Hiring a new superintendent will be a priority for the new board of Downers Grove Community High School District 99.
Candidates Nancy Kupka, Donald Renner and Mike Davenport were elected to the board during Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial vote totals.
There were three open spots and four candidates.
Kupka, 58, who is board president, received about 30 percent of the vote. Davenport, 49, who is a board member, got about 28 percent of the vote, and Donald Renner, 36, a newcomer, received about 28 percent. Keith Matune, 45, an incumbent, trailed with about 20 percent of the vote.
Davenport said the new board’s first order of business will be to find a new superintendent to replace Dr. Mark McDonald, who is retiring at the end of the 2015-2016 school year after 14 years in the district.
“I really feel that position is so key,” he said. “We rely on the superintendent to steer the ship and institute the policies the board puts in place.”
Dealing with the potential of state funding cuts is another big issue, Davenport says.
“We’re going to need to take a hard look at the budget and prioritize efficiencies and cut back in the next year,” he said.
He does not see a property tax increase as feasible because he does not think the community would support it.
During the campaign, Kupka, of Woodridge, said the greatest issue the district faces is how to maintain an excellent education while dealing with the possibility that the state might require school districts to take on the burden of funding teachers’ pensions.
“We have a lot of big issues facing us,” she said at the time. “The most important (issue) is the great unknown. Are pensions going to come back to the district? Are there going to (be state) cuts to the schools?”
School District 99 has two high schools, Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South. It has 5,055 students and serves Downers Grove, Bolingbrook, Woodridge, Darien, Lisle, Oak Brook, Westmont and Woodridge
In Downers Grove Grade School District 58, there were three candidates for three open board spots.
John J. Miller got about 33 percent of the vote, Elizabeth Sigale got about 34 percent and Doug Purcell got about 33 percent, according to unofficial vote totals.
District 58 serves about 5,000 preschool through eighth-grade students from Downers Grove and portions of Darien, Oak Brook, Westmont and Woodridge in 11 elementary and two middle schools.
