Coincidences in District 158?

I've been trying to get my head around how the election in Huntley Unit District 158 has played out.

I'm referring to how Rob LaPorta dropped out of the race late last month, leaving the field for four, 4-year seats on the school board uncontested.

LaPorta's departure means two incumbents - Shawn Green and Kim Skaja - as well as one allied candidate, Paul Troy, are virtually guaranteed to win seats in April.

LaPorta's decision to drop out also leaves the two-man race between Mike Skala and Larry Snow for the sole 2-year seat as the only contested race in the district.

Snow, who is recovering from a recent car accident, will have a tough time defeating Skala, who has spent more than a decade on the school board.

Was it just lousy luck that set up Snow for an uphill election battle? Or is this all a bit of political stagecraft?

Either way, Snow is no stranger to politics. He may have played the game himself, filing for a 2-year and 4-year seat to angle for an easier contest. It now looks like he made the wrong bet.

Whatever political calculations were made behind the scenes, it does not appear any election rules were broken - and that means no one can complain.

Now, the candidates will have to live with the consequences of their actions.

For Don Drzal, who initially was unsure if his message was compelling enough to win him a seat on the board, his fellow candidates' decisions mean he doesn't need to have any message at all to get on the board.

For Snow, his unlucky bet could spell the end of his tenure on the board, at least until the next school board election in 2011.

For Skaja, Green and Skala, their political astuteness could mean all three of them will be re-elected to the board - and gain an ally in Paul Troy.

If you ask me, that's not a bad break.

Bizarre District 300 meeting: I didn't have enough space in last week's column to write about the interesting Community Unit District 300 school board meeting on Feb. 23.

A bizarre moment came when board member John Ryan posed a question about an apparent discrepancy between two estimates for construction work.

Confusion ensued.

Board member Mary Warren said Ryan should have raised his question at a committee meeting.

Superintendent Ken Arndt asked the board to pull the item off the agenda so district officials and contractors could address Ryan's question.

While Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates said the roofing job was time-sensitive, Arndt said he didn't want to leave the public with the impression the work was rushed without proper scrutiny.

Finally, looking fed up, board President Joe Stevens banged his gavel and declared the board would take a 10-minute recess to resolve the issue.

The meeting resumed after contractors and administrators were apparently able to explain the issue to Ryan.

In two years of covering District 300, I have never seen the school board take an unplanned recess to privately discuss a public issue.

Let's hope it doesn't happen again.