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Dist. 214 foundation seeks Buffalo Grove member
A volunteer gathers Kids on Tracks summer camp participants to play a game at the last day of the 2012 session, held at Arlington Park. This and numerous other events are organized by Township High School District 214's Community Education Foundation.
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Updated: January 31, 2013 2:26PM
BUFFALO GROVE — The Community Education Foundation that benefits Township High School District 214 is missing one element: a board member from Buffalo Grove High School.
Of the six high schools in District 214, five have representation on the foundation’s board of directors. The nonprofit organization raises and distributes money to fund needs at each of the six buildings — but none of the current directors live in Buffalo Grove High School’s boundaries.
“We would love to have representation from all of our villages,” said Mike Field, the foundation’s director.
The foundation’s board can have up to 25 members, he said; it currently seats 17. Candidates can be from either Lake or Cook County — or even Stevenson High School’s boundaries.
“On some of the fringes, we are looking for some folks to join the board,” Field said. “And one of those is Buffalo Grove.”
The nonprofit Community Education Foundation is affiliated with, but operates independently from, District 214’s school board. The group runs the district’s adult- and community-education classes and events. The group offers programs devoted to literacy, performing arts, cooking and work skills, intergenerational activities, and travel packages.
“The best way to learn about something is to go there,” Field said. “You don’t stop learning when you graduate high school, you don’t stop when you graduate college.”
Carol Burlinski, Buffalo Grove High School principal and a former board member, said that with or without representation from Buffalo Grove, the foundation had been helpful for her building’s needs.
“They do a lot of work with families from our Hispanic community, and even though it is coordinated at the district level, B.G. received benefits for our families,” Burlinski said. “The foundation supports all of us.”
The foundation receives some funding from District 214, Field said, but the majority comes through its programs’ fees, as well as grants and donations; the majority of its activities take place in or originate from Vanguard School, 2121 S. Goebbert Road in Arlington Heights. The main role of the board members is to help raise money, he said.
The group meets on a Wednesday morning once every other month, and the volunteers average only a few hours of work per two-month cycle, Field said. The organization sponsors a golf outing in June, a holiday auction, a mailing drive and a variety of other activities throughout the year.
Field said it had been a few years since Buffalo Grove had a representative on the board. He said it would be “a bonus” if new candidates came with skills that could benefit the foundation’s work, but that the most important trait a board member can have is “to believe in lifelong learning.”
