200U School Board 4-Year Candidate: Brandy Flores

Home Address/years in the school district: Village of Beecher, 17 years

Community Involvement: I am a Beecher 200U School Board member. I have faithfully volunteered for our community for over 10 years.  Besides schools and various organizations, I was a Girl Scout leader for 4 years and served on the Beecher Youth Commission for over 6. On the BYC I held the positions of board secretary and Co-Chair.

Organization/Club Memberships: Recently, I have become involved with the Beecher Part Time Players.  Professionally, I am part of the Illinois and International Sign Associations.

Awards and Honors: I have not received any awards for community involvement. For me, the honor is being able to serve my community. To see the girls from the Girl Scout Troop growing into amazing young ladies. To have high schoolers say they remember elementary class parties. To stand on the edge of a dance floor and watch a dad dance with his little girl, knowing that I helped create that memory. That is what fulfills my heart and means the most to me.

Professional Background: I work for a family-owned company, All-Right Sign as a client specialist. Prior employment includes Kohls where I worked in customer service and as Administrative Assistant which duties included accounting and human resources. I also worked at Rogers and Hollands Corporate headquarters as an assistant buyer.

Education: I graduated from Rich East in 1994 and attended Prairie State College on a scholarship.

Family: I have been married to my husband, David for 22 years. My daughter Livi is a Senior and my son Nic is a Sophomore. They have been attending Beecher schools since kindergarten

Why did you decide to run for this position? In 2021 I filled an open vacancy on the School Board. At that time, I had been faithfully attending School Board and committee meetings for over a year and gained a lot of knowledge about the board. I felt with my previous volunteer experience and professional background, I could be a beneficial addition to the board. Now, I hope to continue to have the opportunity to serve the community and move the district in a positive direction.

What qualifications / experience do you feel you possess for this position? My volunteer and professional experience lends well to many of the important duties of a Board Member. First, I am the only candidate that has experience as a Beecher 200U School Board member. Not only have I worked positions with multi-million dollar budgets, but also understand the fiscal responsibility that is required when working with tax payer and non-for profit funds. Working with the public I’ve learned great communication and listening skills. I can see past my own personal opinions and take others into consideration. This is an important attribute to have when you are representing an entire community. Working in a field of construction, I understand the intricate request for proposal process which many schools and municipalities must use. Since the School Board is responsible for approving large scale projects and purchases, the ability to review bids and contracts is a great asset.

What do you hope to accomplish? Many families, ours included, moved to Beecher because of the small-town atmosphere and highly rated school system. The district has faced many challenges in past few years and we need to return to our schools to what they once were. To accomplish this the board must work together with the Superintendent to create a strategic plan which should include academic opportunities for our students, focus on district finances by making budgetary adjustments with responsible spending and finally building a better community within our schools.

What do you see as issues that should be prioritized in the near future? The first issue that needs to be prioritized is the district finances. If the district does not receive the funds it needs to properly educate our children there will be increasingly more cuts for the students, not only academically but in other opportunities offered such as the arts, clubs and sports. Additionally, we need to return the board focus back to being good representatives for our community. For far too long it has been plagued with personal agendas that have interfered with the work the board needs to do. On the back of the Varsity basketball teams warm-ups is the word FAMILY. We need to take this que from these kids to have good teamwork and focus on building our district up instead of tearing each other down.

What would you like people to know about you? I believe a good board is made up of seven people with different viewpoints. People who can work together with an open mind to engage in meaningful decision making.  Additionally, this is a non-partisan position. I do not represent a political party or organization. My focus is and always will be doing what is best for the people of Beecher.