Politics & Government

Plainfield School District Welcomes New Board Members

Incumbents Michelle Smith, Rod Westfall return to the board, joined by newly elected Bill Dargan and Bill Slabich Jr.

Two outgoing Plainfield School District 202 Board of Education members bid farewell Tuesday as two brand-new board members were sworn in.

With incumbents Rod Westfall and Michelle Smith rejoining the board, new members Bill Slabich Jr. and Bill Dargan officially became part of the school board. They join current members Kevin Kirberg, Greg Nichols and board president Roger Bonuchi.

As a brand-new board member, Slabich said his biggest concern is “how we’re going to get the most out of the lack of funds we have and give the best education for the kids,” he said, adding the state funding situation is “the scariest part.”

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Dargan, who ran for the board in 2011 before being elected last month, said his focus is on the students.

“Everything we do should be about how we can provide the best education,” he said.

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Sixteen-year board veteran Mike Kelly and fellow board member Eric Gallt, who joined the board in 2009, did not seek re-election this time around.

Elected in 1997, Kelly said he’s seen the district build 19 new campuses and add more than 21,000 new students.

“I’m very proud of the work that we’ve done together,” he said Tuesday, praising his fellow board members past and present. “We’ve never agreed on everything but we’ve always moved forward,” he added, going on to laud staff. “It takes all of us to make this work, and you guys do the real work.”

Kelly also remembered late longtime board member Bess Eichelberger, whom he called his mentor. He was recently honored with the Elizabeth "Bess" Eichelberger Distinguished Service Award.

“It means so much,” he said. “She was an amazing person,” Kelly added, noting that after Tuesday’s meeting, “I’m going to Gruben’s for a beer, because that’s what Bess did at the end of her term.”

One of Kelly’s last acts on the board was to help create a transition plan for another outgoing District 202 official: He was part of crafting a plan to ease the transition as Superintendent John Harper retires and former Plainfield Central High School Principal Lane Abrell takes his place. Abrell will become associate superintendent this July, a role he will fill until July 2014, when Harper retires.

Read: Former Plainfield High School Principal Named Associate Superintendent

Gallt, who ends his time on the board after four years, also praised his fellow board members and district staff.

“The district has never been in a better position [than it is now],” he said. Gallt also recognized the district’s many volunteers. “There’s a lot of people that are volunteering on a daily basis in every school,” he said. “They really should be recognized for their work.”

Along with swearing in the recently elected members, the board also reorganized, electing Bonuchi for another term as board president, while Smith became vice president and Nichols was voted board secretary.

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