Meet District 113A School Board Candidate Damon Ascolani

LEMONT, IL — The upcoming election is less than three weeks away, and early voting has already begun. In Lemont, one of the contested local races is the race for District 113A Board of Education. There are four open positions on the board, and Damon Ascolani is one of the five candidates running.

Ascolani has a law degree from The John Marshall Law School is currently the Global Head of Procurement for TransUnion. In his position, he said he manages a team of 31 and has experience in risk and procurement.

Ascolani and his wife Amy have six children, one in college, two at Lemont High School, one at Old Quarry, one at River Valley and one at Oakwood.

Ascolani, who currently serves as board president, believes the most pressing issue facing the board is growth.

"As President of the Board, I keep in regular contact with the mayors of Lemont, Woodridge and Palos Park and their respective village managers to ensure the board has the latest information on new construction and future planning," he said. "As a board we keep close watch on existing home sales and survey all new families to understand why we’re seeing such an increase. We are using all this data to formulate options to address this issue including multiple facilities options."

He believes the district and board have had a very successful last four years.

"We brought back many programs that were cut during our financial crisis including band, choir, and foreign language. We’ve also added new programs as our finances allowed including one-to-one computing," Ascolani said.

He also cites the board's achievement in regaining a solid bond rating.

"Our goal is to maintain financial stability while further expanding and enhancing the educational experience for our kids," Ascolani said. "Some of the things we are looking at are an All Day Kindergarten option, expanding our STEM offerings, and repurposing our library spaces (LRCs)."

Ascolani said he is a strong advocate for open dialogue and transparency and seeks to be fair and open-minded when assessing any issue.

"The success of the last 4 years serves as my resume to the community," he said. "I am very proud of what this board has done and I hope this translates into the community having trust in us to continue our successes over the next 4 years."

There are four open positions on the board in the upcoming April 2 election. The other four candidates include incumbents Cynthia Kelly, Dave Molitor and Al Malley, and newcomer Laura Smith.

If you are a candidate in the upcoming April 2 election, you can email andrea.earnest@patch.com for a candidate questionnaire.