Kerris Lee To Join Unit 4 School Board

Kerris Lee, 30, is the newest member of the Champaign Unit 4 school board.

Lee is a partner with an IT company, and founded the group, Illini for Kids. Through that group, he has worked with the University of Illinois, Parkland College, and Unit 4 to help K-12 students learn the basics in computer programming.

He was selected by the Champaign School Board on Monday night after interviews with six candidates to fill the vacancy left when Stig Lanesskog resigned in June.

Lee was unanimously chosen by the board following a closed session, and he will be sworn in on Aug. 5.

As a member of the school board, one of the issues, he said, he hopes to tackle is bullying.

 “I very much see this problem as not just a school district, but a community problem," Lee said.

Lee explained that students need to have more people to turn to if they are being bullied in the classroom or even online. For example, he said University of Illinois graduate students studying social work could fill that role.

 "We’re all affected when one of our kids are bullied," he added. "So, we need to make sure we tie in the community to make sure that we can help mitigate bullying in our schools.”

During his time on the school board, Lee said he will also review ways to improve classroom diversity, and boost technology to better prepare students for the new Common Core State Standards.

His term ends in 2015.