Incumbents returning to school board post in Dist. 301

Just 24 hours after approving new attendance boundaries, voters in Central Community Unit School District 301 elected several new members to its board of education.

With 15 of 16 precincts reporting Tuesday, incumbents Mike Roberts and Steve Doty, both of Elgin, easily netted another term with 1,068 and 1,312 votes respectively. For the third open seat, unofficial returns show challenger Jeff Gorman of St. Charles, with 930 votes, beat out challenger Angela Matijevic, of Elgin, by less than 150 votes. She had 805. Gorman will replace outgoing board member Cathy Normoyle.

Doty, who has served on the board since 2001, said Tuesday evening that he was "excited that the community still wants me to be a part of the school board."

However, he conceded, "it's going to be a tough couple of years here." Among the issues the once fast-growing district faces is the stagnant housing market. The district, for the first time in several years, did not receive a fast growth grant from the state this year.

The new attendance boundaries, according to Superintendent Brad Hawk, were drawn to factor in this change.

With only two new homes in the district last December, Hawk told community members in a recent memo that it became clear that shifting boundaries was necessary.

While it previously was projected that a future school construction referendum would be needed by 2011, Hawk said that the proposed changes would postpone such a move, "for numerous years depending on how quickly the housing market rebounds."

Gorman said he believes that dealing with growth on a pace "that's not too quick" will be important.

"It's a matter of working with the other board members, keeping what we have and changing for the better."