Hello Friends!

The D112 Caucus was first convened decades ago and has adapted to the changing needs of our community over subsequent election cycles. The charge of the Caucus is threefold:

  • Exchange ideas and to facilitate concerted action on matters of mutual educational and community interest in the District;

  • Endeavor to obtain opinions from community members that reside in all geographic school boundaries in the District; and

  • Find, endorse and support, to the conclusion of the election, qualified candidates for the Board.

The 112 Caucus was last convened in 2018. Two elections have been held since, both uncontested which in retrospect is not a good reason to NOT convene the Caucus. The Caucus is vital to voter education and engagement and regrettably should have been convened last fall. In the interest of getting this train back on the track, previous Caucus leadership pulled together a thoughtful, yet abbreviated process for 2025.

The current bylaws are in need of modernization, and because they could not be followed as written due to the compressed timeframe leading up to early voting beginning March 17th, we proceeded with the “Caucus reboot” with the following dual purpose:

  1. Engage a group of thoughtful community members to shape the future of the Caucus by assessing the current state, sharpening the mission, amending the bylaws and electing the Board for the 2027 election.

  2. Craft a questionnaire for current 112 BOE candidates for April 1, 2025 consolidated election, provide a platform to aggregate information provided by the candidates and host a live candidate Q+A session open to the public.

Structure + Timeline

Ongoing through 2/23 - Outreach to community to engage potential delegates (voting members of the Caucus) through word of mouth, social media, website and PTOs/PTAs. Each school will be fairly represented in the delegation which will also include constituents without students currently enrolled in 112 schools.

Caucus delegates must attend one of two virtual meetings Monday 2/24 or Thursday 2/27 from 6-8pm where leadership will: 1) present the purpose and history of the Caucus, 2) understand the role of an elected member of a Board of Education and how they interface with District Administration, 3) review proposed changes to the Caucus Bylaws for future elections and 4) review and provide constructive input on the draft candidate questionnaire.

Draft Candidate Questionnaire as a group and make a working document available to the delegates 2/28 for review. Any objections to wording should be noted to leadership by 3/2. Candidates will receive the Candidate Questionnaire 3/3 (the day after LWV Forum) and return it to the Caucus by 3/10.

Delegates will meet in person 3/15 for candidate Q+A. This will be open for the public to attend and a recording will be made available following the event.

MEET THE CANDIDATES AND WATCH THEIR CAUCUS INTERVIEWS HERE!

The Caucus will continue to meet to draft new bylaws and elect D112 Caucus Leadership for the 2027 consolidated election.

Endorsements

The D112 Caucus will NOT be endorsing candidates this cycle. Proceeding in a shotgun fashion without following a strict protocol to endorse candidates would make the work susceptible to challenge and could damage future efforts. Reviving the Caucus process, getting to know our candidates, and creating a fair and legitimate path forward is the answer. Having 50+ informed community members armed with the knowledge to inform other voters is beneficial to all candidates. The Caucus is proud of the work done this year and looks forward to serving a critical role in future elections.