Five of seven seats up for election in Mt. Prospect school district

A long and occasionally grueling election season just came to an end, but leaders in Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 already are looking ahead to the election that's coming up.

No less than five of the seven seats on the District 57 school board will be up for election in April. Given that, district leaders are telling residents that if they've ever thought about running for the school board, now would be a good time.

"We want people to know that if they have questions about what's involved in running for the board or serving on the board, we're here to help answer them," said board President Karen Nejdl, whose seat will not be up in the spring. "We'd love to see some great candidates decide to run."

Three of the five open seats carry 4-year terms. The remaining two carry 2-year terms.

Both of the 2-year seats were filled by appointment - one of them because no candidate ran for the seat in the 2013 election, and the other because former board member Sann Knipple resigned her post in January.

Nejdl said current board members Joe Sonnefeldt, Dennis Composto and Jennifer Kobus plan to run for re-election in April. The other seats that will be up are occupied by Joseph Leane and John Krupa, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

"It will be interesting, because while we do have incumbents planning to run, you never know what's going to happen," Nejdl said. "The board could look a whole lot different."

Sonnefeldt said on Wednesday that he'd always planned to serve two terms, if given the opportunity. He will run for one of the 4-year seats.

"It's important to have some continuity on a school board," he said. "Constant turnover can be a challenge."

Sonnefeldt, a musician and music teacher, said he likes how the district has progressed since he was first elected to the board in 2011.

"We're doing well overall," he said. "Student achievement is high. We approved a long-term deal with the teachers. Finances are always a challenge, but I think we're in a good place right now."

The Consolidated Election will be held April 7. District 57 residents interested in running can start circulating nominating petitions now. The period for filing for candidacy begins on Dec. 15.

For petition forms and other information about the election, go to cookcountyclerk.com/elections.