Schools
LTHS Reveals Names Of Board Candidates
Each candidate's interview will be about five minutes, the school said.
LA GRANGE, IL – The Lyons Township High School board plans to interview 15 candidates Monday night to fill the vacancy left by member Julie Swinehart, who is moving to the East Coast.
The board has chosen to conduct the interviews behind closed doors, which is allowed under state law. Candidates have been told their interviews will be about five minutes each, but no longer than 10 minutes.
The board released the candidates' names Monday:
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- Anthony Arendt
- Justin Clark
- Sofia Teresa Duran
- Nader Hamdan
- David Herndon
- Shawn Kennedy
- Tim King
- Brett Lettiere
- Elvia Nava
- Greg Norgle
- Ericka Taylor
- Tim Vlcek
- Leah Werab
- James Williams
- Fred Whiting
In an email to the candidates Wednesday, the board said it would be obligated to provide their information if anyone requests it through a public records request. Patch filed such a request Sunday. The board has five business days to respond.
The board does not plan to appoint a new member at its meeting Monday. It said it would announce the new member by July 7.
Find out what's happening in La Grangefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Swinehart resigned effectively immediately June 1, a day after graduation.
For months before that, Patch wrote stories about the possibility of Swinehart resigning, including when she put her house up for sale. She did not answer Patch's repeated inquiries.
If Swinehart had resigned in time for deadlines before the April election, the voters could have filled her seat, rather than the board.
The board seemed to have known about Swinehart's pending exit. When the new board took office in early May, it went ahead with a group photo for the website, even though Swinehart was not there. It never bothered to get a picture with Swinehart later.
Last week, the board honored Swinehart with a resolution. Earlier in the meeting, a resident accused the board of being complicit in Swinehart's plan to leave without letting voters decide.
Last July, Swinehart was hired as the chief financial officer for the Boston-based Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox.
In Illinois, school board members are unpaid.
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