Endorsements: Backer, McCabe, Lackner and Kuschert for St. Charles District 303 School Board

This endorsement is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Facilities and redistricting in the District 303 School District combine to present a big challenge facing St. Charles District 303. The three candidates running for the one two-year term seat are Thomas Lentz, Michael Backer and Richard Rivard.

The seven candidates running for three four-year terms are incumbents Becky McCabe, Joseph Lackner and Matthew Kuschert along with challengers Dolores Van Hiel, Lauren Duddles, Elias Palacios and Barbara Diepenbrok.

Diepenbrok says overcrowded schools are a problem and that there are both short-term solutions to make things comfortable and more-difficult longer term solutions, hinting that a referendum to build could be in the future.

McCabe says facilities are an issue and that parents are anxious about the process of possible redistricting.

Duddles says the crowded classrooms affect many different issues, including inequity in what students receive at different schools.

Backer, a former district 303 principal, emphasizes other factors to address overcrowding, including looking at policies for transferring for the voluntary and cap-and-send programs as ways to make classrooms more equitable.

St. Charles School District 303 is fortunate to have 10 qualified candidates running for four seats.

All candidates are pleased with the working relationship the board has with new superintendent Paul Gordon. We're swayed by the direct experience of the incumbents, which will help them move District 303 forward after the disruptions of the pandemic.

For the two-year term Michael Backer is endorsed.

For the four-year terms, incumbents Becky McCabe, Joseph Lackner and Matthew Kuscher are endorsed.