District 124 Welcomes New Board Members After Close Race

Although voter turnout was low, were a close call for .

With eight people vying for three seats on the board, newcomers and won highly coveted spots. Neither candidate had ever served on school boards before, but said they are excited to learn and get to work.

“I feel very humbled that everyone has confidence that I will do a good job for the community and the district,” said Panico Leonard, who claimed the majority of votes at 22 percent.

Both Panico Leonard and Doyle McNamara said that aside from learning their new duties, helping improve communication in the district was their top priority.

Doyle McNamara said “lack of communication” is one of the biggest problems facing District 124 that she’d like to tackle.

“I feel that there’s a huge gap in communication between what happens with the superintendent, teachers, boards, then parents…it just filters on down,” said Doyle McNamara. Seventeen percent of votes went to her.

Panico Leonard added the budget was one of her concerns of the district. Late last year, Supt. Diane Cody said the district is now spending reserve funds and continues to wait on money owed to it by the state.

“We have to be very creative in how we manage our budget,” said Panico Leonard. "Generally, most of us have been very worried of how we’re going to be financially responsible to our taxpayer but making sure our kids get the best education and the highest quality.”

Incumbent and current District 124 Board of Education president ,  maintained her seat on the board and will go into her second term.  She claimed 20 percent of votes on Tuesday. Rohan was voted in as president earlier this year, after former interim president Terry MacDonald resigned from his position. MacDonald was voted in as interim president after James Flanagan resigned in late November.

Rohan said she was excited and looking forward to using her experience from her first term in this one. Her focus, she said, would be the same as it has always been.

“I think it’s still important to be the best district we can and provide the best education we have with the resources we have," said Rohan.

The results of the tight race bumped newly appointed board member off the board, who came in at 13 percent of the vote.  Board members . At the time, he was the athletic director at Marist High School. Schergen was not immediately available for comment.

who had seven percent of votes, said he “would definitely run again” for District 124 Board of Education, but that he didn’t know if he reached out to residents enough to get their vote and said he would attend more events. Richter said he did not attend the March 29 “because I had a mandatory confirmation meeting for my daughter at St. Bernadette. So I feel that that really did hurt” the campaign. His daughter's confirmation, he said, was his priority that night.

“I didn’t put out signs like some of the other candidates did. Financially I couldn’t afford it,” Richter said, adding that although he is well-known in the community, he could have done a little more to get votes.

“I’m disappointed that I wasn’t elected,” said , another challenger, ”but I think that you’re going to see over the next few months some differences and hopefully all for the good. ... I think that hopefully these three will help bring the community back together, because it definitely needs that."

At the Meet the Candidates Forum, Duffy spoke about how the district had been divided over the last year and a half, “because of the community’s perception that the board does not listen to them.” He said community members felt their voices had not been heard, and the board rarely considered their opinions before making decisions.

Other challengers Dwayne Pierre-Antoine and were not available for comment Tuesday night.

Other Races

The Village Board of Trustees welcomed Public Information Officer to the board. Trustees James McQuillan and Mark Marzullo kept their seats.

Evergreen Park Public Library trustees Kim Shine and Deborah Pearson maintained their positions.

added newcomer Larry Symanski to its board, who won a seat for a four-year term. Incumbents and Christopher Brett maintained their four-year seats. , also an incumbent, now has a two-year turn.

Low Voter Turnout

Precincts across the village said voter turnout was low this time around. Joseph O’Shea, who managed Precinct 54 at the said only nine percent of voters registered with the precinct came out.

“This type of election, as far as the village is concerned, is a midterm election,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is all too typical of school board elections.”

Check back with Evergreen Park Patch for more Election 2011 updates.