LTHS Board Settles On Candidate To Fill Vacancy

LA GRANGE, IL – The Lyons Township High School board has settled on a candidate to fill the board seat left vacant by Julie Swinehart.

On Thursday afternoon, board President Dawn Aubert notified by email the candidates who the board rejected.

The board said it interviewed 14 candidates Monday; 15 were originally on the list.

Five candidates – Justin Clark, David Herndon, Greg Norgle, Tim Vlcek and Fred Whiting – confirmed with Patch they were among those rejected.

"After a thorough review of the applications and thoughtful deliberation post the interviews, we have decided to appoint another individual to this role," Aubert said to the rejected applicants.

The other candidates are Anthony Arendt, Sofia Teresa Duran, Nader Hamdan, Shawn Kennedy, Tim King, Brett Lettiere, Elvia Nava, Ericka Taylor, Leah Werab and James Williams.

The board plans to appoint the new member at a special meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The board announced beforehand that its interviews with each candidate would be no longer than 10 minutes. They were behind closed doors.

Aubert asked a handful of questions of candidates, saying everyone got the same ones.

Vlcek, who lost in the April board election, questioned why the interviews were so short.

"You get 10 minutes to interview for a position that will control $80 to $100 million, plus 300 employees," he said.

He also criticized Swinehart, who apparently planned for months that she was resigning because she was moving to the East Coast. If she had resigned before election deadlines, voters could have decided on her replacement.

"The fact that (Swinehart) resigned after the election is wrong. It's a disservice to the community. They knew she was going to resign," he said.

Whiting, a Willow Springs resident, also questioned the process.

"I feel I had so much more to share, but as previously mentioned, 10 minutes seemed hardly enough for such an important position," he emailed in response to the board's notification. "In a field of 14 to choose from, I trust you made the right choice for the community. I wish nothing but the best for LT going forward."

Whiting was vocal in the movement against the board's effort to sell land in Willow Springs to an industrial developer.

Norgle said another candidate, Herndon, would have been a good person to fill the seat. Herndon, who lost in the April election, is a former La Grange District 105 board member.

"I am astounded that the BOE does not at least attempt to be non-partisan and appoint someone well qualified like Herndon, just to quell the tension, and receive some common-sense conservative views, that they can vote down with ease," Norgle said.

Herndon said he would not comment until the board makes an appointment.

The school board and its spokeswoman did not return Patch's message for comment Thursday.