Contested school races everywhere but Kaneland

Plenty of people are interested in being on the Geneva, Batavia and West Aurora school boards.

Kaneland? Not so much.

Batavia

The Batavia school board will lose some experience this spring, as three incumbents, including President Ron Link, decided not to run for re-election. Link has been on the board since 2001. Board members Joseph Purpura and Jack Hinterlong are also stepping away.

There are four, 4-year terms available.

Board member Tina Bleakley, who was appointed in July, is running, as is Jonathan Gaspar, Garrick C. Grizaffi, Jim Karner, Sue Locke, Michael Papka and Jason Stoops.

Geneva

Nine people are running for four, 4-year seats on the Geneva school board.

Former member Leslie Juby, who was bounced in the 2011 election, would like to rejoin. Incumbents President Mark Grosso and Bill Wilson are seeking re-election.

When Juby was on the board, from 2007 to 2011, she was known for detailed questioning of recommendations made by district staff, and voted against an early, three-year extension of the superintendent’s contract.

Others running include Jay Moffat, who is also seeking election to the Geneva park and library boards; Fred Dresser; Robert Cabeen; David Lamb; Daniel Garrett; and Jeffrey DiOrio.

Kaneland

Only two people filed for election to three, 4-year seats on the Kaneland school board: President Cheryl Krauspe and Pedro Rivas. Ken Carter and Elmer Gramley did not seek re-election.

Krauspe has served on the board since 2005. Rivas has served on the district’s financial advisory committee, and ran for school board in 2009 and 2011.

One limit on the pool of potential candidates was that nobody who lives in Sugar Grove Township was eligible to run. The board can’t have more than three members from any one township. All or parts of eight townships are in Kaneland; four are sparsely populated.

West Aurora

Seven people are running for three, 4-year seats on the West Aurora school board.

Incumbents President Neal Ormond, Jonathan Wood an Mark Bradford are running. Ormond has been on the board since 1995; Wood, since 2005; and Bradford, 2009.

Also running are William Passalaqua, Valerie Brown Dykstra, George R. Dyche and Robert Patterson. Ormond, Dykstra, Dyche and Bradford live in Aurora; Wood, Passalaqua and Patterson live in North Aurora.