District 186 board member and former president Mike Zimmers passes away

Steven Spearie, State Journal-Register
·3 min read
Mike Zimmers
Mike Zimmers

Mike Zimmers, who spent over three decades as a District 186 teacher, principal, coach and administrator and later served as school board president, passed away early Wednesday.

He was 72.

Zimmers, a current school board member, was part of the district's bargaining team engaged in contract talks with the team from the Springfield Education Association on Tuesday. The session went nearly 11 hours. The two sides were expected to reconvene next week.

More:School District 186 board tables vote on consolidation; Mike Zimmers presented Goldman award

"He spent his last day in service to District 186," said Superintendent Jennifer Gill, reached Wednesday. "He was engaged and spoke with heartfelt thoughts at our negotiations.

"This is an unimaginable loss for our District 186 family. I am going to miss him every single day for a long time. There are some people who come around in your life and they become mentors and he was one of them."

Zimmers was first elected to the school board from Subdistrict 4 in 2013, two years after retiring from the district. He became president of the board in 2018 and also served as vice president.

Several weeks ago, Zimmers announced that he wouldn't seek another term on the school board in 2023, when all of the school board seats are up for election.

Zimmers was a major proponent of One Sangamon Schools, a political action committee that spearheaded the passage of a 1% sales tax hike approved by Sangamon County voters in 2018.

Southeast senior Vinny Le gets a hug from District 186 Board of Education Vice President Mike Zimmers, while being congratulated as well by District 5 Board Member Buffy Lael-Wolf, right, after giving public comments in support of the district’s efforts for masking and vaccines to keep kids in school during a school board meeting at the District 186 Headquarters in Springfield, Ill., Monday, October 4, 2021. [Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register]

The funds, which can only be used for facility upgrades or construction, safety improvements or to retire building bonds, meant major facelifts for schools or new construction around the district and county.

In April, Zimmers was presented the Bob Goldman Friend of Education award at a school board meeting.

More:Springfield District 186, teachers' union see 'some progress' in marathon session Tuesday

The award, sponsored by the SEA, was created in 1997 in honor of Goldman, who had served on the Springfield School Board for more than 20 years when he was killed in an automobile accident that year.

Zimmers told The State Journal-Register that he was appreciative of the award "because it comes from teachers, which is what I was."

Springfield Education Association

Even after his retirement, Zimmers kept up a steady presence in the district schools as well, serving as a volunteer at Enos Elementary.

Zimmers' daughter, Layne Zimmers, is an administrative intern at Franklin Middle School. His wife, Nancy Zimmers, was retired as the public affairs and communications director at SIU School of Medicine.

Zimmers was a member of United Way of Central Illinois, the Springfield Public Schools Foundation, the Race Unity Council and the MacMurray College alumni board. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Springfield Sunrise.

Funeral services are pending.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Former school board president Mike Zimmers dies