The Regional Office of Education (ROE) for northern Cook County denied District 219 School Board’s request to remove board member David Ko from office last month, following the Board passing a resolution to censure Ko for his lack of attendance at a special meeting on Jan. 27. Ko has missed 39 of 59 regular district board meetings.

In its decision communicated to board president Amber Wood on Feb. 18, the Intermediate Service Center (ISC) Executive Director April Jordan explained that although the law provides the power to regional superintendents to remove board members for willful failure to perform official duties, it has only done so in limited situations.

“Under these circumstances, as well as the limited amount of time remaining on the term, the power of removal is best left to the voters and not to this office,” Jordan said in the letter. Ko’s term expires in 2027.

In further correspondence, Wood asked Jordan to reconsider and Jordan replied that Ko’s sporadic attendance did not constitute “egregious circumstances” necessary to justify the removal of an elected official.

“Member Ko has been present at Board meetings every fifth or sixth occasion, which demonstrates some level of engagement,” Jordan said in the email. “Removing an elected official from their appointed seat is reserved for the most egregious circumstances, and therefore, the Intermediate Service Center is not inclined to disregard the democratic process.”

Wood conveyed frustration in her emailed response to Jordan.

“I will be sure to note for the public that the Regional Board of Education considers attendance optional.”

Wood, who was elected school board president last year and has served on the board since 2023, led the effort to remove Ko from office. She summarized the effort and the ROE’s decision at the Board’s March 10 meeting.

“As elected officials, we are given a sacred responsibility by those who elected us to office, and this system in place is this: the board upholds the board’s policies, and we monitor ourselves,” Wood said.

Wood expressed her disappointment with the response from the ROE.

“Both the regional board of education and ISC have been given the authority and the power statutorily to intervene and help boards address board member misconduct,” Wood said. “Yet, in response, I believe we’ve received in fact the opposite of that request for support.”

Ko, a graduate of Niles North, was first appointed to the school board in 2013 after the death of school board member Lynda Smith. He has since won consecutive elections and was recently re-elected in 2023.

Multiple correspondences and special board meeting minutes reveal that Wood and former board president Ken Durr reached out to Ko but never received a response.

“This is not a personal grievance; it’s a matter of governance integrity,” Durr said. “When an elected official willfully and consistently fails to attend more than 60% of the meetings, ignoring every attempt at counseling and outreach, they are effectively disenfranchising the voters, who expect a full seven-member body to deliberate on their behalf.”

Board member Lindley Wisnewski also spoke out during the meeting, showing support for the effort to remove Ko.

“I also would like to just give you my full support in continuing to push back on this decision, which I think is absolutely abhorrent on their part, and shows a real lack of actual investigation into it, which I think is really disappointing,” Wisnewski said.

Wood commented on the Board’s plan moving forward.

“We are going to continue to advise the regional board of education about the situation and continue to offer them the opportunity to intervene,” Wood said.

According to Wood, the Board has reached out to Ko, giving him options.

“We have asked member Ko to recommit himself to the board,” Wood said. “Or if he has found his life not such where he can serve the board adequately, that he will do the right thing and step down. Either one is completely acceptable…how can you look a student in the eye and say school is important…when one of the guys running the joint can’t even show up.”