Huntley School District 158 appoints Dana Wiley to board after another candidate fails to get enough votes

The Huntley School District 158 Board appointed Dana Wiley to fill a vacancy after another candidate failed to receive enough votes to win the seat.

Wiley was chosen among nine candidates to replace Gina Galligar, who resigned in September just months after getting elected because her family moved out of the district.

The school board spent several hours in closed-door meetings Thursday night before emerging after midnight to vote on the appointment. Board member Michael Thompson nominated Wiley to the board after a motion to appoint another candidate, Rich Bobby, resulted in a tied vote.

Wiley, who previously ran for the school board in 2021, has a daughter who attends Huntley High School. Before her appointment, Wiley said Thursday that she would run again for the board in the next election if she were appointed to the seat, and that she would treat it like a job.

“I am honored to have been selected from an extremely qualified group of applicants for this important role,” Wiley said later in a news release from District 158. “I appreciate the time the board took to interview all the candidates and make this decision and look forward to working with the entire board, our staff and administrators, students and our community to continue making D-158 an outstanding district.”

Thompson said Wiley has been “very vocal in the community.”

Earlier Thursday evening, during the school board’s regularly scheduled meeting, community members who spoke during the public comment period asked the board to put aside biases when selecting someone to fill the vacancy.

Community member Melissa Cairns told board members that they are “responsible to everyone in the community” for who they select to fill the vacancy.

Resident Joan Davis said, “Many are counting on you to wisely and objectively select the right person to join you on the board.”

A new slate that included Galligar and current board President Andy Bittman beat four incumbents to take control of the board in last spring’s election.

The stakes are high because the new board member now might be placed into a tiebreaker role and because the board is in the process of searching for a permanent superintendent. The district decided against hiring a search firm to do that and instead is focused on whether to retain interim Superintendent Jessica Lombard.

Wiley has a background in the insurance and IT industries and works as a proposal manager for a software development firm, according to the release. She served on the Chesak-Martin PTA for eight years and has been active in the district for 15 years.

“The board was extremely pleased by the number of qualified candidates who expressed interest in serving on the board, and we appreciate their efforts and participation throughout this process,” Bittman said in the release. “We look forward to the future contributions of Ms. Wiley, whose broad experience, visibility in the community and passion for the district will serve us well.”

Wiley is due to be sworn in Nov. 9. Wiley’s term will run through spring 2025, when the seat will be up for election again.