Valente off Kaneland school board

Controversial Kaneland school board member Tony Valente, who once called a superintendent a "carpetbagger" and asked for the board president's resignation in the middle of a meeting, was the lone incumbent to lose a re-election bid Tuesday.

According to unofficial election results, Valente finished last among the eight candidates for four, 4-year terms.

Incumbent Teresa Witt received the most votes, followed by fellow incumbents Gale Pavlak and Peter Lopatin, then newcomer Ryan Kerry.

Dan Nagel came in fifth, followed by Pamela Voorhees, Jerry Elliott and Valente.

Nagel is the former longtime supervisor of Sugar Grove Township.

Valente had criticized Pavlak and Lopatin because they have close relatives working for the school district. Pavlak's husband is a bus driver and her son is a dean at Kaneland High School. Lopatin's wife is an assistant principal at the high school.

Valente could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

During his campaign, he called the district "mediocre" and said that for the amount of property taxes residents are paying, students' scores on standardized achievement tests should be higher. He also said he was censored by board President Cheryl Krauspe and that she does not run board meetings properly. Witt once accused Valente of bullying the other board members during meetings.