April 18, 2007
BY KATE N. GROSSMAN, ESTHER J. CEPEDA AND SHAMUS TOOMEY
Chicago Sun-Times Staff Reporters
Somewhere, Kurt Vonnegut is smiling.
One of the state's most expensive school district board races, fueled by a proposed book ban in the district last May, ended Tuesday with apparent victory for three incumbents who opposed the ban.
The contest pitted the incumbents against three newcomers for three seats on the board of High School District 214, a high-achieving, six high school district based in Arlington Heights.
The incumbents raised a record-setting $67,000. A mere $500 per candidate is the norm in the district. Vonnegut, who died last week, wrote Slaughterhouse-Five, one of nine books a board member proposed dropping from classroom use last year.
Two of the challengers, Dennis Konczyk and Ken Frizane, joined forces and won big-name support from conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly and Jim Oberweis, a former Republican gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate.
But it wasn't enough. Incumbents Bill Dussling, Alva Kreutzer and Robert Zimmanck were the top three vote-getters, with 97 percent of the precincts in.
"The community is well satisfied with what the district is doing -- that's what this election said," said Dussling, the board president.
"They don't want people coming from the outside dictating what is going to be the curriculum and focus of this district."
The incumbents cast the race as a fight against conservative forces they claimed wanted to control the school board. Konczyk and Frizane dismissed the charges as outrageous and never endorsed the book ban, although many of their backers did.
BY KATE N. GROSSMAN, ESTHER J. CEPEDA AND SHAMUS TOOMEY
Chicago Sun-Times Staff Reporters
Somewhere, Kurt Vonnegut is smiling.
One of the state's most expensive school district board races, fueled by a proposed book ban in the district last May, ended Tuesday with apparent victory for three incumbents who opposed the ban.
The contest pitted the incumbents against three newcomers for three seats on the board of High School District 214, a high-achieving, six high school district based in Arlington Heights.
The incumbents raised a record-setting $67,000. A mere $500 per candidate is the norm in the district. Vonnegut, who died last week, wrote Slaughterhouse-Five, one of nine books a board member proposed dropping from classroom use last year.
Two of the challengers, Dennis Konczyk and Ken Frizane, joined forces and won big-name support from conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly and Jim Oberweis, a former Republican gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate.
But it wasn't enough. Incumbents Bill Dussling, Alva Kreutzer and Robert Zimmanck were the top three vote-getters, with 97 percent of the precincts in.
"The community is well satisfied with what the district is doing -- that's what this election said," said Dussling, the board president.
"They don't want people coming from the outside dictating what is going to be the curriculum and focus of this district."
The incumbents cast the race as a fight against conservative forces they claimed wanted to control the school board. Konczyk and Frizane dismissed the charges as outrageous and never endorsed the book ban, although many of their backers did.
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