Candidates for the D219 board of education participated in a student-run forum last Thursday night in the South Lobby. Community members, teachers, parents, and students filled the crowd behind the students on the forum who were all facing the 10 candidates who were present.

Candidates include: Carlton Evans, Sheri Doniger, Jeff Greenspan, David Ko, Eileen Valfer, Jon H. Heinz, Lateef Farisa Hussain, Linda Lampert, Brian Novak, Franklin A. Sacks, Bennett Santana, and Mark Sproat. However, two of the 12 candidates were not present at the forum, which was stated and elaborated upon at the ending of the night. Ko had a preexisting conflict, and Heinz was not heard from.

“It went just as planned. A solid number of community members attended the forum and overall, it was a successful night.” senior class president Cassie Bergman said. “I definitely feel like I got a general idea of each of the candidate’s standpoints and wish I turned 18 sooner so I could vote.”

The two hours started off with a two-minute introduction from each of the candidates. Afterwards, eight questions were proposed by the student facilitators, representatives from Niles West News, Student Government, and Debate, and each candidate was allowed to answer, but cut off after about a minute. To conclude the two-hour event, each made a closing statement in attempt to sell themselves and their vote.

“It was also a great learning experience for myself and I’m sure the rest of the student facilitators,” Bergman added.

The election will be held April 7. To watch the complete forum and listen to candidates’ opinions, please visit d219 TV.