Meet Micah Miller, Subdistrict 2 candidate for District 186 board of education
Micah Miller is looking at a renaissance of sorts on the north end of Springfield, which he represents in Subdistrict 2 on the District 186 board of education.
Miller, who is seeking a second term, particularly sees himself as a champion for Lanphier High School, which is going through a $93.2 million renovation thanks to the 1% sales tax increase passed by Sangamon County voters in 2018.
"I've helped advocate for the trades program at Lanphier, to get students plugged into apprenticeships right at the age of 18," Miller said. "For those who are college bound, I've worked with teachers over there to increase their enrollment in National Honor Society, because that can pay off in scholarship opportunities if you choose to stay locally or if you have college aspirations elsewhere.
Update: Construction on a redesigned Lanphier High School is making progress
"I see opportunities (there). I don't know that they've had a strong voice on the north end for a while, so I'm enjoying that role and I have a vested interest. It's where my kids are going to end up, just like my wife and me."
The board's vice president, Miller said he jumped on the district's insurance committee after seeing the teachers' health care soar and he was on the bargaining committee which helped secure a three-year contract with teachers this past fall.
"You just have to look for problems and look for opportunities and to get involved to solve them," he said.
Miller said he thinks his opponent, Emerson Weed, has a conflict of interest being employed by the Sangamon-Menard Regional Office of Education.
"When you consider the contracts and the business and the votes we take with that office, he would have to abstain from all of that," Miller said.
Micah Miller
Age: 44
Occupation: Director, programs and policies department, Illinois Secretary of State
Family: Wife, Tonya; daughters, Hailey and Tori
Political experience: Elected to District 186 board of education in Subdistrict 2 in 2019 (defeated Sean Dickerson). Board vice president. Democratic precinct committeeman, Capital Township Precinct 057
Education: Bachelor of arts in political science, University of Illinois Springfield; associate of arts, Lincoln Land Community College
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Micah Miller is running for District 186 school board in Springfield
