Unit 5 seats new board member

Posted on April 27, 2016

Joe Cleary (center) was selected to replace Denise Schuster. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

NORMAL – Unit 5 swore in its newest Board of Education member Wednesday night.

Joe Cleary was selected by the board to replace Denise Schuster, who resigned last month. He said he’s honored to have been selected.

“I’m excited to get to work; working with the existing board and administration to carry out the mission of the district and continue with the strategic planning initiatives that started earlier this year,” Cleary said.

Cleary explained he was drawn to the board due to his previous work with the district.

“I think my work previously with PTO (Parent Teacher Organization), as vice president and president of CAC (Citizens Advisory Council), and in addition an opportunity to be a facilitator for the strategic planning that’s been going on,” said Cleary. “I felt like I had been involved in the district and this would be another way to give back.”

Board President Meta Mickens-Baker said Cleary’s previous district involvement, along with his work as a professor at Illinois State University, were a couple reasons he stood out.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…