Two incumbents, two newcomers lead in District 211 race

A pair of incumbents and two newcomers are leading in the race for four seats on the Palatine Schaumburg High School District 211 board, according to preliminary results late Tuesday.

With 136 of 148 precincts reporting, newcomer Kimberly Cavill leads the field with 10,659 votes, followed by incumbent Peter Dombrowski with 10,655, fellow incumbent Steven Rosenblum, with 9,726, and newcomer Mark Cramer with 8,769.

Incumbent Will Hinshaw was trailing with 8,278 votes, as was newcomer Matthew Saternus with 5,725. All results are unofficial.

"I'm mostly just thrilled at the result, and I feel really excited," Cavill said.

"There is a lot to be proud of with our schools," she added. "There are certain areas where I know that I have the experience and the knowledge to build on some improvements. There are definite areas where I want to build on past success and make that bigger and more expansive."

Dombrowski said he will continue to push back against the administration on taxes and financial issues.

"We're elected as a board to represent the community, and our taxes are high, and we need to address that," he said. "But I'm just one of seven. The other six, if they continue to agree with the superintendent month in and month out, all I can do is keep bringing it to their attention."

Dombrowski said that surpluses are excessive and the district is overspending on remodeling projects.

"All of these things are a detriment to the community," he said. "You're taking money that you don't need from people that are having a hard time staying in their homes."

Rosenblum said he will work with other members of the board and the school administration to put in place the ideas he suggested during the campaign.

"I think that (voters) liked what they heard from me regarding all the things that I'm standing for - fiscal responsibility, student focus, school safety, good programs and availability for our students and really having a strong communication and transparency with the community," he said.

Like Dombrowski, Cramer raised the cry for fiscal responsibility.

"One of the platforms that I ran on was not to vote to raise property taxes," he said. " My plan is to keep the property tax levy flat."