Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 is proud to announce that the D200 school board is one of 42 in the state to earn the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) 2025 School Board Governance Recognition designation. The two-year award recognizes local school boards who have actively pursued full board development and participation, which has been a key focus for the D200 Board, according to Board president Audrey Williams-Lee.
“In the two years since I became a board member, we’ve had a deliberate focus on governance to improve our efficiency and effectiveness as a district,” Williams-Lee says. “This has been an evolution for our Board. Some of the work started a decade ago and provided a foundation for the more recent efforts.”
One of those recent efforts has been developing the district’s Board member “atlas,” a tool that both Board and community members can use to understand the Board’s role and how it oversees the district. In addition to covering the Board’s operating rhythm, norms, and goals, the 53-page document contains a robust section on fiscal stewardship that includes financial benchmarking against peer districts, debt issuance guidelines, and a framework for funding major capital projects.
“Our Board member atlas is a culmination of the focus on governance,” Williams-Lee explains. “This has improved how we work as a Board, our oversight of the district, the level of transparency and communication we have with the community, and trust with the District Leadership Team. I am very proud of our governance focus and how it has raised the bar for us as Board members.”