Glen Ellyn District 89 board picks DePaul administrator to fill seat
A DePaul University administrator from Wheaton has been appointed to a two-year seat on the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 89 school board.
Haydee Núñez was chosen from a field of nine candidates who applied to fill the seat left vacant by former board President Frank Zak, who stepped down Aug. 1 after a decade on the panel because of personal and professional reasons.
Each applicant was interviewed by the six remaining board members in closed-door meetings earlier this month.
Núñez will complete the remainder of Zak's term until the April 2017 election. One looming decision for her and the rest of the board is naming a successor to Superintendent John Perdue, who is retiring when his contract ends in June 2016. The board is planning to hire a firm to help narrow the search, a district spokeswoman said.
She also will step into finance talks - a roughly $30 million budget is projected for the 2015-16 school year - in a district that hasn't had a voter-approved tax-rate increase in almost three decades. The board also likely will review full-day kindergarten and a school day that's 30 minutes longer in the district's four elementary schools. Both went live in August.
"It was a tough decision given we had nine great candidates with the best interest of (the district) in mind," board President Mike Nelson said in a statement. "Haydee's dedication to community service helped her win the position. We are also looking forward to finding ways to engage all of those who applied, as they have talents we need to keep our district moving forward."
Núñez is the director of adult, veteran and commuter student affairs at DePaul University in Chicago. She holds a master's degree in social work and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
She has lived in Wheaton for four years and has one child attending the district's Briar Glen Elementary School in Wheaton.
She also has served on the United Way of Dupage/West Cook board of directors.
"Mrs. Núñez's leadership qualities and long-standing commitments to the United Way make her a great fit with the (district's) board," school board Vice President Beth Powers said in a statement. "She will help us to continue to make decisions in the best interests of our students and for our community."