08/27/2026
As I was reviewing some past family documents this morning, I recalled something I don't think I ever mentioned during these two campaigns: I'm not the first generation of my family to take an interest in school governance or run in a local election!
My grandfather was School Board President in my home town in the late 1960s, and my dad was a Village Councilman in the same town in the late 1980s, until we moved out to the farm next door to Grandpa in 1992. During his terms of service on the school board, he was an active dairy farmer, as well as a school bus driver, meaning that a day could have had him up before 4AM to milk the cows before his morning bus route, then after his afternoon bus route and another round of milking, he would get cleaned up to go to a school board meeting.
By the time I was old enough to remember, he was retired from both the school board and from milking cows, and by the time I was in high school, the district he once served had fallen on some hard times full of tight budgets and conflicted relations.
Today in Rockford, I see the risk for our district to suffer a similar decline in quality and reputation. Rockford is still an excellent district with many accomplishments to be proud of, but unhealthy governance habits have begun to undermine the trust of the community. Parents and voters who do not have confidence in the board's management don't enroll their children, and voters do not approve additional revenue sources at the ballot box when they don't trust they will be used responsibly. Without that per-pupil funding and tax revenue, innovative opportunities are harder to provide, and conflict between parties in the district rises.
Keep watching for further analysis of how a few course corrections now can preserve Rockford as an excellent and impressive district, and avoid the landmines that threaten the excellence of the district.
View Mr. Earl Koch's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.
