Lake County Gazette

Texas native Taylor Cottam hopes that by running for District 67 school board he can make sure students have more opportunities in the future.

Cottam, who has spent a career in finance on several continents, said he was looking for a challenging academic environment to raise his children so that they would be able to flourish, and he decided to "put down roots" in Lake Forest.

His four children have attended District 67 schools.

"What attracted me most was the Chinese immersion program at Cherokee for my daughter," Cottam said during the March candidates forum. "Few things are more important to me than the education of my children."

Cottam said the No. 1 issue he wanted to prioritize was opening schools now completely.

"That would include allowing children to actually socially interact," Cottam said.

Cottam also wants to prioritize things like Olympic games and the Color Run, like Deer Path previously did annually.

Cottam said it was also important to be mindful of the cost of everything going into the schools.

"I think we need to have a good hard look at some of the things that we've done and if we get back to a more normal situation, let's get back to normal financially as well," Cottam said.

Cottam said students need to be taught where they are.

"I've had kids on both ends of the spectrum," Cottam said. "So, I think what we need to do is prioritize learning which is customized for the students instead of trying to make people all fit into a one-size-fits-all."

Cottam said students also need additional support because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Normal to me means that the kids are caught up to where they would have been had this not happened," Cottam said. "We can't go back and change the facts about the pandemic, but we can get the students caught up. What I would like to see is I would like to see some time spent prior to the end of the year to assess where our students are."