Who wants to run the schools in the Tri-Cities, Kaneland area?

Once again, the Kaneland school board election could be complicated by geography.

Eight people are seeking four, 4-year terms. Five of them - incumbents Tony Valente, Teresa Witt and Peter Lopatin, plus Dan Nagel and Jerry Elliott - live in towns and unincorporated areas within Sugar Grove Township.

But under state law, no more than three school board members can come from any one township in this unit district.

If four of them are the top vote-getters in April, only three could be seated.

The other candidates are Ryan Kerry of Elburn, who lives in Campton Township; Gale Pavlak of Elburn, who lives in Blackberry Township; and Pamela Voorhees of Maple Park, who lives in Pierce Township in DeKalb County.

The Kaneland school district goes into eight townships.

Lopatin faced this problem in 2013, when he tried to run as a write-in candidate. At that time, the board already had three people from Sugar Grove Township. Lopatin withdrew his candidacy.

If re-elected, it would be the second terms for Pavlak, Valente and Witt, and the first full term for Lopatin, who was appointed in September 2013 to fill a vacancy.

Filing for local offices concluded Monday. Here is a rundown on school board candidacies for the April election:

St. Charles

Nine candidates filed for the three expiring District 303 seats in 2015, indicating more interest than has been shown in recent years.

All three incumbents, Kathy Hewell, Nick Manheim and Judith McConnell, seek re-election. A victory would mark a fourth term for Hewell. She was the leading vote-getter the last time she ran. Manheim and McConnell seek re-election following their first terms on the board.

Four of the six challengers may be familiar names.

Lori Linkimer has served twice on the school board. Her last stint ended in 2009. Mike Vyzral is also a former District 303 board member. He came in seventh out of eight in his re-election bid in 2013.

Richard Leidig Jr. also ran for the school board in 2013. He received one more vote than Vyzral.

Stephen Bruesewitz is a longtime member of the St. Charles Democratic Party. He ran unsuccessfully for a Kane County Board seat against incumbent Republican Phil Lewis in 2010. Bruesewitz may have support from the District 303 teachers union. Teacher's union President Pam Turriff helped circulate Bruesewitz' nominating petitions.

Jennifer Ann Reeder and Lowell Yarusso are new to local ballots. Yarusso's LinkedIn profile says he is a self-employed consultant in human and organizational performance improvement.Batavia

John Dryden - the Batavia High School teacher disciplined last year over comments he made to his students about their constitutional rights - is running for the school board. Dryden retired at the end of October, having given notice and being placed on paid leave at the end of September.

Other people running for the three vacancies include Ron Rechenmacher, who is also running for Batavia City Council; Christopher Lowe; Ellen Knautz, who has spoken several times to the school board about class sizes and special-topics instruction at her child's school; Bill Gabriel; Michelle Olache, who has questioned the board about the district's finances; board President Cathy Dremel; and board member Melanie Impastato. If re-elected, it would be Dremel's second term, and the first full term for Impastato, who was appointed to the board in July 2013.

Geneva

Mary Stith, Kelly Nowak and Michael McCormick are seeking re-election. Others seeking the three available seats are Taylor Egan, Evelyn Schneider, Tina Yagla and Ann Murtaugh. Stith has been on the board since 2003, Nowak since 2007 and McCormick since 2011.

West Aurora

Unless somebody runs as a write-in candidate, the election has been decided de facto in West Aurora District 129. Four people are seeking the four positions: Incumbents Amie Thompson, Allyson Herget, Robert Gonzalez and Ira Lathan. Herget has been on the board since 1999, Gonzalez and Thompson since 2011, and Lathan was appointed in April to fill a vacancy.

U-46

Elgin Area School District U-46, the state's second-largest school district, has 11 candidates, including two incumbents, vying for four, 4-year terms on the school board.

Candidates for the 4-year seats are Jeanette Ward of West Chicago, Phil Costello of Bartlett, Cody Holt of Elgin, Larry Bury of Bartlett, Arisleyda Taylor of Streamwood, Kai Rush of Elgin, Susan Kerr of Bartlett, Ed Novak of Bartlett, Brian Sauvageau of Bartlett, and incumbents Jennifer Shroder and Traci Ellis, both of Elgin.

Rush, Holt and Costello also are trying for one unexpired 2-year term.

Central

The Burlington Central Unit District 301 school board race, though uncontested, also has several newcomer candidates, including Mitchell Penar of Elgin Township, Janet Marlovits of Lily Lake and Jeff Gorman of St. Charles. They join incumbent Laura Rabe of Elgin in seeking four, 4-year terms.

• Daily Herald Staff Writers James Fuller and Madhu Krishnamurthy contributed to this report.