Election 2025: Kirby District 140 Board Candidate Carol DeMicheal

TINLEY PARK, IL — The consolidated election is set for April 1, and several spots on the Kirby District 140 Board of Education are up for grabs.

Six candidates are vying for four seats on the board. Incumbents Aileen Mullee, Tom Martelli, Carol DeMichael, and Luciana Shalash are running on the All-4-KSD140 slate. Also seeking seats are challengers Katlin Davis and Melissa Bessler.

Based in Tinley Park, Kirby District 140 is a seven-school, preschool-8th grade district—two middle schools and five elementary—serving more than 3,500 students from Tinley Park, Orland Hills, and Orland Park, Illinois. District 140 employs approximately 600 full and part-time individuals.

Patch provided a questionnaire to all candidates. We'll be sharing their responses in candidate profiles.

Early voting begins March 17.

Candidate:

Carol DeMicheal

Campaign website:

All-4-KSD140 Facebook

Age (as of election day):

67

Town/city of residence:

Tinley Park

School district:

Kirby District 140

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

Husband: David. Children: Olivia, Donny and Sydney. Grand Children: Adrienne and Rylin

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

N/A

Education:

Daley

Occupation. Please include years of experience.

Human Resources 28 years

Previous or current elected or appointed office*:

Elected: School Board Member in District 140 / Appointed on 2 advisory Boards at Northern Illinois University. Business and Fashion Merchandising

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

Student safety. We will spend what we need to keep kids safe- Keeping our eyes on this is our # 1 priority. We have put layers in place already so kids feel safe and supported. We must always keep evolving our safety procedures and policies because we feel they will learn better if they feel safe.

Meeting the needs of students we are getting who are English learners in our district. We have increased staff to help kids learn.

In an ever changing world, we always have to consistently meet ALL the needs of every student. We will make sure we have the staff in place and have the resources to meet and exceed expectations.

These issues have not become ‘issues’ because we are proactive and stay ahead of the needs of the students.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I know our team/slate that is running and we have worked together over the last term. We are all very different and that is why we are a great team. In our careers, we do very different jobs which brings great differences in our thinking and opinions at times. We all share our views with respect and discuss what is best for kids and that is how our decisions are made. We have a nice complement of people on our board and we all work well together.

My background is HR and staffing, which has made me look at people fairly and equally and understand their strengths and how to help them grow.

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

I have thought long and hard about this one. I do think cell phones can be a distraction for anyone, so I think a school policy needs to be in place that phones are on silent and put away during school. I would want students to be able to have quick access to their phone if there is an emergency. Perhaps it would be good to start with a policy that phones have to be on ‘silent’ and put away. We can assess and discuss further if needed based on how effective the policy is.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community or district?

N/A

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

We follow the core values of the district which is "Every Child. Every Day." This is at the top of our list. We also want to make sure our community knows the work we put in with the administration to make sure we are providing the best education while being fiscally responsible. We have won the Meritorious Award for the 20th consecutive year. We need to continue to take care of taxpayers who live here. People move to this district for the schools which also helps their home values.

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

I have served on the D 140 board for 4 terms and understand the inner workings of our great district. There have been some very trying times over the years and we have successfully worked through them all as a team. We have many accomplishments with our District administration and staff as well. Some of these accomplishments include: extracurricular activities like sports, band, after-school programs, safety measures in our schools, social/emotional education and support, research-based high-quality instruction to our students, and support additional education for our teachers, to name a few.

In my career, I have worked on 2 other boards in the past at Northern Illinois University. I also had a 12 college campus responsibility where I helped students prepare for job interviews, did practice interviews with them, and helped them write their resumes. I believe in setting people up for success if we are in a position to do so.

Why should voters trust you?

I hope that voters have seen all the good things that happen in D 140. This should set the foundation of earning the trust of our citizens.

We have always made our decisions with the ‘students first’ mindset. Along with that, we have the best teachers/paraeducators in our district. Hiring the right people is the foundation of student success. I hope we have earned trust from that.

We have abated taxes on 2 occasions. It is the voters that have put us in these seats, and we are also citizens. We want the best for our community, which also helps our home values.

Trust is earned by actions, not words. We work really hard as a team to accomplish the best for our kids and community members.

In my personal career, I have worked in Human Resources for years and I have had to make really tough decisions based on ‘facts’, not emotions. I will always look at the facts on an issue and begin to make decisions from there. I hope that having to make some tough decisions also earns trust.

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

Our success on the school board is based on the academic success of our students. As a Board we are providing the resources needed for student success. Our grade schoolers are ready for HS when they leave our district. We look to maximize the opportunities for students.

We will do our job to prepare them for the next step. That is where our success stands out. We look at the whole student and provide additional resources, like social/emotional support in our schools to help students grow and be more confident.

We can also be successful by the additional offerings that were mentioned earlier like music, sports and other activities that can inspire students. This is a success as well when we offer programs and extra activities.

Our success will be a reflection of our mission statement:
Kirby School District 140 is committed to working in partnership with our community to build a safe, respectful, and nurturing environment where students are equipped with skills for life and learning.

I was always taught to “Leave it better than you found it” which is something I strive for in everything I do.

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

Our staff / students know that we will be there and will use our resources to protect them, ie Using our attorney and any laws in place. If this situation comes up we will be ready to follow the legal advice of our attorney.

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

If Sex Education is taught in schools it should be age-appropriate. Right now sex education in Illinois is optional, and if schools choose to teach it they need to follow all the mandates. Our district has opted out.

It should be the choice of the parents, and it is in Illinois.

On the LGBTQ piece, this also needs to be age-appropriate, and again this is up to the parents. (The District has opted out).

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?

In our District, our IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) and MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) data – is showing the student achievement and growth have both improved.

Since undertaking a revamped curriculum design, this has aided in the success. Designing a new rigorous curriculum that focuses on teaching the standards.

Frequent meetings in the District include staff and administrators to ensure they have the resources to meet the needs of each child. We are always sharing ideas to make it better.

We have shown greater gains in math as compared to ELA. It has indicated we need to focus on ELA.

Continuing the conversations and taking the feedback of students as well has helped

2024 ready scores – Our schools rank: 6 commendable and 1 exemplary. Of the 6 under commendable, 2 of those schools missed the exemplary rating by less than 1 %

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

No. I would fulfill my term.