Revolt against Indian Prairie board fizzles
If Indian Prairie Unit District 204 voters were planning a revolt against the current school board, the uprising was short-lived.
With all ballots counted, voters overwhelmingly backed incumbents Cathy Piehl and Chris Vickers on Tuesday and added newcomers Susan Rasmus and Dawn DeSart.
Rasmus led all candidates with 4,260 votes, followed by Piehl with 4,085, DeSart with 3,786 and Vickers with 3,751.
Thirteen candidates appeared on the ballot for four vacancies. Mark Rising garnered the fifth-highest vote total with 3,646.
The newly seated board will have some difficult decisions to make with the August opening of Metea Valley High School, steeply declining revenues and the aftermath of an alleged sexual assault of a middle school student by two classmates.
Rasmus, a full-time mom, longtime volunteer on the Nancy Young Elementary PTA and a former substitute teacher campaigned on a platform of being fiscally responsible while ensuring students receive every opportunity to succeed.
Piehl and Vickers, the only two incumbents seeking re-election, finished second and fourth respectively.
Vickers was elected to her first term in April 2005. She has been vocal against the need for Metea Valley High School and unnecessary spending. She also has pledged to vote against a pending teachers contract.
Piehl was appointed to fill an unexpired term in September 2008. In recent weeks, she had been criticized in some corners for not seeking the removal of former board president Mark Metzger.
DeSart, the other newcomer to board, celebrated her victory Tuesday night.
"I am very excited to win after fighting a long and hard campaign," DeSart said. "But I know we have a lot to do to clear up the negativity and heal the district. This school board is at all-time low as far as getting respect from taxpayers."
A four-man slate of candidates - Doug DiFusco, Jerry Huang, Eric Hepburn and Donald Moscato - who received a combined $32,450 donated through the Indian Prairie Education Association teachers union, failed to win a single seat. The four did well in the Will County portion of the district but were routed in the DuPage portion.