Lake County Gazette

Marcus Schabacker, who has two sons that attend Lake Forest High School, hopes to be a board member for District 115.

Schabacker said in a recent forum hosted by the League of Women Voters that his family came to the Chicago area about a decade ago.

"We choose to live in Lake Forest because of the great school system and of course its natural beauty," Schabacker said during the forum.

Schabacker, who grew up in Germany and has traveled the world, is the CEO and president of ECRI.

"I'm humbled by the trust you have in me," Schabacker said. "What I will bring to the board is an open, unbiased mind and analytical approach to understand the facts, business acumen to use your tax dollars wisely and a proven track record of guiding management teams."

Schabacker said the school district has already brought students back to school and was one of the first to do so.

"But, making sure that they stay there safely and that they have a positive education experience, social experience and emotional experience is the number one priority," Schabacker said.

Schabacker said it was also important to bring on the right person as the new superintendent.

"Thirdly, while we need to remain a fiscally responsible I think we need to address the fact that our world has changed and we need to adapt our curriculum to prepare these kids for a changed post-pandemic world in which thay need to function and be successful in their adult careers."

Schabacker said it's going to be important to listen to students and have an open ear and understanding to their needs. Schabacker said his sons have been back in school since October and in sports for the last several weeks and that the school's staff has done a good job in taking those social and emotional needs into perspective so far.

"I compliment the staff for taking not just a learning academic experience (into perspective, but to) bundle social needs as well," Schabacker said.

Schabacker said the administration and staff, during these unprecedented times, has done a phenomenal job of keeping the students engaged and moving forward, even if not at the speed they had previously been on track with.

"We were the first public school that went back to in-person learning with extracurricular activities and we are now going through to full-time learning as soon as we come out of spring break and we need to do everything we can to keep this forward and keep everybody safe," Schabacker said. "I think what this community needs and deserves is a board of education that has an open mind and is non-partisan, highly committed, proven and vetted individuals who are willing and able to understand the facts, who will listen to all involved and will then will make thoughtful and deliberate decisions without preconcieved notions or a political agenda."