Five candidates are running for four seats on the Board of Education for Macomb School District 185.
At least two new members will be chosen for the board because President Jill Myers and Secretary Jim LaPrad are not running for reelection.
The five candidates, in the order they appear on the ballot, are Justice Keene, Nate McGraw, incumbent Kishor Kapale, incumbent John “Larry” Adams, and Lorette Oden.
TPSR asked the candidates why they want to serve, what the district is doing well, and what it could do better.
McGraw did not respond until after this was published, saying TSPR's emails had gone to his spam folder.
Adams responded, “I did receive your questionaire. I have no questions. I have no responses.”
Here are the responses from the other candidates:
Justice Keene
Age, as of April 1, 2025: 19 years old
Education: 2024 Macomb High School Graduate, Student- Spoon River College
Occupation: Full Time Student, Bomber Sports Network- Chief Executive Officer & Sports Director
Relevant skills and experience for serving on the board of education:
Quality over quantity is why I put my name in this race. Each quality experience that I have led has helped give me the voice to lead, learn, and listen. I was elected as Vice President and President of my class to tune in, lead, and create a voice of the student body through decision making to a group. As part of my work with the Downtown Athletic Club and the Macomb-Western Holiday Basketball Tournament, I have assumed the role of facilitator, many times, while in an open forum taking questions that could be positive or controversial in a community setting around the direction of local area athletic programs. As elected captain of the golf team my senior year at Macomb High School, I assumed a leadership role over the team. In my role as a broadcaster, I pride myself in calling a game that is often unbiased against an opponent in order to give all listeners their one shining moment. All of these experiences have helped shape me into being a representative on the board of education.
Community involvement: FFA Meals to Farmers, Macomb Country Club Cleanup Day Volunteer, Downtown Athletic Club Member, Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament Announcer, IHSA State Tournament Ambassador, PGA Tour- John Deere Classic Hole Marshall with Moline Rotary.
Dr. Kishor T. Kapale
Age, as of April 1, 2025: 50 years
Campaign website or Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KapaleMSB/
Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Quantum Physics from Texas A&M University
Occupation: Chair and Professor of Physics at Western Illinois University (WIU)
Relevant skills and experience for serving on the board of education: I have served on the Macomb School Board for two terms for a total of six years and have participated in many trainings through the Illinois Association of School Boards and through their annual conferences. Through these trainings I have developed a deep understanding of the board member role and responsibilities. I understand the leadership principles and practices and am fully aware of the avenues available to the board to ensure progress of the school district and to ensure compliance with state policies and understand the due diligence the board is responsible for to ensure the financial and academic health of the school district.
Community involvement: I have received WIU’s 2024 Community Service Award because of my contributions to the region by helping promote robotics education for K-12 children in the region since 2017, for helping re-establish a Middle School level Math Olympiad program, and for my service on the school board. I have also been helping the Region #1 of the Illinois Junior Academy of Sciences hold their Annual Science Fair at WIU for the last two years. I currently serve as the chair of the Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics division of the Illinois State Academy of Sciences. I am currently a member of the Illinois Articulation Initiative for the Physics division and have been a member of the Illinois Extension Council in the not-so-distant past.
Lorette Oden
Age, as of April 1, 2025: 58
Campaign website or Facebook page: Not available at this time.
Education: B.A in Biology, Dual MBA in Finance and Health Care Management; Ph.D. In Health Education. All of my degrees are from the University of Toledo
Occupation: Professor and Dean of the Centennial Honors College at Western Illinois University
Relevant skills and experience for serving on the board of education: I have been in academia for over 25 years. I began as an Assistant Professor and went through the tenure and promotion process to achieve Full Professor. I served as the Department Chair of Health Sciences and Social Work. I also served as the Interim Associate Dean of Administration in the College of Education and Human Services. I am currently serving as the Dean of the Centennial Honors College. I have and continue to serve as a member and in some instances as chair on numerous committees at the university.
Community involvement: I am a member of the Shared Community Action group with the City of Macomb. I am also a member of the McDonough County Branch NAACP, where I serve as the health committee chair. I also serve on the C.T. Vivian Project of Macomb. I attend many community programs and I continue to support the community in many ways.
