It’s Wolfmeyer v. Ross for the presidency of District 150
The following arrived in my inbox a moment ago:
Dear Friends of District 150,
You may or may not know that there is an important school board vote coming up next Monday. The Board of Education will vote on who will be the next board president. Most of you will agree that the far better choice from a community and parent standpoint, for a variety of reasons, would be Martha Ross. My reasons are outlined in the sample letter below.
I think we can be fairly certain that Board members Stowell, Gorenz and Wolfmeyer will vote for Wolfmeyer, so we need to influence Ms Butler, Ms. Parker and Ms. Petelle.
If you can, please write a letter to these 3 board members expressing your support for Ms. Ross. Below is a letter I have drafted and sent. Feel free to use it or its ideas in any way you see fit.
Here are the e-mail addy’s of the three board members.
rachael.parker@psd150.org
linda.butler@psd150.org
laura.petelle@psd150.org
Thanks for your pro-active efforts on behalf of our kids!
Diane
At next Monday’s board meeting you will be casting an important vote – who will you as a collective board choose to lead the B of E over the next year? I am asking you to strongly consider voting for Martha Ross as Board President.Martha appears to have the ability to put politics aside and consider the needs of the children first. She is one of the few that has put forth an effort to bridge the differences between the school board and the community. We believe she also puts forth some excellent ideas that never see the light of day because of the current hierarchy of power within the board.
On the other hand, Ms. Wolfmeyer has been extremely dismissive (to be polite) of the wishes of the community and exhibits only minimal independence of thought. A year of “leadership” from Ms. Wolfmeyer would in my opinion do nothing other than continue the dissent that has plagued the district for the past few years.
Your vote for Martha, and Martha’s subsequent victory could set a new tone for the Board of Education and how it relates to and listens to the goals and concerns of whom they serve – the families. Perhaps her leadership will help some of the other members find their “voice” that has seemingly been suppressed under the Gorenz Presidency.
I know that many others share my sentiments.
If you have the time to discuss further, please give me a call at 645-8608.
If we assume, as Diane Vespa does, that Wolfmeyer can count on three votes (including her own), that leaves four others who could vote for Ross. With Ross voting for herself, that means if the other three remaining vote for Ross, we will have a Ross victory.
So by all means, contact these remaining folks and let your opinion be known.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
You don’t have to bombard my wife at all with emails. She votes her mind and doesn’t fall in with any clicks. She voted for Mrs. Ross when Mrs. Ross didn’t even vote for herself.
What you need to do is contact the others and find out if and why they vote behind close doors. It seems like it is already known who is voting for who. As someone who has won Open Meetings act complaints against the City of Peoria and the School Board previously I want to know why Stowell, Spangler, Gorenz, Wolfmeyer or even Butler or Ross allow this if they in fact do this. What good is Woolvard if he is sitting there allowing this to happen. Isn’t this like rigging an election?
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Mrs. Ross’ CV, here is a summary:
1. Masters degree in Counseling (Bradley)
2. BS, Social Services (Bradley)
3. Appointed by the mayor to serve on the Police Community Relations Committee, past chairperson
4. Appointed by the mayor to serve on the Neighborhood Commission in 1997
5. Served on the board of the National Alliance for Information Referral (now called “211 for Information
Services) during her 17 year tenure with the United Way
6. Presently sits on the Illinois Alliance for Information Referral board
7. President of her neighborhood association for 12 years
8. Has served on the BOE since March 2001, and is a past Vice President
Mrs. Ross has exhibited leadership and poise during some very contentious Board meetings. She is reachable by the public and staff. She supports the concept of a viable, effective alternative school program for those students who are expelled and/or suspended. She is not a “rubber stamp” for the political status quo. She understands the seriousness of the district’s academic decline and financial issues.
Let’s hope that this election will bring positive change and true leadership to the BOE with the election of Mrs. Ross as president.
Thought I would add my 2 cents. I’ve gone to several state school board conventions and seen Martha Ross going from one speaker to the next. She works hard for the citizens of Peoria, collecting information necessary for her to make the “hard calls” when she has to. She has a “stick to it -iveness” for issues that others want to sweep under the rug. She does not make decisions off the cuff, to oblige others. I truly hope that Rachel Parker, Laura Patelle, and Lynda Butler see that these qualities in Martha Ross will make her an excellent BOE President.
GO MARTHA!
Wolfmeyer vs. Ross? Sounds like death by firing squad vs. death by hanging.
If Martha Ross is so “qualified” to be the president of the Dist 150 board, then why does she sound so uneducated when she speaks? Her grammar is deplorable … I’m not sure how she earned her advanced degrees if her writing is anything like her speaking ability. On the other hand, Mrs. Ross would most likely be a more accurate representation of the ever-changing Peoria population.
Is that what we want?
Mrs. Wolfmeyer is not what I would call an educated woman, either, but she sure beats Mrs. Ross in the communications department.
How disappointing the vote at last night’s board meeting – once again, Martha Ross was not the winner in the vote for President. One of the difficulties with the present board is that there is NO ONE with a history who can recall the successes and failures of the past boards. Martha is the board member with the longest history, the most concern for the children and the qualifications for the job. Let us hope that at the next board meeting, she will have the 4th vote and will be the leader of the group. Her opponent has maybe a 3 year tenure on the board???