Barrington Park District
Katie Karam
Katie Karam was born and raised in Barrington. She and her husband, Chris, are thankful to raise their three children in such a wonderful community. Katie’s decision to run for Barrington Board of Education was fueled by her experiences on the PTO Executive Board of Roslyn Road, where she developed an appreciation for the volunteer efforts that impact D220. Service on the D220 school board would amplify her role in serving our schools, the “heart of our community”.
Katie has followed board meetings over the years and has filled out every D220 parent survey. She has studied the current Board’s priorities and discussed these with other D220 parents and has determined that the Board’s decisions do not always reflect the voice of the community. Katie will have children at Roslyn Road, Prairie Middle School, and Barrington High School next year and is directly impacted by the Board’s decisions.
If elected, Katie will be a true representative of the community and the parents whose children are depending on receiving an education that will prepare them for life. This past year has been particularly disruptive to parents and their children. Katie will make sure that the resources of the school district are focused on returning to fulltime in-person learning and establishing a plan to keep our students in school.
Katie is also concerned about the harm that prolonged and erratic school closings have had on children’s mental health and wellbeing. She believes that D220 should work with parents on a plan to address this issue. Katie also wants to focus on the learning loss associated with distance learning, especially with “middle of the road” children who have been lost in the Zoom shuffle.
Katie believes that long term we need to focus on fiscal discipline by increasing transparency and being responsible with taxpayer money. D220 needs to clearly articulate how our tax dollars are being spent and make sure those tax dollars are allocated to the activities that produce the highest educational returns for our children. Katie supports limiting terms of board members to allow for new ideas and a fresh set of eyes focused on the issues in the district.
Katie attended Miami University, following graduation she went on to her first job at Starcom. She also worked for the American Cancer Society where she planned events. She belongs to the Barrington Junior Women’s Club and has helped plan the Barrington Honor Ride and Run.
Malgorzata McGonigal
Malgorzata McGonigal was born in Poland in 1977 and grew up under a Communist government where, as a child, she dreamed about living in the United States and pursuing the American dream. In 1994 she temporarily lived in California as a high school exchange student. After graduation she was offered a scholarship at the University of California Los Angeles but declined after her parents urged her to come back to Poland to study medicine.
After a year of medical school Malgorzata decide to move to the laboratory side of education earning a degree in Electrophoresis. After graduation another opportunity to come to the United States and seek citizenship. The Barrington area has become her home with husband Bryan, who has a son at Barrington High School, while she has a fifth grader in the Barrington School District 220 system and an adult daughter.
Malgorzata has always considered District 220 to be one of the best districts in the region and consistently ranked high. She learned at a very young age about the importance of education and her passion for the children has sparked her desire to serve on the D-220 Board. Her educational background has given her an analytical approach to solving problems that would be a great addition to the board.
Malgorzata’s short term goals begin with getting children back to school full time along with resuming all sports and extracurricular school activities. Malgorzata believes children are essential and their mental health is essential. Teachers are a part of this process and the school district and parents need to work with our educators so that children can resume their education.
Malgorzata believes that the community needs to have a bigger voice when it comes to our children and their education. Greater involvement in surveys and direction is necessary and more say in future school and program changes should be a right. She believes that parents and taxpayers need a greater voice on the board and the decision-making process.
Steve Wang
Steve Wang resides in Barrington where his daughter is a student in the Chinese Immersion Program at Countryside Elementary School in Barrington School District 220 (D-220). Steve has been very involved in the community and his daughter’s education, serving as a Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois Troop Co-Leader and as a Room Parent at Countryside Elementary School.
Steve was initially motivated to run for the D-220 Board because of his concerns, and those of other parents, over a number of issues in the district including the prolonged disruption of children’s education and development caused by the district’s response to Covid-19. He believes that there needs to be a more public discussion of the consequences of the response.
Steve is a Director of Finance at the 10th largest not-for-profit health care system in the United States and has served in numerous finance leadership positions at several corporations over the past 15 years. His finance background in a corporate environment is an asset for the district when it comes to providing more transparency and financial discipline for public consumption.
Steve is running for this office in order to ensure that the needs of all stakeholders in D-220 are met; from the children and parents in the system to the taxpayers. He will work with fellow board members to design plans for in-person learning and remediation for lost classroom time, establish fiscal discipline and transparency, and ensure both administrative leadership and the board are held accountable for the decisions they make.
Steve is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a board member for the Notre Dame Club of Lake County.