Meet the newest member of Sycamore School Board: Christian Copple

SYCAMORE – The newest member of Sycamore Community School District 427 board is used to speaking in public, but his questions are normally for a judge and jury.

Now, Christian Copple, a Kane County public defender, will be asking Sycamore schools administrative staff questions and answering queries from the public as a district board member.

Copple said he was appointed by the board’s six publicly elected members during a special meeting June 13. His appointment filled a seat on the board that was left vacant after not enough people ran in the April 4 local election.

Three former board members – Steve Nelson, Kris Wrenn and Julenne Davey – declined to run for reelection and only two members of the public – Alex Grados and Beth Marie Evans – ran to replace them.

“I saw that the board was needing an extra person to have a full set, so I decided to apply to see what I can do to help the students, the teachers and the stakeholders in the district,” Copple said. “I got the seat and I’m very thrilled to be able to serve the community and really just give back to everything the school district is doing. I feel confident about the school district and what it is doing, and I think there’s always room for improvement of the things we continue to do to better serve the students.”

Copple, a father of two children with a third on the way, has worked in the public sphere for the majority of his professional life. Despite that, he said he’s never truly been a part of a governing body with constituents to represent.

“I mean, I was in student government in college but that doesn’t really count,” Copple said. “I’m a lawyer so I’ve been a part of many public hearings, and that sort of thing I’m used to, but this is definitely a very unique experience. ... It’s new territory but it’s also very familiar to me.”

Copple isn’t the only person in his family serving the public through public office. His mother, Nancy Copple, is Sycamore’s 3rd Ward alderperson.