45

Town/city of residence:

Frankfort

School district:

Summit Hill 161

Family. (Names, ages and any pertinent details you wish to share.):

Jennifer (wife - married for 7 years)
Ronnie Jr (son - 20)
Mackenzie (daughter - 17)
Seth (son - 17)
Mason (son - 13)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you're running for.

No one in my family is currently working in government or holds a political position. In the past my grandfather held a trustee position in Alsip which inspired me to run for this current position for the school board. Giving back to your community and serving those in your community is an honor.

Education:

I earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in education from Saint Xavier University. I earned my master’s degree in educational leadership from Olivet Nazarene University.

Occupation. Please include years of experience.

I have been a teacher for the past 23 years teaching in the field of mathematics at the high school level. Additionally, through those years I have served as a coach for multiple sports, was an assistant athletic director, have been involved in curriculum development and rewriting for numerous subjects in mathematics, was the head of the mathematics department for many years, have done multiple years as an intern dean, and was a facilitator for an alternative night school program for Juniors and Seniors.

Previous or current elected or appointed office:

I am currently running for the 4-year term school board position. I have never been elected or appointed to an office position.

The most pressing issues facing our district are _______, and this is what I intend to do about them.

The biggest issue that faces our district is that our community feels that their concerns are not heard or even respected by some of the current seated board members. This district was founded as a district for the community. Our district serves a vast area that has residents that live in Mokena, Tinley Park, and Frankfort. Parents moved here and were encouraged by the idea that they could walk their kids to school and not have them bused across the district. At one point we had elementary schools in every one of these towns of Mokena, Tinley Park, and Frankfort. Just recently in December 2023 this foundation was fractured for the third time in the last 12 years. Our community has had to endure four school closings which were Mary Drew, Lincoln Way North, Arbury Hill, and Frankfort Square. Even though one of them was the high school district 210 idea it still affected our community greatly. Currently, our community can still see the high school sit vacant, while we still pay taxes for the empty school. The recent closings of Arbury Hills and Frankfort Square schools took only four months to decide to close both schools even though very little support was given from the community to close those schools. In fact, in the presidential election of November 2024 over 10.3 K residents of our district voted that they did not support or believe that the school closing procedure was done effectively.

I want to bring back community involvement and allow parents to feel that their voices are heard no matter their stance. I want our community members to feel that the board meetings are a welcoming place where we can have hard discussions with transparency and respect. I believe in and will continue to support our Community Outreach Committees and be an advocate for more town halls. Additionally, I want our board to encourage staff members to speak out and be the foundational building blocks for student success and rigor in all our core subjects and other programs that we offer throughout our district.

Should cell phones be banned during school? Why or why not?

As a high school teacher for the past 23 years, I started my teaching journey when cell phones weren’t an issue. However, in the past 10 years I have noticed that cell phones have become a major issue in school settings. The data has shown that cell phones take away from the learning environment by distracting students from concepts and skills that they need to learn. Additionally, social media is one of the major causes of violence between students in schools. I support District 161 board policy 7:190 which states for cell phones to be off and in backpacks in lockers. Furthermore, I support District 161 1 to 1 ratio with technology by allowing each student to have a district issued iPad for educational purposes.

If you are a challenger, what do you bring to the board and what may you plan to change?

I bring my experience in education for over 23 years and as a coach for 25 years from kindergarten level to high school level. What my experiences have taught me is that it doesn’t matter the age group that you coach or students that you teach, but the way you set team expectations. No matter the level it’s important for athletes to mature and grow as well as students in a classroom to learn. This realization of expectation and growth would allow me to be a great asset to serve on the district 161 school board. As a board member I will hold myself and those around me to an expectation that we will be a place for people to share their opinion openly. We will be a safe place where we will respect different viewpoints and will be a place where full transparency will take place with every decision. Facts on those decisions will be shared throughout our community and district and an adequate amount of time will be given before a vote is made.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

As you have read earlier in the previous answers, I have addressed Community and Excellence, which are two of the three pillars that I believe I can bring to our district. My third pillar would be academics. I would want to keep building on the success our district has had with getting our test scores back to pre-pandemic levels as well as the development of the stem programs. I will be a board member that will continue to provide resources to our teachers to continue to collaborate and develop curriculums that will increase our students’ success in the classroom and out in our community.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As an educator and coach, I have worked in and with many different settings and teams. I have worked with groups that I disagreed with and in those disagreements, we have found common ground that helped shape students for the schools I taught at and the teams that I have coached. In those situations, I have learned how to listen, ask questions and move to a solution that best fits the situation for all parties involved. Additionally, I have been in settings and teams to find ways to celebrate in our collective success. I believe when things we work on together are successful we need to spend the time celebrating that success.

Why should voters trust you?

I’ve been part of and involved in this community for 17 years either coaching in our local youth leagues, volunteering at our district schools for different events, or attending and speaking at different board meetings. I have a strong belief that the best way to give back to your community is by getting involved and serving. I believe I have done this with respect and integrity and will continue to do this as a board member for District 161.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office a success?

The success that I envision for this school district is to help heal the pain that our community has faced in the last 12 years. For parents, teachers, students, administrators and board members to work together for one common goal to make District 161 the most successful district around. I want our district to be the community that you want to move to, work for and retire at. Our community needs to heal and I believe I can be a board member that has their best interests for the future of our school district and the education of their kids.

What guidance should staff be given for dealing with potential ICE enforcement at schools?

Based on my personal experience in education, ICE enforcement has never been an issue at any of the schools I have taught at. For the most part ICE believes that schools are a safe zone. However, each district I have taught at has policies and procedures in place to work with government officials or law enforcements. I believe district 161 has policy and procedures already in place.

How do you feel about sex education being taught in school? Should an LGBTQ component be included, and why or why not?

District 161 current handbook and board policy 6:50-6:60 provides health classes at the Junior high level. That policy allows parents to have the right to decline that class for their students without any punitive repercussion. I believe in this policy as much as I believe that each family has the right to share with their child or not share with their child on sex education. The school district is there to provide equal education on the core subjects and best prepare all students for the next grade level.

When it comes to student achievement, what are schools within this district doing well and what needs to be improved? How can those improvements be made?

As answered in earlier questions about academic achievement, our district has done a good job of providing an education that has brought up test scores back to pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, our district has developed some great programs like the stem program and stem labs. As an educator, I want to continue to look at our programs and continue to provide researched based resources to our teachers to better their curriculum to raise the standards and to push our students to even greater success. I want to look at and encourage new ideas on ways to move our students to enrich programs that teach much needed skills that challenge them to higher success. I want to provide our district with the resources to give our students a well-rounded education in the classroom as well as out of the classroom in clubs and athletics.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

I have spent the time talking to my family and reflecting on the commitment that it would take to be a great board member for this district. I will be a fully invested board member that will take pride and honor serving this community and the students of this district for the full length of my term in office.

(If you are a candidate in the upcoming April 1 election, please email andrea.earnest@patch.com for a candidate questionnaire to share your positions with readers)

Frankfort Election Guide: What’s On The Ballot, What To Know

Here is a look at the candidates for Summit Hill District 161:

• Board Member, unexpired 2-year term (vote for one)
  • Katie Campbell (incumbent)
  • Melissa Ryan
• Board member, four-year term (vote for four)
  • Stefanie McCleish (incumbent)
  • Amy Berk (incumbent)
  • Adrian Chavez
  • Patrick Oliphant
  • Ronnie Petrey
  • Jim Martin (incumbent)
  • Cicily Gant
  • Bill Curtin