The school board budget woes, community input, and cooperation between village developers, village and school boards were major themes of two recent school-board candidate nights. The forums were sponsored by the PTOs of Spring Grove Elementary, Richmond Grade School, and Nippersink Middle School.

Candidates Diane Bushing, Mike Gullifor, Nancy Piggot, Cindy Walleck, and Tom White attended the first forum, which was held March 13 at Spring Grove Elementary. Due to previously scheduled vacations or illnesses, only Gullifor and White attended the second forum, which was held March 19 at Nippersink Public Library. Nadine Kattner and Renee attended neither forum.

            The following are brief candidate biographies and their answers to some of the questions posed at the forums.

Diane Bushing

Diane is a 14-year Richmond resident. She was a member of the District 13 board before combination and was elected to the combined District 2 board in 2003. Diane has served on the board’s Curriculum, Technology and Instruction Committee, the Transportation Committee, and the Finance Committee. She has a certificate in Computer Operations and has worked as a bank teller and as a purchasing and scheduling analyst at Baxter for 13 years. Later Diane worked in the bookkeeping department at Diemers. Diane has 6^th grader at Nippersink Middle School and a 2^nd grader at Richmond Grade School. She has volunteered as a Girl Scout leader, room mom, and as a religious educator.

Mike Gullifor

Mike relocated from Spring Grove to California in 1992 and came back five years later. He served on the District 11 school board before combination. Mike has an M.B.A. in Operations Management and has worked as an Operations Manager at Abbot Labs for 20 years. In that capacity, Mike has overseen budgets ranging from $7,000 to $70 million. Mike has two sons at RBCHS. He coaches youth basketball and baseball and is a youth minister.

Nadine Kattner

Nadine has lived in Spring Grove for 17 years. She works at Northern Illinois Pediatric Association as a receptionist and data entry specialist. Nadine was a school board member for District 13 and continued on the District 2 school board after combination. She is currently the District 2 School Board President. Nadine has been a Girl Scout leader, PTO volunteer, and Market Day chairperson.

Renee Patrick

A 10-year resident of the area, Renee is a familiar face at district schools. She can be seen in the RGS library almost daily. She has worked in the Technology Department of districts 13 and 2. Renee has two children at RBCHS, one at Richmond Grade school, and several more who have graduated from Richmond schools. Renee has worked at St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s Catholic churches as a religious educator.

Nancy Piggot

Nancy has lived in Spring Grove for nine years. She has one child at Spring Grove Elementary and three at Nippersink Middle School. She has taught for several years and currently works as a substitute teacher at Fox Lake, Big Hollow, and Round Lake and District 2 schools. Nancy has volunteered as a religious educator and is a Girl Scout leader.

Cindy Walleck

Cindy, who has lived in Richmond for three years, has a child at RGS and a 10-month-old. She is certified by the American Bar Association for paralegal practice in Illinois and has worked for six years for Schiff, Hardin, and Waite and JMB Realty Company in Chicago. Cindy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Child Psychology. She volunteers for Safe Inaction, which assists seniors in daily living. At Richmond Grade School, Cindy is active on the PTO and as a room mom. Cindy also served on the Music Curriculum Review Committee and the Budget Reduction Subcommittee for Finance at NMS this year.

Tom White

Tom is a life-long Richmond resident. He has two sons, a fourth-grader and an eighth-grader. Tom holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education and has taught for 16 years in Woodstock. He spent seven years teaching special education and nine teaching U.S. history. Tom serves on the Richmond Police Commission and is a member of For the Future Vision of Richmond. Tom has coached Little League baseball and has volunteered his services to the Stateline Comets program. Tom recently earned a grant for his school in Woodstock for teaching senior citizens how to use computers.