Chronically absent District 219 board member resigns; search for replacement begins

A Niles Township High School District 219 Board of Education member who was previously censured for repeatedly missing board meetings has resigned from the board.

District 219 is seeking applications to fill a vacancy on the board after David Ko resigned on July 7, a district webpage shows.

Individuals interested in joining the School Board must apply by the end of the month, and the board must vote to appoint the new board member by Sept. 5, pursuant to state code. 

The Record could not reach Ko by press time (July 15). District 219 declined to immediately share Ko’s letter of resignation and has yet to respond to The Record’s Tuesday, July 14 public-records request for the document.

The D219 board first appointed Ko to fill a vacancy on the body in 2013, said Takumi Iseda, D219’s director of communications, in an email. Ko was then elected to the board five consecutive times (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) and served as board president from 2017 to 2021, Iseda said. 

Ko’s “history of poor attendance at Board meetings,” however, began following his presidential term in 2021 and “substantially worsened” in May 2023, according to a resolution the board unanimously approved in January to censure Ko.

The resolution censured Ko for a “Willful Failure to Perform Official Duties” as he had only attended 30% of board meetings in the ’23-’24 school year, 17% of board meetings in the ’24-’25 school year and 5% of board meetings in the ’25-’26 school year.

The censure stated Ko “has provided no excuse for these absences and has refused to address his attendance issues.” He was not present at that meeting and has not attended any D219 board meeting since.

The Record previously attempted to contact Ko via email and in person at a chiropractor and acupuncture clinic he reportedly operates in Skokie, but Ko has not responded to The Record. 

The board voted again in June to censure Ko under the same charge. The resolution states Ko was absent for 21 of the 26 meetings in the ’25-’26 school year and has only attended 48 of the 68 meetings since being sworn in on May 9, 2023.

In accordance with Illinois School Code and D219 board policy, the other remaining board members have the authority to appoint a successor to fill Ko’s vacancy until the next election in April 2027. 

The district posted the board vacancy on July 13 and applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on July 31. The board will review applications and interview candidates in August before voting by Sept. 5 as they have just 60 days to fill the vacancy, the district webpage states. 

The district encouraged applicants who are familiar with D219 Board policies and the D219 Strategic Plan to complete the District 219 Board of Education Member Vacancy Application Form online. 

Per School Board Policy 2:40, a School Board member must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age and a registered voter. They must also have been an Illinois resident and D219 resident for at least one year immediately preceding the appointment, the village webpage states. They may not be a school trustee.

D219 Board President Amber Wood’s term on the school board expires in 2027, as does Vice President Ken Durr’s and Celia Stennett’s. Members Kandice Cooley, Nour Akhras and Lindley Wisnewski have terms expiring in 2029. 

When the board censured Ko last spring, they formally requested the North Cook Intermediate Service Center exercise its authority to remove Ko from his seat, but the area’s regional office of education denied D219’s request. 

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