On April 5, there was an election held for seats on the Francis Howell School District Board of Education. Out of the six candidates running, Adam Bertrand and Randy Cook Jr. were the two elected, taking the places of Mike Hoehn, the former vice president, and Michelle Walker, the former treasurer. 

“I was super excited,” Bertrand said. “I was glad we had a higher turnout than normal for the April election. So, it was good to see people really have an interest in lending their voice to what they want to see happen in the district.”

The board members officially took their seats and had their positions announced at the Recognition Board Meeting on April 19. Both Bertrand and Cook will have the positions of directors on the board. They will also participate in the selection of the district’s new superintendent and new chief operating officer. However, both at the moment are focused on getting acclimated to the board.

“I think the number one thing is really just to learn and build relationships with those that are already on the board with the administration,” Bertrand said. “I think that’s a key thing and you can’t just go on and start making changes and assuming you know everything. I think there’s still a lot for me to learn and I want to work and collaborate with the members of the board as well as the administration of the school.”

Now that Bertrand and Cook are on the board these new members have started to figure out what they officially plan to do as members. While the bulk of Cook’s initial plans haven’t changed since the beginning of the election, he also has new goals and plans for what he wants to accomplish.

“I could say [my plan is] to more closely follow our policies and procedures specifically around bullying, transparency, discipline committees,” Cook said. “I guess discipline and bullying was something that I was mildly aware of when I initially became a candidate, but it became a much higher priority. The more I talked with parents throughout the district, and a few substitutes and teachers who brought that issue to light and made me aware that it was a big concern for a lot of people. So, that’s something that I guess I want to put more focus into.”