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Endorsements: For Wheaton Warrenville Dist. 200: Crabtree, Long, Yeboah

There will be new voices on the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board when voters elect three members from a field of five that features only one incumbent.

The candidates - incumbent Chris Crabtree and newcomers Susan Booton, Dave Long, Harold Lonks and Mary Yeboah - will face issues from finances to facilities, but two words in particular keep coming up from residents and board hopefuls: transparency and trust. There is a sense the district has made strides in both areas, but still has a way to go.

Happily, there is hope here. Crabtree, a curriculum consultant who joined the board in 2015, understands the issues, is willing to take a reasoned long-term approach to addressing aging facilities and has demonstrated an openness to new ideas. Booton, a project manager who has served on the district's citizens advisory committee since 2015, wants to build community support by increasing outreach efforts to bring residents with no immediate ties to the district into the schools. Long, a director of finance and controller, would bring a strong financial background and a desire to increase communication. Lonks, an accountant, also would bring financial expertise. Yeboah is an educator who says she wants to focus on diversity and inclusion.

Crabtree is a solid board member. We like Long's financial background. Booton and Yeboah are intriguing, and we like Booton's involvement and dedication to the district. But Yeboah's clear-eyed view of the issues facing the schools are too hard to ignore.

We endorse Crabtree, Long and Yeboah.

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