Challengers Sweep in D-15

School District 15 will have a new board April 27.

The slate of three challengers–known as 1-3-5–won a clean sweep Tuesday. In unofficial returns Scott Herr received the most votes with 5,670, followed by Gerard Iannuzzelli with 5,217 and Manjula Sriram with 5,109.

The results were based on 86 of 88 precincts reporting.

Incumbent board members Gerald Chapman, James Ekeberg and David Seiffert garnered 3,573, 3,787 and 3,816 votes respectively.

All involved in the election agreed that the school board had been marred by personality conflicts and factionalism in the past. Herr said he hoped the new board could work together.

"I think you want to work together and as much as possible talk things out and try to get a consensus across the entire board because that's going to have the best support of the community and the administration," Herr said.

Current board member Tim Millar was a supporter of Herr, Sriram and Iannuzzelli which would give the four of them a majority vote on the board. Also, the election will result in new leadership on the school board–Chapman was the president and Ekeberg the vice president.

Among the biggest issues facing the district is a deficit that is project to drain the school district's reserves over the next five years and how to deal with it.

Seiffert will remain on the board despite losing Tuesday. Seiffert was appointed to finish former board member Mark Bloom's term. If Seiffert had won Tuesday, he would have taken the four-year term, instead Seiffert will finish the final two years of Bloom's term.

"I thought we ran a good race; it's disappointing to lose," Seiffert said. "Hopefully the board can meld together and work together on this thing. We don't need the contention on the board."

Seiffert said he was put off by some of the negativity he experienced in the campaign, specifically referencing comments made on Twitter and Facebook.

"People who I have never even talked to, there were some pretty tough comments made about me," Seiffert said. "You know hey, I'm standing up for what I think is right to do for the community."

Sriram said one of her goals is to have the school board work together as a team.

"I don't think it's a them versus us," Sriram said. "We're all a team. I think it's the Board of Education and the education is all about the children."