Will County Gazette

Jen Monson, the Republican candidate for Illinois State Senate District 43, emphasized the role of school boards in representing the people. "School boards are elected to represent the people, not the government or any of its departments," she said. Monson will face incumbent Democrat Rachel Ventura in the upcoming general election.

"Parents need to get involved and openly voice their concerns if they want school boards to govern according to the community voice," said jennifer Monson for IL Senate, according to Facebook. "School boards are elected to represent the people, not the government or any of its departments. Rule of law needs to be followed until it is changed/updated/repealed but much of what school boards receive is “suggested or recommended” NOT mandated or rule of law. Parents and community members need to stop relinquishing their power to elected officials."

According to Monson, "Rule of law needs to be followed until it is changed/updated/repealed but much of what school boards receive is 'suggested or recommended' NOT mandated or rule of law."

Screenshot of Jen Monson's May 30 Facebook post | JenMonson4ILSenate43 Facebook page

In a Facebook post, Monson shared a link to an article from The Stream, which directed readers to part five of a series titled "Protect the Children." This section, called "Understanding Your School Board’s Current Composition," is part of a 14-part series.

Writer John Amanchukwu began this section with statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics. He stated, "According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are more than 13,400 public school districts in the United States comprising nearly 100,000 total public schools. Overseeing this K-12 education infrastructure are an estimated 95,000 school board members at the local or county level, the vast majority of whom are directly elected by their communities. Occasionally, school board members are appointed by a city council, a mayor, or another local elected official or body. The board’s purpose is to oversee how a school or system is run, which programs are implemented, what the curricula should or should not include, where the annual budget should be directed or spent, and whether a superintendent should be hired or fired."

The article discussed how school boards function and highlighted that they usually allocate time for comments from parents and community members during meetings. Amanchukwu noted that this was one of the most important issues for parents.

Monson ran unopposed in her primary election. According to her campaign website, she is an educator and current school board member who aims to "work to maintain citizen rights and their ability to exercise their God-given rights to exist and live freely without unconstitutional government overreach."