Jenny Brown was sworn in Monday as the newest member of the Portage Township School Board.
She was the only applicant for the vacancy created by the resignation of Jeff Smith, who was hired as the new Portage High School athletic director.
Brown is also the only candidate on the ballot this fall for the District 1 seat on the board. That term begins Jan. 1, 2028, the day after Smith’s term – now Brown’s – ends.
“I don’t know what I would change right out of the gate,” she said, acknowledging it will take time to get up to speed and understand what she would be helping make decisions about.
Board Vice President Wilma Vazquez understands. “We all bring something unique to the table, and you will do the same,” she told Brown.
“You bring another perspective in for all of us, which is really important for our board,” board President Andy Maletta told her. “We are really looking forward to having you join us.”
It didn’t take long.
Even though she was the only applicant for the vacancy, the board interviewed her the same as it would any other candidate, and then board attorney Ken Elwood swore her in.
“Just jump right in? No warm-up? Nothing?” she remarked as she was invited to be sworn in and serve on the board for the remainder of the meeting.
During the interview, Brown said her oldest just graduated. She has two kids attending Portage High School, a junior and a freshman.
Four years ago, she ran against Troy Williams and lost “by a pretty narrow margin,” she said, just 197 votes, or less than two percentage points.
“I still feel passionate and I care about our community and what is best for our kids,” she said.
“Portage schools are good. They’re great,” Brown said. She wants to promote Portage’s schools.
“It’s been a good experience for my kids. They are thriving. My daughter is ready for college. My boys are challenged and doing well,” she said.
Brown’s vision, she said, is “to be an ambassador and be a supportive member of the team and do what’s best for our community and our kids.”
As for what she brings to the board, Brown led with, “I have a decent sense of humor”
“You’ll need that here,” Maletta told her.
Brown said she listens to all aspects of an argument before making a decision. After being sworn in Monday, she abstained on all votes.
“I would like to learn more” about the teachers’ situation, she said. Encouraging more parents to send their children will help. “When your kids come here, your tax dollars come here, too, and we can pay people better.”
“We do have a lot of really great teachers that are doing a wonderful job preparing our kids for college,” Brown said.
Decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. “I know there’s a lot of interesting policies coming from the state,” she said. While the school board can’t override those edicts, “if we can just do the best we can for the kids,” that’s a plus, she said.
Among challenges the board faces are the budget transition and dealing with the effects of the massive grade realignment formally approved by the board Monday.
With Aylesworth Elementary School decommissioned and being demolished in about a month to make way for a new Aylesworth Middle School, the remaining elementary schools will house grades K-4. Fegely will become an intermediate school for grades 5-6, and Willowcreek Middle School, to be replaced by the new Aylesworth Middle School when it’s built, will serve grades 7-8.
The board adopted a series of new and revised policies. The biggest change, Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said, is to require students to power down and store internet-connected devices – cellphones, tablets, smartwatches, AI glasses and the like – in their lockers or, for elementary students, their coat closet.
That’s in keeping with a new state law, effective July 1, that forces school boards to keep students from accessing the devices during the school day.
The board also approved a $433,000 change order for the construction of the new middle school after the city disallowed diverting runoff north of the football field into a swale. All the stormwater has to be handled on site, Director of Buildings and Grounds Mile Mavrovic told the board, so that translates into an additional 7,000 cubic yards for the planned detention pond.
At Portage High School, an April 27 storm caused significant damage, requiring more than $500,000 for 50,000 square feet, roughly the size of an elementary school roof, Mavrovic said.
Insurance will cover about $250,000 of the cost, Alaniz said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
