Schools
Three District 86 Board Members Confirm Plans to Run Again
Board President Dennis Brennan and board members Kay Gallo and DeeDee Gorgol say they will seek re-election in April; Dianne Barrett undecided
Three of the four Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education members whose seats will be up for election in April have confirmed they plan to be on the ballot once more. Board member Dianne Barrett, whose lawsuit against the district related to board member access to records is still ongoing, said she has not made her decision on 2013 yet.
“At this time, I have a packet but I am undecided as to whether I am running,” Barrett said in an email.
Barrett and board member Dr. Richard Skoda, whose seat is not up for election this time, frequently clash with a majority of board members whose de facto leader is Board President Dennis Brennan. He confirmed following Monday night’s school board meeting at Hinsdale South High School that he plans to seek reelection to the board, but declined to comment further, saying he had spoken enough during another contentious meeting in which he clashed with Barrett and Skoda over the tax levy the district will seek for the next fiscal year.
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Brennan is in his second term on the board, having been first elected in 2005. Board member DeeDee Gorgol also confirmed following Monday’s meeting that she will run for a second term in April.
Earlier, board member Kay Gallo said she was running for re-election.
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“The district has been going forward and making progress since before I was elected.” she said. “I just still want to be part of that team."
When asked about the board’s accomplishments during the last four years, Gallo pointed to the new turf field at Hinsdale Central and the summer 2012 improvement projects that included air conditioning at both Central and South.
“If we expect a good product to come out, we need to make sure our students have the tools and a good environment to do their best in,” she said.
The period for filing nomination papers to run for the April 9 election begins Monday, Dec. 17 and ends Wednesday, Dec. 26. Each candidate must have the signatures of at least 50 qualified voters residing in the district in order to get on the ballot. Any district resident who will be at least 18 years of age and is not a child sex offender as defined by state statute can seek election to the board.
