Split District 99 Board Taps Kupka as President, Pavinato as VP

School board members in Community High School District 99 reignited discussion about board dynamics and cooperation Monday night during two contentious votes to elect a new president and vice president.

The board voted 4-3 to elect Nancy Kupka as its new president, with board members Debbie Boyle, Keith Matune and Michael Davenport casting the dissenting votes.

Newcomer Rick Pavinato was elected vice president just minutes after being sworn into his first term. The vote was again 4-3, with Boyle, Matune and Davenport dissenting.

Kupka, who was elected to the board in 2011, was nominated for the position by board member Julia Beckman.

"I believe she will bring to the board the unity and consensus building that we need," Beckman said.

The motion drew the ire of Davenport, who nominated Boyle. He said he was surprised by Kupka's decision to enter the race, and indicated that Boyle had been lobbying for the presidency for the past two months.

"This stuff makes for great theater and I wish we could have avoided having that," Davenport said. "We had a retreat last fall where we talked about having some solidarity and working together and putting some of this stuff behind us."

Davenport said he considered nominating himself for president, but ultimately decided Boyle was more qualified. Boyle was elected to her second term last month, and has served as vice president for the past two years. 

"I'm a little perplexed that you might feel you are more qualified to do this than (Boyle)," Davenport told Kupka before asking her to bow out of contention.

Alluding to strained relationships among other board members—specifically Boyle and Beckman—Kupka said she accepted the nomination because she believes she does "a fairly good job representing all sides of all issues." 

"This is not a time to point fingers, it's a time to move forward," Kupka said.

Boyle, visibly upset, said she was also surprised by Kupka's nomination and added the only other person who had expressed interest in the position in the past three weeks was Beckman.

Boyle said she recently attempted to reach out to Beckman, with whom she has previously clashed over the district's nepotism and conflict of interest policies.

"Becoming the president by default and not ever expressing interest until today—I can't help but feel a little down, especially when I know when I have spoken to (Kupka) about wanting Julia and I to work out. And I did try," Boyle said. 

Matune echoed Davenport's comments about Kupka's last-minute nomination, and said he thought Boyle was the more qualified candidate.

The contentious discussion continued after board member Terry Pavesich nominated Pavinato, the board's only newcomer, for vice president.

"I feel that he is a fresh set of eyes to this board and will do an excellent job," Pavesich said.

While accepting the nomination, Pavinato said one of the things he heard from residents during his campaign was that the board needs "a fresh perspective" and to move on from past conflicts.

"This board needs to come together and start working together ... We need to work as a group and not individuals," Pavinato said. "I think we need a fresh perspective."

Boyle, Matune and Davenport expressed concern about a new board member being elected as vice president.

"I think it's funny now that we have certain members that say we need a fresh perspective now when they've said before that there's quite a large learning curve that comes with being a new member," Boyle said. "I think it's too much to take on being a brand new member."

The votes were cast not even an hour after former board president Bill White closed his final meeting by commenting on the board's tumultuous history and encouraging members to come together.

"We're one community," White said. "Everybody needs to be accepted. Everybody needs to be heard."

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