IASB Update for November 2025

Strategic Plan Survey: Respond by November 30
Last month IASB sent emails and mailed letters to all 5,890 school board members about an important strategic planning initiative taking place this year. The online survey closes November 30. All board members are encouraged to complete the 12-question survey.

IASB Adds Two New Staff Members
The Illinois Association of School Boards has welcomed two new members to its team.

Darrin Burnett is the Association’s new Director of Policy Services. He spent 13 years as an education reporter for the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, covering school boards in Morgan, Greene, Scott, and Cass counties, as well as two liberal arts colleges, a community college, and the Illinois School for the Deaf and Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. Since 2008, Burnett has been a non-profit fundraiser, working for Special Olympics Illinois, Pleasant Hill Village Nursing Home, and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Jacksonville, he will be working from IASB’s Springfield office.

Jody Burtnett joins IASB as Executive Assistant, Office of the Executive Director, reporting to Kimberly A. Small and based in the Springfield office. Burtnett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Millikin University and a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from Sam Houston State University in Texas. She joins IASB after 18 years at Richland Community College, where she provided academic leadership and supported students as they reached their educational goals as College Registrar and Director of Financial Aid & Veterans’ Affairs. Burtnett will be supporting the IASB Office of the Executive Director with daily operations.

Online Conference Registration Open through November 17
The final day for online Conference registration is November 17. Registered attendees can access the 2025 Conference app from Whova, which is available on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Sessions in the app can be filtered by date, topical track, and venue location. The app enables attendees to create a personalized schedule, join conversations through the Community Board, locate meeting room maps and exhibitor information, access handouts, and participate in Conference Trivia.

Annual Conference will take place November 21-23 in Chicago, with pre-conference activities beginning on November 20. A detailed event schedule is available via the online Conference Planner.

IASB Office Closed for Thanksgiving
During the week after the Joint Annual Conference, IASB staff will be working November 24, then the Springfield and Lombard offices will be closed from November 25-28 to commemorate the Thanksgiving holiday.