Slate that opposed COVID rules took over Huntley 158 school board in 2023. New group aims for new direction
A new group describing itself as a nonpartisan, grassroots organization is backing five candidates in the Huntley Unit District 158 school board races in the election.
The group, Candidates for All Kids, supports incumbents Sean Cratty and Paul Troy, along with challengers Melissa Maiorino and Rich Bobby for four 4-year seats and Andrew Fekete for a 2-year seat.
The other candidates in the race are Corine Burns, Andrew Martin, Cassie Khurana and Jim Hollich for the 4-year seats and incumbent Dana Wiley for the 2-year seat.
The five people backed by Candidates for All Kids also are endorsed by the teachers union, the Huntley Education Association.
Christine Hamm, one of the Candidates for All Kids organizers, said the group consists of many moms and community members. Hamm said her children went to District 158 schools.
While the organization has “no partisan connections whatsoever,” Hamm mentioned opposing candidates who want to get rid of LGBTQ+ clubs. District 158 has a student group, Recognizing American Diversity, that offers an LGBTQ+ Pride event each year, and the high school’s website lists a gender and sexuality alliance group.
Allegiance to a political party was not a factor in supporting the candidates, Hamm said.
Hamm stressed that while the group’s members have their own political views, the group has no affiliation with any political party. The organization stated on its website that members are not affiliated with any campaigns.
Some members of the group stressed they wanted to keep the school board nonpartisan.
Despite the election formally being nonpartisan, political parties have been wading into local elections. In the school board race, Burns, Martin and Wiley have the support of the Grafton Township GOP.
In McHenry County and statewide, the Democratic Party has been weighing in on local elections, but none of the candidates in District 158 received the party’s recommendation.
Maiorino had previously served on the school board but was ousted alongside other incumbents two years ago by a slate that included current board President Andy Bittman, Vice President Laura Murray, Michael Thompson and Gina Galligar.
That slate had campaigned on a platform including lowering taxes, emphasizing test scores and removing what they felt were political agendas from the classroom. Some candidates elected two years ago had been critical of COVID-19 school closures and mask mandates, and Murray was among two parents who sued Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker over mask requirements.
Galligar resigned several months into the term, and Wiley was appointed to the seat. Thompson opted not to run again, as did incumbent Anthony Quagliano.
In the past two years, the board has waded into controversial issues, including whether to accept a library grant tied to Illinois’ anti-book ban law or whether to ban transgender care in the school district. The board ultimately declined to take up such a ban that the Grafton GOP had proposed.