Two Elmhurst School Board Members Leaving

ELMHURST, IL – Two members of the Elmhurst school board are not seeking re-election.

Chris Kocinski and Karen Stuefen did not submit paperwork in time for Monday's filing deadline.

In August, Patch found that Kocinski missed six of the 13 board meetings so far in 2022. He has served one term.

Stuefen was elected in 2011 and has served three terms.

In all, nine candidates are running for four seats on the board in the April election. Members Courtenae Trautmann and Beth Hosler are among them. Each has served one term.

As Patch reported, Kelly Asseff and Kelly Henry filed on the first day of the filing period last week at the DuPage Couty Clerk's Office.

On Friday, Trautmann and Hosler filed within five minutes of each other.

On Monday, five candidates submitted paperwork – Linda Nudera, Ben Zulauf, Lan Li, Tom Chavez and Jammie Esker Schauer.

Chavez and Schauer, both of whom announced their candidacies during school board meetings, filed within five minutes of each other.

Since 2021, Chavez has attended many meetings, criticizing the curriculum and pointing out drops in test scores. He also contended the district teaches critical race theory.

Additionally, Chavez is the leader of Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum, which was formed last winter.

Nudera, the wife of Elmhurst Alderman James Nudera, is in charge of the family and consumer sciences program at Simmons Middle School in Oaklawn. She also has taught at West Aurora District 129. Her previous career was in health care.

In an interview, Nudera said she could provide insight as a teacher.

"We've always been involved in the community," she said. "I felt it was a good time to be able to serve our community. We are empty nesters."

Zulauf is the director of reading and language arts at Cicero School District 99. He has master's and doctoral degrees of education in literacy.

"I have an extensive background with literacy curriculum and instruction, and I would love to help D205 take positive steps forward to ensure that our practices align with what we know from reading research," Zulauf said in an email to Patch. "In my own district, I've helped make tremendous shifts in our instruction by doing things such as providing professional development through LETRS training, organizing our first annual literacy institute, and helping to launch our district literacy podcast to name a few."

Li's LinkedIn page says he is a compliance officer for a company.

In Illinois, school board members are unpaid.