Parent Rachel Maddox opposes D97 funding for summer theater program

The Oak Park ESD 97 Regular Meeting held on March 18, 2025, featured a significant public comment from parent Rachel Maddox, who voiced her opposition to funding the extracurricular theater program, CAST, with district tax dollars. Maddox, a parent of two children involved in the arts, emphasized the importance of prioritizing educational resources, particularly in literacy, over funding for summer theater programs.

Maddox shared her personal experiences with the district's arts programs, highlighting their positive impact on her children. However, she argued that the district should focus its limited taxpayer resources on addressing academic needs, particularly literacy interventions for students who are not meeting benchmarks. She pointed out that her eighth-grade daughter, Charlotte, was identified as needing literacy support but was denied intervention due to her performance being above the threshold set by the district.

During her remarks, Maddox compared the budget of the CAST program to other summer programs offered by the district, asserting that the financial commitment to CAST was disproportionate given the limited scope of other non-academic offerings. She called for a reevaluation of funding priorities, urging the board to consider the academic preparedness of students as a more pressing concern than extracurricular activities.

The meeting underscored the ongoing debate within the district regarding the allocation of resources, particularly in balancing support for the arts with essential academic interventions. The board's response to Maddox's comments and any subsequent actions regarding the funding of CAST were not detailed in the transcript, leaving the outcome of this discussion open for future meetings.