D86 Board Shaken Up After April Election: Year in Review

Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Patch is looking back at the top stories of 2013 with a Year in Review series. 

There were seats on numerous local boards up for grabs in the spring of 2013, but no race garnered the interest of Patch readers more than the District 86 Board of Education race did. 

Seven of the eight candidates who were vying for four open seats on the board split into two slates: the incumbent-heavy Building on Excellence slate (Dennis Brennan, Kay Gallo, DeeDee Gorgol, Roseanne Rosenthal) and the challenger Friends For District 86 slate (Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran, Claudia Manley).

Roger Kempa ran independent of a slate.

A bitter campaign came to a head on April 9, when all three Friends candidates joined Gallo as the four winners. 

READ: D86 Election: All 3 'Friends' Challengers In, Brennan and Gorgol Out

Following their election, the three newcomers promised transparency and collaboration, while longtime board member Brennan questioned their approach, as did Gorgol. 

Since the election, tension has surfaced on occasion and 4-3 votes on agenda items have become quite common, with the three Friends candidates voting along with Richard Skoda against a minority made up of Gallo, Michael Kuhn and Jennifer Planson. 

A superintendent has departed, a settlement with former board member Dianne Barrett has been agreed to, and a flat tax levy has been approved. 

These issues inspired plenty of reader opinions in 2013, and there's no doubt the District 86 Board of Education will continue to be a major point of emphasis in Patch's 2014 news coverage.