This bio is part of Tiger Times Online’s coverage of the 2025 school board election. The election will take place on April 1. For more information, click here.

For a full Q&A with Terri Dalla Riva, click here.

Terri Dalla Riva is the District 7 school board’s current vice-president and is one of seven candidates running for three seats on the board from inside the largest Edwardsville Township in the 2025 Consolidated Madison County elections.

Dalla Riva has been on the board since 2015, when she ran because of her “deep concern for fiscal responsibility.” She has chaired the Finance Committee for eight of her 10 years on the board, and says the board has approximately $5.1 million in the cash fund, which she plans to allocate to different areas.

“I grow concerned in a negotiation year, negotiating with the unions to make sure that we can negotiate salary increases and fund that, because we have two or three year contracts,” she said. “The ED fund is the biggest driver of funding: teachers, secretaries, staff, and administrators.”

If elected, Dalla Riva says she wants to continue working with various Illinois state representatives to get funding for a bill which would provide free lunch to all students.

“I’ve always felt that school boards need to maintain a voice with government, and we do that by joining together with the Association and bringing our concerns to the General Assembly,” she said. “Our policy is rooted in law in Illinois school code. If we can direct some of that law, it comes back in grants and funding.”

Her view on changing the school start times and class schedules — which was the most prevalent issue among polled EHS students — is that the board should follow the Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that start times for middle and high schools should be no earlier than 8 a.m. However, she still says she is open to flexibility.

“Everybody has a different schedule. The school district rolled out a survey, so it’s still under discussion,” she said. “We really have some serious discussions as to, how do we make sure that teachers are on board, and, how do we make that possible? It’s a huge decision.”

Overall, Dalla Riva said she wants to ensure education is well funded in the district and that the classrooms are as safe as possible.