Illinois Valley Times

Sheridan resident James “Jay” Walsh is running for a seat on the Serena CUSD 2 school board. The election is April 4.

Walsh, with three daughters who attend district schools – two in high school, and one in middle school – said that there is something missing. He wants "to make it better for the next generations coming through there and get them better prepared for the next step, whether that be college or trades or whatever, just in life in general.”

“[There are] three openings available, and five candidates are running for it,” Walsh told Illinois Valley Times. “Three of the incumbents are also running. But I'm just trying to get on and make a difference. Our district has been in some turmoil [for the] last probably 8 to 10 years. I'm not exactly sure what the problem is or what the issue is, but when it goes on for that long, there's obviously an issue somewhere. I believe we're on our fourth superintendent in our last 8 to 10 years. There's quite a bit of teacher turnover. You hear stuff from people but it just seems like it seems like a lot of the issues stem from the school board, maybe some of the decisions they are making.”

Walsh said he's running because he wants  to make it better for the next generation to get the most out of public school education.

“It seems like ever since the couple of years of COVID, it's been difficult," Walsh said. "So I try to play devil's advocate. It's been difficult on teachers and staff to  make up for that. The remote learning wasn't ideal, but it was what we were all forced to deal with. But there's got to be something to happen to make up for that and get all the kids back on track. I believe now pretty much every grade K through 12 has had effects from COVID teaching. So it's some of the younger ones don't even really know what a what a normal year looks like.”

Walsh said a lot of people have been asking him for the past five or ten years to run but he and his family "were somewhat new to the community and still didn't know a lot of the people."

He said he wants to prepare students for the future.

“I'm going to make the best decision, even if it's not even best for my kids.” Walsh pledged. “I just want to make the best decisions and put everything positive for the district to go forward and leave the past in the past and just move on and continue to do better for the kids. Because let's face it, we're not getting younger and they're going to be the decision-makers pretty soon. We're older, so just to get them, get them better prepared for the future."

The Serena CUSD 2 district oversees the education of over 600 students spread over four schools.  

"20% of elementary students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 40% tested at or above that level for math. Also, 22% of middle school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 17% tested at or above that level for math. And 33% of high school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 13% tested at or above that level for math," according to U.S. News. 

Other candidates in the race include Joseph H. Cantlin, Neal Rosengren, Justin DeBolt, and Gary McNelis.