Candidates aplenty in DuPage County's hottest school races

Six seats; 26 candidates.

That pretty much defines what are likely to be the two hottest school board races this spring in DuPage County, where 14 candidates are pursuing three seats on the College of DuPage board of trustees and 12 candidates are seeking three seats on the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school board.

Now that the filing period for the April 7 election has come to end, here's a look at those and some of the other top school board races in DuPage:

College of DuPage

Incumbent Kim Savage knew seeking re-election to the College of DuPage board of trustees wouldn't be easy.

Still, did the Darien resident expect to be one of 14 candidates vying for three, 6-year seats on the board?

"There has been so much news and so much interest, I'm not that surprised," she said.

Indeed, several candidates said they were inspired to enter the race because of recent media reports about the college's finances and disagreements over decisions made by the administration.

"It looks like there's too much building and landscaping and not enough attention to faculty and students," said Eric Bergman of Glen Ellyn.

The other candidates in the race are: Dan Bailey of Wheaton, Claire Ball of Addison, Charles Bernstein of Wheaton, Robert Buckley of Glen Ellyn, David Carlin of Naperville, Matt Gambs of Naperville, Roger Kempa of Darien, Deanne Marie Mazzochi of Elmhurst, Frank Napolitano of Bloomingdale, Sandra Pihos of Glen Ellyn, incumbent Nancy Svoboda of Downers Grove, and Joseph M. Wozniak of Naperville.

Napolitano said he's running because he wants to increase transparency at the college and "restore some accountability."

"I want to make it a better place to work for the teachers and employees," Napolitano said. "Ultimately, I want to serve the people."

Mazzochi issued a written statement where she said COD trustees need to provide "real" oversight.

"Trustees have a duty to ensure openness, transparency and accountability by COD officials to the electorate ... and inherently provide fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers for their considerable investment in the institution," Mazzochi said.

District 41

A dozen candidates have decided to run for three seats on the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school board.

The only incumbent in the race is Erica Nelson of Wheaton.

The challengers, who all live in Glen Ellyn, are Kurt Buchholz, Mary Campagna, Stephanie Clark, Jeffrey Cooper, Bruce Currie, Robert and Erin Dieter, Kristin Massey, Kevin and Jennifer Rath, and Lori W. Taylor.

Regional board

Seven candidates will square off for three seats on the regional board of trustees.

Laura Pollastrini, who represents Wayne Township, and fellow incumbent Joseph M. "Joe" Wozniak, who represents Lisle Township, will appear on the ballot with Paula McGowen and Patrick Ryan of Glen Ellyn, Gerald R. "Jerry" Allen of Wheaton, Catherine Hanzelin of Naperville, and Dominick L. Lanzito of Roselle.

But McGowen, Allen and Ryan all can't serve at the same time because they are from the same township.

Therefore, only one of them could be elected to represent Milton Township.

District 87

Voters in Glenbard High School District 87 will have six candidates to choose from when they cast their vote for three seats on the school board.

Incumbents Tom Trefilek of Lombard and Mary Ozog of Glen Ellyn will appear on the ballot with challengers L.J. Spasovski of Glen Ellyn, Brian Edward Loftus of Glen Ellyn, Martha Mueller of Lombard and Margaret DeLaRosa of Glen Ellyn.

District 200

Two incumbents on the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board - Jim Gambaiani and James Vroman - will appear on the ballot with three challengers.

Newcomers Chris Crabtree of Winfield, Gary Tonn of Wheaton and Judith Zapf of Carol Stream are making bids for the three seats on the school board.

Crabtree serves as president of the Wheaton Warrenville PTA Council. Gambaiani and Vroman both are seeking second terms.

District 204

The three incumbents in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 - board President Lori Price and Mark Rising, both of Aurora, and Justin Karubas of Naperville - are seeking re-election to the board. Meanwhile, challenger Renata Sliva of Naperville is hoping to be elected to one of the three seats. The district serves portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook.

District 108

Claiming that the Lake Park High School board needs a change, Ray Kubalewski of Medinah is hoping to take one of three seats on the board.

Kubalewski is challenging incumbents Bob Marino, P.J. Olzen and Barbara Layer, who are all Roselle residents.