Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Nancy Kupka and newcomer Rick Pavinato prevailed over Debbie Boyle and Mike Davenport, respectively, after a contentious vote Monday night.
School board members in Community High School District 99 reignited discussion about board dynamics and cooperation Monday night during two contentious votes to elect a new president and vice president. The board voted 4-3 to elect Nancy Kupka as its new president, with board members Debbie Boyle, Keith Matune and Michael Davenport casting the dissenting votes. Newcomer Rick Pavinato was elected vice president just minutes after being sworn into his first term. The vote was again 4-3, with Boyle, Matune and Davenport dissenting. Kupka, who was elected to the board in 2011, was nominated for the position by board member Julia Beckman. "I believe she will bring to the board the unity and consensus building that we need," Beckman said. The …
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Downers Grove North ranked 36th out of 667 Illinois high schools, while South High placed 52nd, according to the annual list published by U.S. News and World Report.
Both schools in Downers Grove's Community High School District 99 are among the best in state, according to annual rankings published Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report. Downers Grove North ranked 36th out of 667 public high schools in Illinois, up one spot from 2012. Downers Grove South ranked 52nd, up five spots from last year. The 2013 U.S. News and World Report Best High Schools rankings are based on data collected from more than 21,000 public U.S. high schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia. The rankings are designed to capture how well high schools educate all of their students and prepare them for college-level work, a press release from U.S. News said. Schools are evaluated based on overall student performance on …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Incumbents Debbie Boyle, Terry Pavesich and Julia Beckman and newcomer Rick Pavinato prevailed over two late drop-out candidates Tuesday.
With all precincts reporting, three incumbents and one newcomer have been elected to the Community High School District 99 Board of Education, according to unofficial election results. Incumbents Debbie Boyle, Terry Pavesich and Julia Beckman and newcomer newcomer Rick Pavinato were the top vote-getters Tuesday, according to the DuPage County Election Commission. They prevailed over Henry Jakobsze and Martin Gorski, both of whom dropped out of the race. Because Jakobsze and Gorski suspended their campaigns after the official deadline to withdraw from the election, they both appeared on the ballot. They pulled in a sizable number of votes—4,222 for Gorski (13.9 percent) and 3,702 for Jakobsze (12.2 percent). Beckman was the top vote-getter …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The 12-member team was celebrated after school Wednesday, just a few days after they won the Special Olympics Illinois State Basketball Tournament in Bloomington-Normal.
The Downers Grove South community came together in full force Wednesday to celebrate a crowning achievement for the school—a state title for its Special Olympics basketball program. The 12-member team wrapped up a 21-6 season by winning the championship at the Special Olympics Illinois State Basketball Tournament on March 17 at the Illinois State University campus in Bloomington-Normal. On Wednesday, the school held an after-school celebration to toast the team and present the players with championship T-shirts. The team's coach, Kevin Ahrens, said the players' positive attitudes and "team-first approach" led them to the state title. "It was a magical year where everything just fell into place," Ahrens said, fighting back tears. "I'm …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Ken Sorensen will take over as associate principal for operations beginning July 1, replacing Chuck Hiscock.
Downers Grove North High School has named a new associate principal. The Community High School District 99 Board of Education voted unanimously March 18 to promote Ken Sorensen from the position of assistant principal in charge of student activities and technology to associate prinicpal for operations. Effective July 1, Sorensen will replace Chuck Hiscock, who was recently named the new principal of West Aurora High School. In his new capacity on the District 99 administrative team, Sorensen will oversee all facets of operations, technology and student discipline as well as personnel management at the school, according to district officials. “I am excited about the challenge of new responsibilities and the opportunity to continue to serve …
Friday, March 22, 2013
Gorski withdrew from the April 9 election ballot Thursday, citing personal reasons. The field is now down to four candidates.
Martin Gorski, a candidate for the Community High School District 99 Board of Education, has withdrawn from the upcoming consolidated election. Gorski, a Darien resident, announced his departure from the District 99 school board race Thursday night, citing "personal reasons." "I have withdrawn for personal reasons and wish to thank those who have offered support over the last few months," Gorksi said in an email. "I continue to believe that the Illinois school system needs better financial monitoring and internal controls and plan on continuing my efforts to inform the local school boards and the general public about the potential problems in this area." Gorski's exit leaves the District 99 school board race with four remaining candidates…
Monday, March 18, 2013
School Board candidates offer their perspectives on key issues in Community High School District 99.
On March 4, Patch published its 2013 District 99 Election Hub, a complete guide to the April 9 consolidated election in Community High School District 99. There you'll find voter information, recent election news and complete candidate biographies. Before voters head to the polls, Patch wants to give readers an opportunity to compare where candidates for the District 99 School Board stand on key issues. We will publish the questions in separate posts, along with responses from all five candidates. What are the biggest challenges facing District 99? District 99 is in great shape programmatically and financially. We are sound, yet we do face challenges that will require our attention. Finance is always a critical area because much is …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The League of Women Voters of Downers Grove, Woodridge and Lisle will host the forum at 7 p.m. Thursday at Downers Grove Village Hall.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Jakobsze, citing "personal circumstances," withdrew his name from the District 99 race Wednesday, and endorsed incumbent Debbie Boyle.
Henry Jakobsze, a candidate for the Community High School District 99 Board of Education, has withdrawn his name from the April 9 election ballot. Jakobsze, a Downers Grove resident, announced his departure from the District 99 school board race Wednesday afternoon, citing "personal circumstances," and threw his support behind incumbent Debbie Boyle. His exit narrows the field to five candidates for four board positions—incumbents Boyle, Terry Pavesich and Julia Beckman, and newcomers Rick Pavinato and Martin Gorski. Jakobsze released a brief statement Wednesday, praising the current board and administration "Through the process of preparing to run for the high school board, I had a unique opportunity to view the inner workings of the …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Loukia Mastrodimos will assume the position of associate principal for staff and students at South High School on July 1.
Downers Grove South High School has named a new associate principal. Loukia Mastrodimos will assume the position of associate principal for staff and students at South High School on July 1. She will replace Georgia Hash, who will become the new associate principal for curriculum and instruction at the school. The District 99 Board of Education approved Mastrodimos’ appointment at its business meeting Monday night. For the past two years, Mastrodimos has served as assistant principal at Glenbard South High School in Glen Ellyn. Prior to that position, she worked at Downers Grove North High School, serving as department chair of the career and technical education department from 2006 to 2011. She has also worked as a teacher at York High …
J D McNugent
3:37 pm on Saturday, April 13, 2013
Boyle for BOE President and I like Davenport for VP. I think both Matune and Kupka have done fine jobs so far! more ›