The Examiner U-46 News Feed

New District U-46 Board seated at May 3 meeting

By Seth Hancock
  A new board was seated in School District U-46 at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, May 3.
  The canvass of votes was presented showing only 8.6 percent voter turnout with 11,833 ballots cast among 137,039 registered voters. Incumbents Melissa Owens (7,890 votes) and Veronica Noland (7,294 votes) were seated as was newcomer Dawn Martin (6,306 votes), who replaces outgoing board member Donna Smith.
  Sue Kerr, who has been the board’s president the last two years, will remain in that position, but Owens was nominated for vice president, replacing John Devereux. Kate Thommes will replace Owens as secretary pro-tempore, and Thommes will remain as the board’s representative for the Illinois Association of School Boards, a taxpayer-funded lobbying group for government schools.
  Smith did not seek reelection after two decades on the board. She consistently supported the administration’s agenda of annual increases to the budget and tax levies.
  The board also seated a new student advisor to the board replacing Olivia Howell, a South Elgin High School senior.
  Jessica Pearce was selected as the new student advisor and Asmita Shah as an alternate, both Bartlett High School juniors, by Superintendent Tony Sanders’ student advisory council who were approved 7-0 by the school board on April 26.
  “From our first encounter, she proved that she was apt to handle a strong academic workload and be a positive contributor to the school culture,” Michael Demovsky, Bartlett’s principal, wrote of Pearce in a letter of recommendation. “She has been a wonderful peer mentor for students who were not grasping the nuances of high school.”
  Of Shah, Demovsky wrote: “As a leader, she has all the intangibles you would want. Her drive to succeed is unmatched and I am fully confident that she is ready and capable to make a significant change to our world.”