Politics & Government

Planson, Kuhn and Skoda Win District 86 Election

The race was a close one, with Richard Skoda edging out Vinaya Sharma by 76 votes.

The race for the three open spots on the District 86 school board was a close one with fewer than 200 votes separating the top four vote-getters for a good part of the race. In the end, Richard Skoda edged out Vinaya Sharma by 76 votes. Sharma, who has served on the District 86 board for four years said he knew that it was going to be a close race going into it.

"Naturally I'm disappointed, but the people have spoken," said Sharma. "I congratulate the three individuals, and I hope they do what's best for the students and the district."

The six candidates ran on two slates for the election. On the first slate were the top three names on the ballot: Jennifer Planson, Michael Kuhn and Vinaya Sharma. On the second slate was a group running as "The Final Three." The name was chosen because the candidates' names were the final three on the ballot: Bruce Davidson, Claudia Manley and Richard Skoda.

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Jennifer Planson, who received the most votes of the night with a total of 4,371, said she is very happy that she and Michael Kuhn were successful in the race, but very disappointed that Sharma will not be serving on the board with them.

"I can't believe he did not win," said Planson. "The board will sorely miss Vinaya's experience and what he brings to the table—his expertise in finance, his level-headedness, his open mind and sense of fairness—are good qualities in a board member."

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Planson won two victories over the course of this particular election. The first, was being able to stay on the ballot. Two Oak Brook residents filed objections to her candidacy for the school board, because she wrote "Hinsdale District 86" on some of her nomination forms instead of "Hinsdale Township High School District No. 86." The objections were rejected, but a DuPage County judge ordered a new hearing on the objections, which was later canceled. With less than a month before the election, the same judge then ruled that she could stay on the ballot.

"It was a major distraction, I have to say," said Planson about the challenge to her candidacy. "Once the ruling came down [that I could stay on the ballot] I was able to put that behind me and focus on the real issues of the campaign, which is the education of students. Somewhere along the way, that had gotten lost in this campaign."

Planson is currently school board president for the Gower School District. She said she has not decided yet whether she will step down from the Gower School Board.

Planson's candidacy was not the only topic of debate during the campaign, during which members of the Final Three raised questions about the district's master facilities plan and the board's relationship with the district's superintendent.

"That was a big difference between the two sides. [The Final Three] believed the board should run the schools, that schools should be run as a business instead of an educational institution," said Michael Kuhn, who was elected to his third term as a board member Tuesday night. "It will be interesting to see if things like that from the campaign flow into the board."

Skoda, a member of the Final Three, and Kuhn had served together for six years on the District 86 board until 2009, so Kuhn said that they are use to working together. Kuhn said the board has worked very well together over the past two years, and he sees that process continuing.

"Being on a board is not about being an individual. It's about working together. No one board member has power. It's the board as a whole," said Kuhn.

His sentiment was echoed by the board's newest member.

"You have to go in with an open mind on all the issues," said Planson. "I'm looking forward to doing the work, and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Bruce Davidson, Claudia Manley and Richard Skoda were not available for comment on Tuesday night.


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