Questions
What issues motivate you to want to serve on the board of education?
Keene: I am motivated to serve on the board of education because I care about our school district and our community. I am the only person running who has been in our buildings recently as a student. I have experience with what is working and where we can work to make improvements. The board should be accessible, so that our teachers, students, and families are aware and involved in decision making. I want to work to expand local career opportunities for our students, improve our board engagement, and assist that we are making good financial decisions to keep the high standards and be respectful of the taxpayer.
Kapale: I see a great potential in our school district. I am proud of the great work done by our teachers, staff, and administrators and I am motivated to offer more support to them in my role as the school board member. We are doing many great things such as an improved curricular update process and the addition of the new middle school building. The time is right to expand our curricular and after school programs to reach a wider spectrum of student interests. I see many avenues to create frameworks to support our teachers, staff, and administrators and extend recognition of their efforts. I would like to advocate for the new initiatives that I see on the horizon while addressing many challenges we still face. As a parent, I also have a deep sense of the needs of the students in the district and I am deeply motivated in creating programs and frameworks that will benefit them which in some sense I have already demonstrated through my involvement in bringing and expanding after-school activities in STEM for our children. There is a lot of work ahead, but I think it will be rewarding as it will help create long-standing traditions, culture, and frameworks for taking the school district forward and for the betterment of our students and the community.
Oden: I would like to be of assistance in any way that I can for the schools. I have a successful history in academia. I have the knowledge and background to be of assistance.
Why should people vote for you?
Keene: I have a lot of pride in being a Macomb Bomber, and I want to be able to serve the schools that helped shape me. My recent experience in our buildings allows me to bring a fresh perspective to the table. I will be fully prepared for all of our meetings. I will not just come to vote, I will review our agendas, study reports, and bring questions to make sure decisions are being made in the best interest of our district and community. I will also work to understand issues from different perspectives prior to voting. I will look for input from our teachers and students, not just rely on information from administration. I will listen to concerns, be present at events, and make sure that teachers, students, and families feel heard.
Kapale: In the following I summarize what I bring to the board which are also great reasons to vote for me:
- I bring considerable experience and knowledge of how the school districts function through my service on the Macomb School Board for the last six years.
- I also bring considerable leadership and administrative experience through my role as the Chair of the Department of Physics with the Western Illinois University.
- I have been an innovator who has expanded STEM opportunities for the area K-12 children through my involvement with robotics and math Olympiad which now reach more than 200 children from the school district.
- I strongly believe in our teachers, and I respect their drive and commitment to the region.
- I believe in creating frameworks to ensure that our teachers are respected, valued, and successful and are empowered to do their jobs in the most effective and satisfactory manner.
- I am familiar with international education systems through lived experiences and therefore bring unique perspectives that would be valuable to the school district.
- I have experience in creating experiential learning opportunities for students at levels starting from kindergarten through graduate school.
- I believe in advocating for offering adequate training and programming to address a wide spectrum of student interests to eventually help them get career or college ready.
Oden: I would appreciate people's vote for me to serve on the school board because I will be an objective member of the Board. I plan to listen to and understand concerns and to be as fair as possible with issues that are brought before the Board. I have a very good understanding of the educational system, and I plan to use my knowledge and skills to assist the district as much as I can.
What do you think the school district is doing especially well?
Keene: Our district is doing a good job with providing several different extracurricular programs that will prepare our students for success. Athletics, music, arts, and FFA students have the chance to develop skills that go outside of the classroom. We have hardworking coaches and staff that work hard to ensure the programs remain successful. Macomb also has great community support from parents, businesses and boosters. These programs play a big role in students' success for the future.
