River Trails school board to get expected facelift

Voters in River Trails Elementary District 26 set about giving their school board an overhaul on Tuesday.

With 10 of 11 precincts counted late Tuesday, Julia Nemcek (754 votes), Kathleen Beck (745 votes) and Dan Miller (693 votes) were the top unofficial vote-getters and appeared destined to win seats on the board.

The winner of the fourth open seat was too close to call; Rathna Koka (594) and Scott Breiler (548) were separated by just 46 votes.

Whoever wins, the result will be four new faces on the school board, because not a single incumbent was in Tuesday’s race. The winners will replace outgoing board members Becky Reese, Scott Bradley, Donna Nasser and Steven O’Mara.

Nemcek is an alumna of District 26 and a district parent. She said her big goal for her first term is to bring the school district together as a cohesive unit.

“When I talked to people during the campaign, I was surprised to see how much damage there was left from the GLC issue,” she said, referring to the recent heated and occasionally bitter debate that occurred over a proposal to change the district’s two neighborhood schools into “grade-level centers.”

The proposal was ultimately rejected.