Gurnee school board member resigns after one meeting

After attending just one meeting as a member of the Woodland 50 Elementary District school board, newly elected Ryan Koehl has resigned his seat, the Gurnee-based district announced Tuesday.

Koehl was elected to the board April 2 and attended the board's April 29 meeting to be sworn in.

“It became apparent only after I was in the role of school board member that the amount of time and level of commitment needed to be an effective board member is more than I can give,” Koehl said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

District spokeswoman Carolyn Waller Gordon said Koehl called the district on Thursday to resign.

Koehl ran unopposed with two other candidates — fellow newcomer Nasima Patel and incumbent Elizabeth “Lizzy” Helgren. A fourth candidate, Renea Amen, filed to run but was knocked off the ballot by Lake County election officials in January after they found problems with her nominating petitions.

The school district announced Tuesday that anyone interested in filling the vacant board seat should send a letter of interest outlining qualifications and a resume to board secretary Laura Campanella at lcampanella@dist50.net by 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 28. Whoever fills the vacancy will serve on the board until the April 2021 election.

This is the second time in 2019 that the board has had a vacancy. In January, newly elected state Rep. Joyce Mason gave up her District 50 seat, saying she wouldn't feel right missing meetings and not taking votes. The board selected Amen to serve the rest of Mason's term, which also expires in 2021.