Sycamore District 427 school board seeks to fill vacancy

SYCAMORE – While the Sycamore Community School District 427 school board this week swore in two new members this week, a vacancy remains open after not enough people ran in the April 4 election.

Three previous board members declined to run for reelection in this month’s Consolidated Election. Only two members of the public – Alex Grados and Beth Marie Evans – ran unopposed to fill their positions, leaving one seat vacant on the board.

The Sycamore school board has 60 days to fill the vacant seat. The board is accepting applications from individuals who are interested in serving a two year term on the board.

According to Illinois law, Illinois school boards have 60 days to fill a vacant seat, if that requirement is unmet, the Regional Superintendent would be given 30 days to appoint someone to the vacant seat.

“I think one of the fortunate things for our board is that they’ve been through that before,” Wilder said.

Eligible candidates must be a U.S. citizen and a registered voter. Candidates also need to have been a resident living within the bounds of Sycamore Community School District 427 for the past year.

However, because the board is limited to three members who live within Sycamore’s congressional township – an allotment already filled – eligible candidates must live outside of Sycamore township.

Interested candidates are asked to submit a resume, along with a letter of interest that includes the reason they are applying, to superintendent executive assistant, Kellie Vinz before 3 p.m. on May 8, 2023.

“Since we only have 60 days we’ve got to get on it, because it does take time, especially once you start those interviews.”

—  Jim Dombek, Sycamore School Board president

The last time the board had to fill a vacancy was when board member James Chyllo was appointed in 2019.

Board President Jim Dombek said the board will go through the applications after May 8 and schedule interviews with the candidates they’re most interested in.

“Since we only have 60 days we’ve got to get on it, because it does take time, especially once you start those interviews,” Dombek said.

Even though only two candidates ran for three open seats, Wilder said he doesn’t expect any issues recruiting a qualified candidate, but cautioned that he can’t say for sure.

“I have been through this in a previous district, and I think some people consider doing it as an appointment because they don’t have to campaign, they don’t have to fill out a petition and get signatures,” Wilder said. “And you know, it’s a two year commitment, so if for any reason they can’t, or they know they can’t fulfill four years, or they want to be involved but were on the fence about a four-year commitment, it is a kind of middle of the road. I don’t think there would be an issue getting candidates, but you never know. We’ll put the announcement out and we’ll see who steps up.”