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McHenry County recount shows all four Huntley 158 incumbents secured reelection

A recount of votes in McHenry County has significantly changed the outcome of one of the most hotly contested school board races in the suburbs.

Tuesday's election results originally showed two Huntley Community School District 158 incumbents were reelected and two were ousted.

That changed Friday when McHenry County posted the results of its recount due to election night anomalies caused votes in some races to be misreported.

Now, all four District 158 incumbents - Sean Cratty, Lesli Melendy, Paul Troy and Anthony "Tony" Quagliano - have been reelected, unofficial results show.

District 158 had 10 candidates - the four incumbents and six newcomers - vying for four spots on the board. The district's pandemic response motivated the large field of hopefuls and was among the top priorities in their campaigns.

Cratty received 1,516 votes, Melendy, 1,401, Troy, 1,397, and Quagliano, 1,338, unofficial totals in Kane and McHenry counties show.

On Tuesday night, it seemed like newcomers Katherine "Kate" Policheri and Laura Murray would take the third and fourth spots, ousting Quagliano, the current board president, and Troy, board secretary. But the recount showed Policheri and Murray had garnered only 1,030 and 1,032 votes, respectively.

Also running were newcomers Dana Dalton-Wiley, Tara Masino, Susan Hochmuth and Jennifer Sargent, the only write-in candidate.

During the campaign, all of the candidates emphasized the need to address learning gaps due to the pandemic's disruptions and several stressed supporting students' mental and social-emotional health going forward.

The district's kindergarten through fifth-grade students began full in-person learning five days a week on March 15. Middle and high school students also moved to full-time, in-person classes five days a week as of Monday. Of the district's roughly 8,900 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, about 63% have opted for full-day, in-person learning this semester.

Lesli Melendy
Paul Troy
Anthony Quagliano
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