FAIRBURY – Following a few months of planning, the first meeting of a new group designed to help members of three local Fairbury political bodies bring their heads together is officially in the books.  

This collective is called the Super Board, and it’s designed to unite officials from the city government, the county government, and the Fairbury school board, giving them all a seat at the same table to discuss common issues and their solutions.  

After earning approval by all three different entities – the City Council, the Jefferson County Commissioners, and the school board – over the last few months, the new-look Super Board met for the first time in the school board chambers last Thursday.  

Designed and presented by new Fairbury school superintendent Devin Embray, who has presided over groups like this in previous stops in his professional career, the three distinct groups that comprise the Super Board met as one for really the first time, and found that they had many common obstacles and objectives.  

County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock was the county’s representative at the first meeting last week, which was also attended by Mayor Kelly Davis and two other city councilmembers as well as Embray and a few members of the board of Fairbury Public Schools.  

Schoenrock reported Tuesday morning that the group all agreed on many common issues that affect not just the three political entities, but all the citizens they are tasked to represent. That includes problems related to drugs and crime; affordable housing, or the lack thereof; the need for available childcare options; mental health concerns and school truancy.  

In short, Schoenrock summarized, the core issues members of all three groups face individually and collectively is the need to attract and retain staff; improve and uphold infrastructure; and maintain services that taxpayers and citizens need and expect in the face of widespread rising costs. Now that those lines have been drawn, the next step for the Board is determine how to address those issues, individually and collectively.  

“It’s a tough time right now for a lot of people,” he said Tuesday. “And everyone wants those services, that each of these entities provide, whether it’s the county, the city, or the school district. And we have to have the revenue to provide those top-quality services. It’s a very tough challenge that we all face as elected officials, and that was kind of the common element – we're all feeling that right now.” 

The group agreed to meet every two months in rotating locations, allowing every group the opportunity to host meetings on their “home turf.” The next meeting of the new Super Board is slated for February 6.