LeFevre begins second stint as District 211 board president

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211's second most senior board member, Robert LeFevre Jr., returned to his earlier position as board president Thursday, just after the four winners of this month's election were sworn in to office.

Joining the board for the first time were Kimberly Cavill and Mark Cramer, while incumbents Peter Dombrowski and Steven Rosenblum also took the oath of office again.

Dombrowski begins his second term, while Rosenblum was appointed in August 2017 to fill the remainder of Lauanna Recker's term after she resigned from the board.

But the only nominees for the board's officer positions Thursday were the three members who were not up for re-election this year.

LeFevre became president, a position he held from 2007 to 2013, while senior board member Anna Klimkowicz was appointed vice president and Ed Yung secretary.

Far from having a stronger influence than any other board member, LeFevre said he's found the position of president a challenging one in terms of running the meetings and taking an equal part in the board's conversations.

"The primary role is just to facilitate the meetings, and that, to me, means making sure that board members are understanding what other board members are saying and understanding that the board is moving the district," LeFevre said.

He added that like all school districts, District 211 strives to provide students with the tools they need to move forward in the world after graduation, under the constraints of finances and the regulations of higher levels of government.

But LeFevre finds District 211's recently achieved debt-free status a boon for taxpayers, freeing them from tens of millions of dollars of additional taxes each year that used to fall outside the annual tax cap.

He said the referendum voters approved just as he came onto the board in 2005 got the district pointed in a financial direction that enabled it to become debt-free after several more years of work by board members and administrators.

Keeping the public accurately informed of the board and district's decisions is another important role that's especially difficult with the segment of residents who don't pay attention at all, LeFevre said.

Leaving the board Thursday were former president Mucia Burke, who did not seek re-election, and Will Hinshaw, who lost his bid for a second term.