Chapman appointed to Palatine Dist. 15 board; lost his seat in 2011 election

Gerald Chapman, a former Palatine Township Elementary District 15 school board president handily defeated in the 2011 election, has been appointed to fill a 2-year vacancy on the panel.

Bruce Brown, the regional superintendent of north Cook County schools, did what the school board failed to do: Fill a position left open by the Jan. 4 death of Vice President Richard Bokor. The contentious decision had been kicked to Brown, who announced on Friday that Chapman was his pick from a field of 27 applicants.

Chapman's appointment was heralded by board President Peggy Babcock and Superintendent Scott Thompson, who said the 71-year-old's experience on the board and as a longtime educator will allow him to hit the ground running as the district confronts what could be expensive decisions like a 10-year blueprint for addressing aging schools.

Other board members denounced Brown's selection, saying it doesn't reflect community input, given the results of the April 2011 election.

After one term on the board, Chapman finished last, behind five other candidates, in his bid for re-election. In an upset, the slate of Scott Herr, Gerard Iannuzzelli and Manjula Sriram claimed the three available seats, now up on the April 7 ballot.

The trio campaigned hard against incumbents and a $27 million bond issue on the 2010 ballot that voters overwhelmingly rejected.

Brown did not respond to requests for interviews on why he chose Chapman. He did say in a news release Friday the pool of "many excellent candidates" made his choice difficult.

Brown inherited the decision Feb. 18, after the school board failed to name Bokor's successor in 45 days as required.

With voting power at stake, the board, split into two sides, couldn't agree on a process to trim the list to the top contenders. Members didn't interview any of the 27 applicants.

Brown chose from the 27, although he wasn't restricted to the group under Illinois School Code. About two weeks before his own deadline was to expire, Brown alerted the district to his choice in a letter dated Thursday, saying Chapman's appointment was effective immediately.

Out of the 27, Brown selected several for interview.

"I am confident that Dr. Chapman's experience as a professional educator, his prior service on the District 15 Board of Education, and his deep roots in the community through a wide range of civic and volunteer activities uniquely qualify him to serve in this role," Brown said in the release.

Chapman is expected to be sworn in at the next board meeting April 8, a day after the municipal election.

"It's unfortunate the board couldn't reach a decision," Babcock said. "I think in light of that we have to accept the decision that has been made. I think good, bad or otherwise, however you feel about it, it's time we got back to the business of the district."

Babcock dismissed criticism that Chapman's appointment doesn't represent the will of voters who headed to the polls in 2011, and she made a similar claim against the other faction's choice for the spot, Matt Lyons, a 2013 school board candidate who came in fifth behind incumbents and a former board member.

In the eleventh hour, the former minority faction of Herr, Sriram and Iannuzzelli backed Lyons' appointment, but the measure failed with Babcock, James Ekeberg and David Seiffert voting "no."

"Matt Lyons didn't serve a minute but lost the election," Babcock said. "If you want to talk comparisons, you have to do it on both sides."

She also took aim at Herr, who sent an email to parents and residents encouraging them to sign a petition backing Lyons or to contact Brown with "your support for appointing Mr. Lyons and/or other thoughts about the vacancy."

The petition started by a group called Citizens for Accountability in District 15 garnered about 200 signatures, which Babcock said she didn't find significant given the size of the 12,000-student district.

"The board is supposed to speak with one voice," she said of Herr's effort. "... That doesn't exactly set the tone for working together as a board."

Herr defended that email and another two-page one arguing for Lyons that he sent directly to Brown.

"Board members are normally elected by the community and only appointed if necessary," Herr said. "It seems like the community input should be weighted very heavily."

Chapman, who lives in Inverness, refused to weigh in on the discord surrounding his appointment.

"I am eager to move forward," he said. "I'm anxious to get up to speed on the issues that the district is facing."

Chapman stepped down as superintendent of Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 in 2001. He then was an associate dean in Roosevelt University's College of Education until 2005. He's retired after working for a consulting firm that helps school districts recruit administrators.