Endorsements: Laudadio, Parthimos, Stoltman for Bensenville District 2

We had to do some digging to start to get an idea of what's going on with the Bensenville Elementary District 2 school board race. Originally seven people were running for four 4-year terms, then six, and now it's officially five.

Two people - current board members Jorge Sanchez and Matthew Vassar - were removed from the ballot after objections to petition signatures. Only one remaining candidate has any semblance of an online presence. Only three responded to our inquiries. Thankfully, we believe these three people have the best interests of the district, teachers, taxpayers and especially students at heart.

That may be the case with the other two candidates, current board Secretary Kathyrine Krajecki and Christopher A. McCullough. We know Krajecki remains involved, as the board meeting minutes show her regular attendance, but we can't endorse her lack of response to inquiries even to her official district email address. McCullough has been unreachable and has zero online presence that we can find.

That leaves us with current board President Robert Laudadio, challenger Lori Parthimos and challenger James Stoltman. Laudadio, finishing his second term, is unhappy with the challenges to his fellow incumbents' petitions that he believes have to do with last year's contentious teacher contract negotiations. Whatever the case, Laudadio touts his career working in school buildings and grounds as valuable to a school board helping manage the district's spending.

Parthimos is a district parent who has an impressive resume as a teacher herself in another district with multiple college degrees, including in teacher leadership and school administration. She's interested in increased school board transparency and accessibility. The board could use her ideas. And Stoltman is a district parent who's been involved with the PTA and other volunteering. He's only beginning to attend meetings and learn about district business; we can give him a qualified endorsement to bring fresh perspective.

Vassar, the current board vice president, is rumored to be running as a write-in candidate, but we cannot confirm that. He had withdrawn from the ballot after the objections to his election petition. In the end, we cannot make an endorsement for the fourth open seat.