Endorsements: Kellenberger, Christina Johnson, Schmitt for Central Unit District 301 school board

It's a crowded and confusing field for three seats on the Central Unit District 301 school board, and if you aren't careful, you could unwittingly vote for someone other than whom you want.

The Burlington-based district has seven candidates: among them one named Schmitt, one named Schmidt, one named Christina Johnson and one named Tina Johnson.

Further complicating matters is that the board can have no more than three members from any of the four townships - Elgin, Plato, Campton and Burlington - the district covers.

Challengers Tina Johnson and Michelle Schmidt both live in Elgin Township, and because two of the incumbents whose terms won't expire for another two years are from Elgin Township, there can be just one winner between them.

Incumbent Jeff Kellenberger and challengers Neile Litton, Christina Johnson and Maria Crawford are all from Plato Township, so only three of them can win.

There is a strong teacher influence in the election: Crawford has been a substitute in District 301 for 10 years; Christina Johnson taught in Itasca District 10; and Michelle Schmidt is a teacher in St. Charles District 303.

Tina Johnson is a marketing director for a schoolbook company, Litton is an executive for a health care company, Kellenberger a real estate broker and Duane Schmitt a retired contractor.

Many of the challengers complain about a lack of transparency in the district, and while we see this as a challenge to provide a more comprehensive website, we don't view it as a deficiency of the incumbents.

Kellenberger, the board president, a month into his first term moved to put the board's meeting packets, along with supporting information, online for all to see.

Incumbent Schmitt suggested people try out the district's mobile app, something the challengers seem to know little or nothing about.

Kellenberger counters that the problem might be that few people ever show up to meetings to learn about what is going on.

He is open to the idea of airing board meetings on TV so more people are aware.

We see no reason to bump Kellenberger or Schmitt from the board. As for the third position, we're intrigued by Christina Johnson's passion for education. Kellenberger, Schmitt and Christina Johnson are endorsed.