Will County Gazette

Jeff Przybyl is a candidate for Will County School District 92, on the ballot for April 4.

“I watched how schools handled Covid in the spring of 2020, which little was known at the time,” Przybyl told Will County Gazette. “As more about Covid became known over the summer, the Catholic schools I sent my kids to implemented a strategy to bring the students back in person in the fall of 2020, while the local public schools continued with remote teaching.  I followed Thomas DeVore's lawsuit and thought things would change for the better with the TRO in February 2022, and then I saw the Facebook posts about how the local public schools handled the decision. I went to several of the high school board meetings and met some parents who expressed their displeasure with the school, as well as the elementary schools in the district. We began talking about the high school and elementary school's handling of Covid and began discussing other areas of the district, including curriculum, taxes, spending, and academic performance.”

PrzybyI began looking at Will County School District 92, K-8 district where he saw how spending was increasing but academic results were falling. 

Over the summer of 2022, he actively "attended, or watched videos of, District 92 board meetings, and reviewed agendas and board minutes, and saw how motions were routinely passed with little to no questions from the board." 

Przybyl said there was not much opinion that came from the public, "was almost an inconvenience for the board to have to listen to." 

When he learned some parents from the district, Theresa ‘Tammy Hayes’ and Trish Tabor, felt the same way, he said "and we decided to run to bring some transparency to the district, push for better academic results for the tax dollars spent and encourage parents to become more involved with their children's education.”

“I hoped to reign in ever-increasing spending, and the taxes to fund it," PrzybyI said. "Per the district's own audited financials, Net Operating Expenditures per Student [have] risen 33% (from $15,345 to $20,461) while average daily attendance has declined 6% since 2019. I hope to instill accountability for the administration utilizing a range of metrics, but especially academic scores.  ISBE reported test scores (ELA, Math, and 8th graders passing Algebra I) have fallen over 30% since the hiring of the current superintendent in 2019.”

PrzybyI, an accountant by profession, has B.A and M.B.A, have over 30 years of experience in the banking and finance industry. He recalled he has "worked through multiple financial downturns over the years and had a great boss who really showed me how to get more for less. I have volunteered as a sports coach and scout leader for my oldest child. While I have a finance background, my knowledge of curriculum and parent involvement is becoming better every day working with Tammy and Trish on our campaign.”

“I have a college-age child and an elementary school child," he added. "Both have been enrolled in local Catholic schools due to the curriculum fitting our wants and needs better than the public schools.  After seeing the handling of Covid and results of the remote learning in public schools, we felt that just confirmed our choice. I hope to share some of the private school ideas in a bid to improve the education of the children attending the public schools.”

Przybyl told Patch he is hyper-focused on the school’s out-of-whack spending. “Since 2019, the district has had a 30%+ increase in spending per pupil (higher than the other Lockport elementary school districts) while ISBE reported results have fallen. I will work with the stakeholders to address these issues,” he told Patch.

He was one of the candidates who was listed in a recent “We The Parents” fundraiser held at Davidson’s Bar and Grill in Homer Glen.

The school district oversees more than 1,400 students over four schools. It is headquartered at 708 N State St. in Lockport.