Dupage Policy Journal

The Community Unit School District (CUSD) 200 Board of Education met on May 10 and welcomed new members of the board while also saying farewell to longtime board members.

The board started by saying goodbye to former President Chris Crabtree, who spent the past eight years on the board and also worked in a variety of capacities for the school district prior to that. He ended the term as board president. They also said farewell to Susan Booton, who they credited for her compassion and dedication during the pandemic. She was spoken fondly of, with board members noting that she was a source of calm and common sense.

“Truly from the bottom of my heart, thank you for serving the community,” Superintendent Jeff Schuler said in the meeting. “I think in this point of recognition, there is no more selfless volunteer opportunity in the community than serving on the Board of Education. I think sometimes that comes as a surprise to people that this is an elected role of which you are not compensated other than the fact that you are serving what I think is the most important institution in our community, and that's our our school system. And so from truly the bottom of my heart, because I could not certainly do the work, our team could not do the work that we do within the district without an amazing Board of Education.”

The board then recognized the results from the recent election and swore in John Rutledge, who defeated Katie Hobbs for the open, unexpired two-year partial term.

They also recognized Julie Kulovitas, who received 8,404 votes; Dave Long, who got 7,164 votes; and Erik Hjerpe, who garnered 6,723 votes. Hjerpe won in a tight race over four other candidates who were vying for the three open seats. The three top vote-getters were sworn into office on four-year terms. Long and Kulovitas were incumbents, with Long receiving a full term. Kulovitas was reelected to a full term after being selected to fill a partial vacancy in 2022.

Once the swearing into office culminated, the board voted in its officers. Rob Hanlon was elected president for a two-year term. While a secondary motion was made to elect Rutledge as board president, it did not receive the necessary majority votes.

The board also voted in Kulovitas for vice president, and Dave Long was unanimously voted in for secretary by a 6-0 board vote.