Kane County Reporter

There are seven competitive school board races in Kane County, according to an analysis of candidate filings by Kane County Reporter.

Of the seven school boards, four currently have Republican majorities and three for Democrats, according to an analysis of elected official primary voting history.

All told-- 62 candidates are running for 25 open seats across the seven districts, including 16 incumbents.

That includes 32 Republicans and 25 Democrats.

At Batavia CUSD 101, where the school board is controlled 6-1 by Democrats, 51.2 percent of students are below grade level in English, according to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). 

The district is prioritizing the teaching of so-called "Critical Race Theory" and "transgender ideology," which argues that biological sex doesn't exist, over traditional subjects.

Batavia High School's web site has a dedicated section to "LGBTQIA Resources," which teaches BHS students about "The Inclusive Flag" which "merges the Intersex-Inclusive Pride Flag with the Progress Pride Flag," 

Of the 49 current school board slots in the seven competitive districts, 25 are held by Republicans, 22 Democrats and two by an independent.

Election Day is Tues. April 4.

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Which 2023 races are competitive in Kane County?

Eleven school board races are in the balance on April 4. 

School Board	Current Split	Seats Up	Inc. Running	total	DEM	GOP	Other
Batavia CUSD 101	6-1 DEMOCRAT	3	1	7	4	2	1
Yorkville SD 115	6-0-1 REPUBLICAN	3	0	7	2	5	0
Aurora East 131	6-1 DEMOCRAT	3	3	6	5	1	0
Huntley SD 158	6-1 REPUBLICAN	4	3	12	2	10	0
Geneva SD 304	4-3 REPUBLICAN	4	4	8	5	3	0
St. Charles SD 303	4-2-1 REPUBLICAN	4	3	11	6	5	0
Oswego SD 308	4-3 DEMOCRAT	4	2	11	3	6	0
TOTALS		25	16	62	27	32	1

