District 86 Caucus Endorses Candidates

DARIEN, IL — The District 86 Caucus has voted to endorse three candidates for the District 86 Board of Education. The candidates will be running for the four-year term school board seats that will be on the ballot in the April 2, 2019 consolidated election.

The caucus said it has endorsed Fotini Bakopoulos of Burr Ridge, Erik Held of Westmont and Kathleen Hirsman of Clarendon Hills. The caucus started the endorsement process in April with the purpose of recruiting, vetting and ultimately endorsing candidates for three four-year term seats. Candidates went through two rounds of written applications and the top six had in-person interviews. The caucus finalized the slate of candidates on Nov. 12.

"We believe these three candidates together create a strong, balanced slate of residents from across the district--a teacher with a unique perspective on special education, an alumnus with a strong financial background, and an experienced board member with a wealth of knowledge in education law and policy," Jen Backus, caucus chair, said in a release. "The caucus was especially impressed with their commitment to building consensus and collaboration."

The caucus said Fotini Bakopoulos is a special education teacher in Oak Lawn/Blue Island public schools with 20 years of experience. She also holds a doctoral degree in education administration. Bakopoulos is an eight-year resident of Burr Ridge, and her children attend Gower West Elementary.

Erik Held, a financial advisor, has served as a board member on the Maercker Education Foundation. One of his three children attends Maercker Elementary. Held is a graduate of Hinsdale Central, and he has lived in District 86 for nearly 20 years, the caucus said.

Kathleen Hirsman, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago specializing in education law, has served on the District 86 school board since 2015. The caucus said she has chaired the Policy Committee and served on the negotiations team for the most recent teacher contract. Hirsman is a 33-year resident of Clarendon Hills.

The District 86 Caucus is a non-partisan group of volunteers representing each of the elementary school districts that feed into District 86 at both Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central high schools.

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