'Top 3 for 230' Tops District 230 Race

The slate "Top 3 for 230," made up of current District 230 Board President , board member and current Palos 118 School Board President took a commanding lead in the race for the school district that manages Andrew, and high schools.

With 132 of the 136 precincts reporting by 11 p.m. Tuesday, each of the members of the slate (who won the coveted top three spots on the ballot) had more than 6,000 votes apiece. Their nearest competitor, , had 3,985.

"I'm very happy," Quilty said by phone Tuesday night. "Our hard work paid off. We ran a very good campaign."

O'Sullivan said the money the slate spent on signs and other promotional items was needed to stand out in the field of eight candidates for the three spots.

"It's a big district, it really is, and you have to get your message out," O'Sullivan said. "It was a lot of work. We had some formidable competition."

Nogal said the three decided to band together after seeing the size of the race.

"When we saw there were eight candidates running we started talking to each other and it turns out we had similar goals and a similar philosophy," he said.

Nogal's term on Palos 118 ends April 26, two days before the new D230 board will meet to vote on positions like president and vice president. Nogal did not seek re-election to his old position.

His goals as the new face on the board will be to focus on declining test scores and score disparities between the three schools, he said.

Finances will be very important to monitor, "especially in this era of declining enrollment and the uncertainty of state funding," he said.

Quilty said Nogal, who has sat on the district's Student Services Committee for four years, will be a good addition to the board.

Although the three ran together, Quilty said she does not expect them to vote together.

"We won't always agree on everything," she said. "And that's good. You don't want people who agree all the time."

Updated at 11 p.m. with comments from Nogal and more recent race results.