Howard, Kenwood, Kahler, Smith for District 41

In the race for the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school board, we endorse incumbents Terra Howard and John Kenwood along with newcomers Jack Kahler and Dan Smith.

Howard and Kenwood have shown strong leadership guiding the school district. Kahler is an obvious choice because of his experience serving on three District 41 committees: master facilities, strategic planning and boundaries. Smith does not have as much involvement but showed a deep understanding of the issues the district faces, placing facilities at the top of the list.

With about 550 students in portable classrooms that are nearly a decade old, the candidates agree something needs to be done to bring those students back into brick-and-mortar buildings.

All the candidates agree that everything possible should be done to make sure all existing space is being used properly before voters would buy into a referendum to fund new buildings.

Challenger Drew Ellis has been involved in community groups and would be a committed school board member. But his understanding of educational issues isn't quite as deep as the other challengers.

We would like to see Ellis stay involved, volunteer for a school district committee to get experience and run again in the future.