Money May Talk in Hinsdale D86 School Board Elections

With the weeklong candidate filing period open as of Dec. 15, the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 school board elections are taking shape.

The terms of three board members will expire in April, and as of Dec. 16, six candidates have filed to compete for the open seats, according to the DuPage County unofficial candidate listing.

The election will take place April 7, 2015.

Voters may recognize incumbents Richard Skoda and Jennifer Planson, while challengers include Gregory Gershuny of Hinsdale, Frederick Cappetta of Oak Brook, Kathleen Hirsman of Clarendon Hills and Bill Carpenter of Darien, according to the candidate listing.

Several private fundraising organizations may be at play in the upcoming consolidated election.

District 86 Education First supports Planson, Hirsman and Carpenter. The committee was founded in August this year, and it had raised $6,125 as of Sept. 30, according to its D-2 quarterly report with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

The committee also received two $1,000 donations — one on Oct. 3 and one on Nov. 19 — from different contributors, according to A-1 filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Joanna Williams of Hinsdale is listed as the committee treasurer, and Richard Flesher of Mokena was originally listed as the committee’s only chairperson until an amendment was filed Dec. 8 to make Joan Brandeis of Darien a chairperson. The State Board of Elections website states Flesher resigned as chairperson Dec. 8.

Flesher told the Chicago Tribune that one reason the PAC was founded was because of the controversial teacher contract negotiations that nearly led to a strike in October. He wouldn’t tell the Tribune exactly how much money the PAC had raised.

Flesher also told the Chicago Tribune that the group would not accept donations from the Hinsdale High School Teachers Association, from vendors that work for District 86 or from national or state teachers’ unions.

The Hinsdale High School Teachers Association has its own PAC, which was founded in 2003, according to State Board of Elections filings. The association had $3,3941 available as of Dec. 7. Lisa Hikes of Hinsdale signed as the committee’s treasurer on its most-recent quarterly filing.

Another active Hinsdale school board PAC is Friends for District 86, which had $1,686 available as of Sept. 30, according to its D-2 quarterly report. This committee was founded Feb. 2013, and Kirk Purcell of Clarendon Hills is listed as the chairperson and treasurer.

• Read more from the Chicago Tribune about how PACs might play into the school board election.

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