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Bremen District 228 reorganizes board, swears in members and honors two retiring trustees
Summary
At a reorganization meeting in April 2025, Bremen Community High School District 228 swore in its newly constituted board, elected officers, adopted its regular meeting calendar and passed resolutions honoring retiring board members Debbie Stearns and Marquita Marshall Motley.
Bremen Community High School District 228 held a reorganization board meeting in April 2025 during which the board was sworn in, officers were elected and the body adopted routine governance items and resolutions honoring two departing trustees.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael Barrett administered the oath of office to the newly constituted board, telling members, “It’s my complete honor to swear in the new board members.” The oath included explicit references to service “in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Illinois and the laws of the State of Illinois,” and to duties to taxpayers, students and the community.
The board approved its April 15, 2025 regular meeting minutes after a motion by Board Member Whitcomb and a second by Board Member Motley; a roll call vote was recorded and the motion carried. The board adopted a resolution honoring retiring board member Debbie Stearns; the resolution summarized Stearns’s service (appointed in 2006 and elected in April 2007) and recognized her leadership roles on the board, including service as president, vice president and chair of the labor committee. A second resolution honoring retiring board member Marquita Marshall Motley was adopted; the resolution noted Motley’s leadership and her role as the district’s Illinois Association of School Boards delegate.
Board members completed the reorganization elections: Christie Bressler was nominated and elected president; Board Member Whitcomb was nominated and elected vice president; Mercedes (last name not specified in the transcript) was elected secretary. The board nominated and approved a permanent township trustee of schools (nomination: Gleeson) and selected delegates to the Illinois Association of School Boards. The board also approved the fixed time and place for regular board meetings as presented, and the trustees confirmed the township school treasurer/trustee arrangements described in the meeting materials.
The meeting record shows the board approved an item described in the transcript as the “adoption of the school board campus performed by the Cook County Clerk” (moved by Whitcomb, seconded by Motley) and recorded that the motion carried. The transcript does not provide further detail about that item’s substance in the record provided.
During the meeting the board announced graduation dates and future meetings: commencement exercises are scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, and Wednesday, May 14, both with 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ceremonies at the Tinley Park Convention Center. The next regular board meeting was scheduled for May 20 at 7 p.m. at Oak Forest High School.
In remarks after the retirement resolutions, Marquita Marshall Motley said, “You’ll still see me,” and indicated she will stay connected with the district. The meeting adjourned after the board completed nominations and routine governance items.
Votes recorded in the transcript were taken by roll call and are noted in the meeting minutes; the transcript records that motions were moved and seconded, roll call votes were taken, and the listed motions were adopted. The transcript does not include a complete, unambiguous roll-call tally for every motion in the audio excerpt provided.
