In Tuesday’s crowded election for three seats on the board of Wheaton Warrenville Unit School District 200, one subject — whether to relocate Hubble Middle School from downtown Wheaton to Warrenville — dominates much of the six candidates’ attention, largely because it has deeply divided the district.
Three incumbents favor building a new school in Warrenville and demolishing the existing building, and three challengers want Hubble to remain where it is.
The incumbents — Marie Slater, Rosemary Swanson and John Bomher — promote their board experience, continuity and desire for a smooth transition to a new superintendent this year. The challengers — Mark Stern, Betty Welker and Paul Yousif — tout their desire to significantly improve district finances, communicate better with the community and implement a more open decision-making process.
Candidates’ interest is the highest of any District 200 board race since 2001, when eight hopefuls ran for four seats.
A board member since 1999, Swanson, 55, works for a Wheaton company that provides questions for academic bowls. She said transitioning to new Supt. Richard Drury, who takes over this summer, would be “job one.” She said another major issue is devising a financial plan for the district to meet the federal No Child Left Behind requirements while continuing to maintain a “well-rounded” education and extracurricular activities for students.
She also wants to unify the oft-divided district, which educates students from Wheaton, Warrenville and parts of five other DuPage County towns.
“My goal is for us to see ourselves as one district without any community borders,” she said.
Stern, 34, is a Chicago attorney who recently sued the district for the right to view retiring Supt. Gary Catalani’s contract. He criticized the district for being ranked in the bottom 20 percent of Illinois school districts in financial health by the Illinois State Board of Education and pledged to bring an “independent perspective” to the board.
“We need a board that is active in its role rather than rubber-stamping things the administration brings forward,” he said.
Like Swanson, Bomher, 46, said getting Drury situated will be a major task. An attorney for the Illinois Hospital Association, Bomher called for resolving the Hubble issue and developing a long-term financial plan for the district.
“The district is headed in the right direction, and I want to see that progress continued,” he said.
A longtime volunteer, Welker, 51, has attended board meetings since 1994. She said that the district’s public decision-making process “is virtually disappearing,” and that she needed to get more actively involved. She also criticized District 200 for its low financial ranking and said the district was not transparent enough in searching for a superintendent.
Like Welker, Yousif, 44, said the board’s decision-making is not done “during their open sessions” and called for improved communications. He also promised to focus on the district’s finances.
“We are not in great financial shape,” said Yousif, who runs a business in SchuamburgA staff member of the Sunny Ridge Family Center adoption agency, Slater, 70, joined the board in 1987 and is the district’s longest-serving member. In a statement, she said her top priority is to give each student a chance “to fully participate in balanced academic and extracurricular activities.”