Batavia CUSD 101
Current Split	6-1	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	7
2023 Candidates	Party	Hometown	Age
Raquel Gonzalez-Thomas	D	Batavia	48
Danielle Sligar	D	Batavia	40
Jeffery Robert Arulandu	D	Batavia	49
Cathy Dremel (I)	D	Batavia	55
Jeffrey Ekstrom	R	Batavia	54
Kris G. Rayman	NV	Geneva	49
Gabrielle Fender	R	Batavia	51
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
R.J. Mathis	D	Batavia	43
Aaron Kilburg	D	Batavia	50
Susan G. Locke	R	Batavia	57
Craig Meadows	D	Batavia	50
Members leaving board
Chris Lowe	D	Batavia	50
Erin Meitzler	D	Batavia	42
Yorkville SD 115
Current Split	6-0-1	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	3
Candidates running	7
2023 Candidates- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Jason Demas	R	Yorkville	54
Darren J. Crawford	R	Yorkville	55
Jorge A. Ayala	D	Yorkville	72
Leslie Smogor	D	Yorkville	45
vote for two
2023 Candidates- partial	Party	Hometown	Age
Michael J. Houston	R	Yorkville	42
Molly Gerke	R	Yorkville	37
Wayland W. Middendorf	R	Yorkville	56
vote for one
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Dr. Robert W. Brenart	R	Yorkville	73
Jason Senffner	R	Yorkville	49
Shawn Schumacher	R	Yorkville	56
Members leaving board
Lynn Burks	R	Yorkville	55
Ashley Rhea Fichtel	R	Yorkville	48
Tom Kozlowicz	R	Yorkville	77
Jenny Morgan	NV	Yorkville	42
Aurora East SD 131
Current Split	6-1	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	3
Candidates running	6
2023 Candidates- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Judd Lofchie	D	Aurora	65
Juan Manuel Sifuentes, Jr. (I)	D	Aurora	42
Saul Olivas	D	Aurora	41
Teasa Ezeh	D	Aurora	47
Alex Arroyo (I)	D	Aurora	53
2023 Candidates- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Bruce Schubert (I)	R	Aurora	55
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Annette M. Johnson	D	Aurora	59
Dan Barriero	D	Aurora	58
Members leaving board
Kimberly Hatchett	D	Aurora	62
Avis P. Miller	D	Aurora	75
Huntley SD 158
Current Split	6-1	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	3
Candidates running	12
2023 Candidates- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Katherine Policheri	R	Union	46
Jonathan Dailey (I)	R	Huntley	40
Melissa M. Maiorino (I)	R	Huntley	54
Stephen G. Buchs	R	Huntley	45
William Geheren (I)	R	Huntley	54
Laura M. Murray	R	Algonquin	47
Andrew Bittman	R	Algonquin	51
Gina Galligar	R	Huntley	57
Paula E. Yensen	D	Lake in the Hills	74
2023 Candidates- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Andrew Fekete	R	Algonquin	42
Kevin P. Gentry (I)	D	Huntley	53
Michael G. Thompson	R	Huntley	55
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Tony Quagliano	R	Algonquin	62
Paul A. Troy	R	Lake in the Hills	54
Sean Cratty	R	Lake in the Hills	42
Geneva SD 304
Current Split	4-3	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	4
Candidates running	8
2023 Candidates- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Paul A. Radlinski (I)	R	Geneva	63
Robert Larry Cabeen (I)	D	Geneva	77
Brent R. Nakayama	D	Geneva	43
Molly Ansari (I)	D	Geneva	38
Brittney Quinn Sopcak	R	Geneva	38
Andrea L. Heeg	R	Geneva	56
2023 Candidates- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Stephanie L. Bellino (I)	D	Geneva	38
Willard C. Hooks, Jr.	D	Geneva	38
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Dan Choi	R	Geneva	48
Jacqueline L. Forbes	R	Geneva	52
Members leaving board
Michael T. McCormick	R	Geneva	60
St. Charles SD 303
Current Split	4-2-1	REPUBLICAN
Seats up	4
Candidates running	11
2023 Candidates- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Dolores J. Van Hiel	R	St. Charles	60
Becky Mc Cabe (I)	D	St. Charles	70
Joseph Patrick Lackner (I)	R	St. Charles	50
Matthew T. Kuschert (I)	R	St. Charles	41
Lauren Duddles	D	St. Charles	46
Elias A. Palacios	R	St. Charles	62
Barbara Diepenbrock	D	St. Charles	46
Alexandra Teipel	D	St. Charles	49
2023 Candidates- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Thomas K. Lentz	R	South Elgin	40
Michael S. Backer	D	St. Charles	63
Richard L. Rivard	D	St. Charles	41
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
Heidi Fairgrieve	D	St. Charles	54
Kate Bell	NV	St. Charles	52
Edward McNally	R	St. Charles	60
Members leaving board
Jillian Barker	R	St. Charles	45
Oswego SD 308
Current Split	4-3	DEMOCRAT
Seats up	4
Candidates running	11
2023 Candidates- 4 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Dominick Cirone (I)	R	Oswego	47
Richard B. Gilmore	R	Montgomery	60
Heather L. Gregar	R	Oswego	44
Joanne Anastasia Johnson	R	Oswego	50
Amy Murillo	D	Oswego	45
Mary Jo Wenmouth	D	Oswego	63
Nicky A. Boecker	R	Aurora	47
2023 Candidates- 2 yr.	Party	Hometown	Age
Jared Ploger (I)	D	Aurora	47
Kevin D. Johnson	R	Oswego	56
Existing Board Members	Party	Hometown	Age
LaTonya Simelton	D	Oswego	60
Eugene Gatewood	D	Aurora	47
Jennifer Johnson	D	Oswego	50
Members leaving board
Lauri Doyle	R	Oswego	47
Alison Swanson	R	Montgomery	50