Monday, May 6, 2013
The man who was picked to replace Dennis Brennan as board president Monday night said efficiency is one of his top priorities and that he's not a "one-issue board member" defined by last year's Hinsdale South movie controversy.
The new District 86 Board of Education took its first actions Monday night and among them was the appointment of a new board president. Victor Casini was elected by a unanimous board vote to take over the body’s leading role that for the last six years has been filled by Dennis Brennan, whose four-year term ended Monday night along with those of DeeDee Gorgol and Dianne Barrett. Casini, a Hinsdale South parent and Burr Ridge resident, is among the three new board members elected along with incumbent Kay Gallo on April 9. The attorney and former Gower School District 62 board member said he does not see himself as above the other six board members, and one of his main goals as president will be to make board meetings more efficient. “I like…
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The board member who lost her bid for reelection last week said she's concerned some of the goals put in place during her four years won't be realized.
DeeDee Gorgol said she’ll feel a little down after her last meeting as a District 86 board member in May. “It will be sad,” Gorgol said. “You make a group of friends and have a common interest and goal and it will be sad because … I’m afraid maybe some of the goals we were putting out there won’t be realized.” Gorgol and Board President Dennis Brennan are current board members who failed in their bid for reelection last week running as part of a slate that also featured current board member Kay Gallo and Roseanne Rosenthal. Gallo was the slate’s only winner, as the “Friends for District 86” slate of Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley swept the other three open spots. Gorgol said the results of the election were disappointing, …
Monday, April 15, 2013
The slate that placed three winners in last week's election reemphasized its promise for board accountability and transparency in a letter to the editor.
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Monday, April 15
The following is a letter to the editor submitted by the "Friends for District 86" candidate slate: Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley, who ran as "Friends for District 86" would like to thank our supporters and volunteers for all their hard work and dedication during the District 86 school board campaign. We are humbled and honored to be able to serve the citizens of District 86 and will do our best to live up to community expectations. We will promote educational excellence within the district. In addition, we also desire to activate the board committee structure to bring skills and expertise from the community into the district. We will reach out again to all community members in the spirit of collaboration to volunteer for …
Friday, April 12, 2013
Dennis Brennan said he wishes the "Friends for District 86" winners well, but warned that serving on the board is a lot harder than criticizing it from the audience.
District 86 Board President Dennis Brennan said he believes his failed reelection bid is partly the result of serving on school boards that have taken action to improve the district and its facilities. “If you sit there and do nothing, you’ll probably get reelected,” Brennan said Thursday, more than a day after his four-candidate slate placed only one winner. “But if you try to get something done … you’re going to probably raise the opposition, whoever that is.” In 2013, that opposition was “Friends for District 86,” the candidate slate of Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley that managed to go three-for-three Tuesday after a campaign centered around improving fiscal responsibility, transparency, and community involvement in …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Challengers Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley all won spots on the District 86 Board of Education Tuesday after a contentious campaign.
Claudia Manley called it “unbelievable.” Ed Corcoran was “elated.” Victor Casini said it was “a pleasant surprise.” Following the election of all three “Friends for District 86” candidates Tuesday in the race for District 86 school board, Manley, Corcoran and Casini all said the sweep was unexpected, but also symbolic. “I think it sends a message that the platform that we ran on resonated with District 86 citizens,” Casini said. “Namely, fiscal responsibility, transparency and community involvement.” Corcoran agreed that the community showed its support for the substance of the “Friends” slate’s platform. He also said he thought voters reacted to the group’s campaign approach. “We tried to have a positive campaign, talking about what we’re…
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Incumbents Debbie Boyle, Terry Pavesich and Julia Beckman and newcomer Rick Pavinato prevailed over two late drop-out candidates Tuesday.
With all precincts reporting, three incumbents and one newcomer have been elected to the Community High School District 99 Board of Education, according to unofficial election results. Incumbents Debbie Boyle, Terry Pavesich and Julia Beckman and newcomer newcomer Rick Pavinato were the top vote-getters Tuesday, according to the DuPage County Election Commission. They prevailed over Henry Jakobsze and Martin Gorski, both of whom dropped out of the race. Because Jakobsze and Gorski suspended their campaigns after the official deadline to withdraw from the election, they both appeared on the ballot. They pulled in a sizable number of votes—4,222 for Gorski (13.9 percent) and 3,702 for Jakobsze (12.2 percent). Beckman was the top vote-getter …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran, Claudia Manley and Kay Gallo were the top four finishers Tuesday in the District 86 school board race.
District 86 voters have decided to make a change. Three of them, actually. Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley—the three challengers who made up the "Friends for District 86" slate—won three of four open seats on the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education Tuesday, with all precincts reporting. Incumbent Kay Gallo also won a seat, according to unofficial results. Manley, the leading vote-getter with 4,196, called her slate's three-win performance was "unbelievable." "We thought we were swimming upstream the whole race," she said. Corcoran finished second in the voting with 4,044. Gallo was a close third at more than 4,005 and Casini was fourth with more than 3,879. Manley said the results show that the …
Now that the polls have closed, follow our site for live results to learn who won and by how much in all your Darien races. We'll be updating this post throughout the night as votes are tallied.
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Tuesday, April 9
The results are finally rolling in. The above list gives you the results for all your local races and will be updated regularly as vote totals become available.
Monday, April 8, 2013
The following letter was submitted to Patch by District 86 school board candidate Edward Corcoran, a member of the "Friends for District 86" slate.
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Monday, April 8
Dear editor and fellow District 86 citizens, Related to the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 school board election, two direct mail pieces were recently delivered to residents in Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Burr Ridge and Darien, one it appears by the "Building on Excellence" slate and another it appears by the "Committee to Re-Elect Brennan." Both mailers contained statements that were false and misleading about the Claudia Manley/Victor Casini/Edward Corcoran slate. The mailers attempt to damage our reputation with lies to gain voter influence. The untrue statements were rebutted by the group Citizens for Clarendon Hills (C4CH) in an email Sunday and are rebutted below. This is exactly the type of bad behavior we intend to fix if…
Patch asked the question, and the eight District 86 Board of Education candidates provided their answers.
In its 2013 candidate questionnaire, Patch asked the eight candidates for Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education the following questions: Do you support the district’s ruling in favor of Hinsdale South staff on Victor Casini’s curriculum objection last year of the showing of American Beauty and Brokeback Mountain? Do such movies have a place in high school classrooms? Here, in alphabetical order, are the candidates' responses: Dennis Brennan: "The board acted correctly and courageously in supporting parental control of the curriculum. Mr. Casini and his running mates sought to substitute their judgment for the parents of each and every student in this elective class. As board members, we should not be interfering with…
Steve Woodward
10:15 am on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Finally, stewardship and accountability in District 86. What a concept! more ›