The voters in Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 233 gave the incumbents their support on Tuesday.
Election results show John Farrell, Tim Wenckus, Debbie Berman and Jody Scariano won four-year terms on the board in what one member said is a mandate to continue the work they have been doing for the students of H-F.
The four pushed back a loud and sometimes contentious challenge from Don Popravak, Nora Beverly, Wayne Holloway and Jennifer Hoekstra. Popravak was the most vocal of the opposition spending money on a public relations campaign, robo calls, mailings and advertising in which he accused the incumbents of lax oversight and a failure to inform the public of what the board was doing. In the end, Popravak
received the fewest votes of the eight candidates.
Only 4,573 voters, or 14.05 percent, cast ballots in the school board election. Vote totals show Berman with 2,778 votes or 18.06 percent; John Farrell with 2,674 votes or 17.38 percent; Scariano with 2,400 votes or 15.6 percent; Wenckus with 2,149 percent or 13.97 percent; Hoekstra with 1,585 votes or 10.3 percent; Holloway with 1,372 votes or 8.92 percent; Beverly with 1,338 votes or 8.7 percent; Popravak with 1,087 votes or 7.07 percent.
“We’re looking forward to a bright future for our schools, neighborhoods and community,” Popravak said as the election results rolled in. “The ultimate goal was to bring forward issues that we thought were important to the community.”
Berman, the newest member of the board, was the highest vote-getter on Tuesday.
“The voters have confidence on the skills I bring to the board,” said the H-F alumna. “I accept this mandate from the voters.”
Scariano will begin her fifth term. She said service is something she believes in and it is her desire to continue serving the H-F community.
“Our community has a stake in how H-F High School is doing,” Scariano said, and she accepts the responsibility as a board member for keeping H-F strong. She said the board believes in accountability and recognizes that managing the high school is a partnership with the community.
Wenckus thanked voters for their support.
“The voters’ message is clear. They believe we are on the right track and the board will work to keep moving H-F forward,” Wenckus said.
Contact Marilyn Thomas at [email protected]
