Though they’re loaded with responsibility, require late-night hours and pay nothing, seats on northwest suburban school boards are in high demand.
As voters go to the polls Tuesday, incumbent school board members are doggedly fighting to stay put, trying to fend off challengers who think they can better deal with the main issues of growth and technology.
“School board elections are always emotional because they involve our two most precious possessions: children and money,” said Jerry Glaub, of the Illinois Association of School Boards.
Fast growth also is driving a series of big-ticket building proposals that will be decided by referendum: proposals for $78.9 million in improvements for Carpentersville-area schools, $28 million for a new library in Elgin and nearly $10 million for a new village hall with a police and fire station in Barrington.
In Schaumburg Township, lawyers will closely watch the outcome of a $400,000-a-year bond issue put before voters to settle a lawsuit brought by a woman run over by a township bus. If it fails, the case could go to trial and cost taxpayers more.
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Still, voter turnout for elections on such intensely local issues has averaged just 12 percent over the last decade, according to the Cook County clerk’s office. And this year isn’t expected to be much different.
Tuesday’s election will be the last separate, non-partisan election held in November. To save money and increase turnout, the General Assembly changed state law to make the next such election in April 1999, when non-partisan municipal offices also will be on the ballot.
Low turnout generally favors incumbents, who already have subtle advantages. Residents in Arlington Heights-based District 214, for instance, received a seven-page report on student achievement in their mailboxes Friday, prepared by the district.
“The piece will definitely help the incumbents,” said Mt. Prospect resident Dave Lowry, a former school board candidate.
District officials deny that the report was related to the election, saying it was in response to negative publicity about test scores. Names of school board members grace the cover of the study because it is an official document, they said.
But while incumbents may have a leg up, they are hardly shoo-ins. And come Wednesday, several school boards could have radically different faces and directions.
Barrington District 220 has 12 candidates gunning for five seats, while District 214 has 10 residents vying for five positions. Des Plaines District 62 has a field of eight hopefuls for four seats, and in Elgin District 46, six people are running for three slots.
Schaumburg-based District 54 has nine candidates for four spots.
In District 214, the main issues are spiraling property taxes, classroom technology and building improvements. Incumbents John Ratliff, Sandra Rigopoulos, Bill Blaine and Mimi Cooper are being challenged by Art Gollberg, Stephen Sharer, John Rana and Edward Arntson for four-year terms.
In the race for one two-year seat, incumbent Kevin Sheehan is challenged by Bill Dussling.
In Palatine-based District 211, many are concerned about the district’s technology plan and communication among the board, administration and the public.
Six candidates are vying for three, four-year seats in District 211, including incumbent Anne Koller. Challengers include Anna Klimkowicz, Jesse Macro, Dora Wolf, Ray Ivancic and Donald Laxton.
A volatile race in Barrington District 220 centers on district finances. Twelve candidates are running, with 10 seeking four-year terms and two competing for a single two-year vacancy. Four of the 12 candidates are incumbents.
In District 54, five seats are open. In a race for a two-year seat, Wendell Howell and Maureen Culleeney are challenging Barbara Hengels. Incumbents Donna Baiocchi, Carl Cox, Charlotte Kegarise and Phillip Stewart are fighting off hopefuls Mark Cramer and Deborah Hill for four-year seats.
Cramer figures in another District 54 issue: whether to abolish the position of Schaumburg Township school treasurer. Acting under an independent board, the school treasurer signs district checks and keeps school property titles.
Cramer, a school township trustee, argues that the system provides needed oversight of school finances. School officials call the system an unneeded $50,000-a-year expense. Voters in Palatine District 15 also may abolish the position in Palatine Township.
Normally turbulent Elgin District 46 is low-key this year, with school boundaries surfacing as a major issue. Three challengers, Michael Bardsley, George Koziol and Anthony Smiklo, hope to replace incumbents Janet Korman, Robert Wise and Joyce Fountain.
In District 300, which is expected to grow by almost 3,000 students in five years, voters will decide on a plan to build two schools, expand nine others and make safety repairs and improve classroom technology.
School board candidates include incumbents Dean Stiegemeyer, a police officer in Carpentersville; Steve Guetschow, a deputy fire chief in Algonquin; and newcomer Anne Bartos Miller. Incumbent Patricia Brannon is not seeking a third term.
In other ballot initiatives: Palatine voters may increase telephone charges to improve its 911 system; the Prospect Heights Rural Fire Protection District may absorb the Palwaukee Area Fire Protection District, raising taxes for residents; and Hoffman Estates may formally adopt a managerial form of government.
ELECTION DAY
TUESDAY, NOV. 4
– Voting for: Local school board representatives and referendum proposals.
– Polls: Open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. To learn the location of your polling place or to register a complaint about voting procedures, call 312-443-5196 in suburban Cook County or 630-232-5990 in Kane County.
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– What’s open: Most government offices will be open.
– TV coverage: Begins at 7:30 p.m. on cable on CLTV.