Holly Joy Blastic is running for the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Board of Education in the 2025 Naperville Consolidated Election.
Holly Joy Blastic is a parent and spent four years providing constituent services
First, I am the parent of four 203 students. They are currently in elementary, junior high, and high school. I am also an attorney in public service. I am a crime victim rights attorney now and oversee programs that support victims of violent crimes. I began my career in an appellate practice. Both paths allowed me to dive into Constitutional Law and Illinois statutes — things I love doing.
I also spent four years providing constituent service in a local Illinois Senate Office. That allowed me to be the eyes and ears of the district, problem-solving cases and ensuring community concerns were heard and met.
In between this work, I was a panini generation caregiver. That means I was caring for my parents through cancer and Alzheimer’s with young children at home. Serving the community is ingrained in me, so in that time of caregiving I continued to volunteer — co-founding our local Moms Demand Action Group and late volunteering in roles related to elder care.
Blastic is running for the school board because of her children
My four kids are my “why.” Their friends, our neighbors, people who share their stories when I knock on doors, the constituents who called and emailed the senate office where I worked — they are my why.
People choose to live in District 203 for our schools. They take great pride in our district, and for good reason. But each family, each student, each tax payer has different needs. I have been fortunate to be in the position to hear and understand those concerns. As a Board Member I will be in a position to help meet those needs.
Also, we are an early childhood through Connections District. I have children at three of the levels we serve — elementary, junior high, and high school. That means we are plugged in. My family is personally experiencing the programs the Board implements — right now. For example, the learning landscape for my fourth grader is different than it was for my teenagers — he started Kindergarten on Zoom! Providing that perspective matters. If elected, I will bring it to my service on the Board.
Blastic’s top priorities are adapting to the needs of current students, eliminating achievement gaps, and responsible budgeting
I touched on this with my last answer — but first is ensuring our district is adapting, recognizing, and meeting the needs of our current students. Are we getting enough speech support for kids who learned to talk when everyone was masked? Are students who started school on iPads able to write sufficiently by hand? Are we preparing our students to become critical thinkers in the time of AI and deep fakes? Those may not be items on a state checklist, but our students need those skills. It’s important that our Board adopt policies that give teachers the space and resources to meet those needs.
The corollary of that — eliminating achievement gaps — is another priority of mine. We can meet students where they are while also evaluating metrics and actively working to close any gaps they illuminate.
Finally, responsible and resilient budgeting will always be my priority. Schools are entrusted with so much. Obviously, our children — their safety, well-being, and futures. But in Illinois, our home values are closely tied to the quality of our public schools, and those schools are funded primarily by property taxes. That means our School Boards are entrusted not only with our children, but also with the single largest investment most Americans make in a lifetime. Renter or homeowner, Board decisions are reflected in the value and the cost of housing. Being a good financial steward, doing the most we can within our means, will always be my focus.
A note from NCTV17
The written content above was submitted by the candidate. The video interview was produced by NCTV17 as part of the Meet the Candidates series. All candidates running for the 2025 Naperville Consolidated Election were interviewed using the same question format.
The placement of this interview on our website does not represent an endorsement of the candidate.
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