The Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 Board of Education is expected to appoint Robert Johnson of Park Ridge to a vacant seat on the Board during a public meeting on Friday, July 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Emerson Middle School (Learning Resource Center), 8101 N. Cumberland, Niles. Johnson will serve until a successor is seated following the next municipal elections in April 2015. Selected from a group of eight candidates interviewed during an open meeting on July 7, he replaces Terry Cameron who resigned on June 30.
A senior vice president at Northern Trust in Chicago, Johnson manages relationships with non-profit organizations, including universities, foundations and endowments. He received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. An active community volunteer, his efforts have focused primarily on youth. Over the past 17 years, he has been the head coach for hundreds of children teaching self-esteem, sportsmanship and teamwork in baseball, softball and basketball. He also previously served as an elected school board member for a parochial school in Chicago, among his past activities.
Johnson is the parent of three District 64 children; the youngest will be an eighth grader at Emerson Middle School this fall and the oldest has graduated college.
“We look forward to welcoming Bob to the Board,” said Board President Anthony Borrelli. “His perspective as a parent of children who are building on the important educational foundation they have received in our schools, as well as his deep financial services background will be assets to the Board,” he noted.
“Bob already has a clear understanding of the challenges District 64 is facing to implement the common core curriculum, particularly in math, as well as the strength of our differentiated instruction, which will let him have an immediate impact in our work,” he added. “His genuine offer to commit his expertise and time to help ensure that our schools continue to be the hallmark of the community also impressed the Board,” President Borrelli noted.