Kapale: The school district has great teachers that have vested interest in the well-rounded well-being of our students. Through board advocacy, the district has recently added a position of a Chief Academic Officer that oversees the curriculum development and after-school programs. This has been a great decision which has resulted in a new and effective approach to curriculum development in the district. For the disciplines of English and Sciences so far, the district has updated the curriculum process to have complete vertical (K through 12) alignment of the curriculum so that the students are fully ready when they move up a grade. This process has initiated collaboration among the teachers across different school buildings and has been an impactful and tremendously positive experience for the teachers, and the school district. This will eventually be very helpful for the students as we are going to graduate students that are better prepared for life as they complete their high-school work. I have served on the school board’s curriculum subcommittee, and I can say that we have seen a sea change in how the curriculum update cycle has improved with the help of our new chief academic officer. I am looking forward to the implementation of the new strategies to the curriculum design across different subject areas.
Furthermore, the new middle school building has been a tremendously positive influence across all of our school buildings due the availability of additional space and all school buildings are embarking on programming improvements to take advantage of the new opportunities this has created for them. The changes are going to be visible to the community over the next few years and I am looking forward to doing my part in advocating for the directions and initiatives that would be most impactful for the district.
Oden: The school district is doing many things well. I have had 3 children go through the Macomb Schools. The education they received at the schools was very good. It prepared them to move forward in various paths of their choosing. I also know of other students who went on to achieve great success out of the Macomb Schools. The schools not only offer academics, but they also have extracurricular activities for the students. It is very important for students to develop academically and socially. The teachers and the administrative staff at the schools care about the students and want to see them succeed.
What do you think the school district could be doing better? How would you advocate for improvement?
Keene: The school district could be communicating with those that they serve better. Our community members don’t often have the time to come to meetings every month. If we live stream our board meetings on YouTube and use the district social media more effectively, we would be able to give better access to information. Our financial information should also be easy to access. One of the questions that I am hearing from many community members is “where is the money going?” We should understand where and how the district funds are being spent. I will push for clear financial reporting, research issues, and ask important questions to make sure our decisions are benefiting those involved.
Kapale: The traditional high-school training is meant for college-bound students. Nevertheless, only about 61% of high-school graduates go to 2- or 4-year college nationwide. In the rural regions, such as ours, the numbers are even staggering with only 55% students choosing to go to college. Meaning as a society we fail somewhat to prepare the remaining 39-45% of the high-school graduates for the work life they enter immediately upon receiving their high-school diploma. We would do better in offering vocational training to help these students attain marketable skills that are relevant to the region. Furthermore, students not completing the high-school would greatly benefit from attaining bread-earning trade skills such as plumbing, woodworking, auto-mechanic, agricultural technology, computer and electronics repair, web and graphic design, and renewable energy technology. Some of these are really life skills that are important for all students to have. There are efforts underway to bring a vocational center to the region. Furthermore, training our students in these trades will promote entrepreneurship and will positively impact the local economy. I would advocate and support development of a vocational center for the region in partnership with the local industry partners, Spoon River College, and Western Illinois University. In addition, through my expertise I will help with identification of training areas that are relevant to the region and the times.
Developing of Mathematics literacy and promoting mathematical thinking at an early stage is, I believe, very important for our region. I have helped restart middle-school level Mathematics Olympiad. I believe these programs would be valuable to elementary grade students as that is when they develop liking for some subject areas over the others. Moreover, Math Olympiad at the high-school level would provide useful skills and experience to the motivated students in the high-school. I would like to devote some time in starting these activities at the school district during my next term.
We can always improve retention of young teachers to the region by offering them competitive remuneration, offering them mentoring, grant writing training, and subject-specific professional development. I would like to investigate what our teachers need and make a concerted effort to meet their needs and extend support in their endeavors for the overall health of our school district.
Overall, I believe in helping create programs that will offer meaningful opportunities to the whole spectrum of student interests and will contribute to career or college readiness.
Oden: The schools are doing very well. However, I heard from some students that the schools could implement and follow up on disciplinary actions better. When students are disciplined (i.e., given detention, for instance), the schools need to follow up to ensure that the student actually serves the detention. Sometimes this may be overlooked. Another area in which the schools may be able to improve is their communication. Parents, guardians, and the community are not always aware of what is going on in the district and some of the decisions that are being made. Increased awareness of some of the issues or decisions the schools are considering may result in more support and assistance from the community, which could be helpful for the district to achieve its mission.
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