Glen Ellyn District 41 picks new board member

The Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school board has named a new member to a vacant seat.

The board voted 4-0 Friday to appoint Lori Taylor to a term of just three months. She replaces Willie DiFabio, who stepped down unexpectedly earlier this month, less than a year after his own appointment.

Taylor unsuccessfully ran for a board seat in 2015 and co-chaired a task force that recommended the district build an addition at Hadley Junior High to replace portable classrooms. Committee members also delivered a report to the board last April that expressed support for building additions at elementary schools to accommodate a proposed kindergarten program.

The board decided to ask voters in April to approve a $24.2 million borrowing plan for the Hadley classroom addition and to make repairs in elementary schools. The request does not seek funding for kindergarten classrooms after that project received lukewarm support on a recent survey.

Taylor was chosen from among four other applicants for the seat and sworn in Friday.

DiFabio, her predecessor, resigned because of conflict-of-interest concerns that officials said were raised "internally" over the holidays about his work as a substitute teacher in the district.

At the time of his resignation Jan. 9, board President Erica Nelson said DiFabio could not be paid more than $2,000. The concerns came up because DiFabio crossed that threshold, receiving about $3,200 so far this school year for his substitute teaching.

DiFabio also has backed out of the race for a full, 4-year term on the board because he wants to continue substitute teaching. He was the lone incumbent.

Five candidates - down from an original field of 10 - are now running for four available seats in the election April 4.

They are Marty Glover Boyd, Robert Bruno, Bruce Currie, Linda D'Ambrosio and Jason Loebach.