The District 128 Board of Education (BOE) had their most recent election on April 1, 2025. Five out of seven seats were up for election, including four four-year terms and one two-year term.
The candidates for the BOE election were Mithilesh Kotwal, Doug Fleegle, Wes Polen, Rahul Deshmukh, Marnie Navarro, Nina Austin and Tory Ramaker. Only Kotwal chose to run for reelection. Current members Lisa Hessel and Jim Batson have two years left in their four-year term, which expires in 2027.
The new board members serving a four-year term are Mithilesh Kotwal, Rahul Deshmukh, Wes Polen and Doug Fleegle.
Nina Austin is serving a two-year term. The board members were sworn into office on April 28 and will be settling into their new positions in the upcoming months to prepare for the successful on-boarding of the new superintendent.
All new board members had a shared goal of successfully introducing the superintendent to the school community. They also had the same shared goal of providing multiple pathways, no matter what the goals are for the future. And to prevent the events, such as the separation agreement that occurred last spring, from happening in the future.
Eeman Dayala (12), a VHHS student representative for the board, believed board members should be active in their community and play an active role in improving the community.
“I hope [the new board members are people] willing to engage with different groups of people…I think you have to be willing to step outside your own social circle,” Dayala said.
Dayala explained that it’s also important for board members to seek out a variety of voices of people in the community. Sometimes that might mean reaching out to people you’ve never met or being willing to talk to someone new in order to learn something new.
The board members were sworn into office on April 28 and will be settling into their new positions in the upcoming months to prepare for the successful on-boarding of the new superintendent.
All new board members shared the goal of successfully on-boarding the superintendent and making the transition smooth for the school community and the board. They also shared the goal of providing multiple pathways and preventing the events that occurred last spring from happening again.
Mithilesh Kotwal
Kotwal plans to provide students with extra academic support to improve their academic scores and for students with IEP, and improve the overall support structure.
“We are pretty behind [in academic support] compared to other schools, so how [can D128] continue to mature that structure and provide better support to our students?” Kotwal said.
Kotwal plans on listening to all the different opinions of the community, whether people may agree or disagree with him. He believes that this is the only way to have meaningful dialogue and progress.
Wes Polen
Polen had previously been elected to the Hawthorn District 73 Board of Education in 2017 and 2021. Polen believes having worked as a board member will help her transition into working as a D128 board member.
In 2024, Polen and a few parents from the community met with then D128 Superintendent Dr. Denise Herrmann to discuss concerns about the use of taxpayer money and the lack of engagement with the community.
“And it was after that meeting, in which Dr. Hermann either wouldn’t or couldn’t answer our questions, that I went home and started the Facebook group,” said Polen.
The Facebook group was called D128 Community Dedicated to Accountability & Rigor in Education. It gained 1,246 members, including parents, when it was paused after the separation agreement was finalized. The Facebook group was one of the catalysts of the separation agreement.
One thing Polen wants to achieve in her term is to engage with Dr. Marc Shaffer, the new superintendent, and work with him.
Nina Austin
Austin’s connection with D128 dates back to when her son went to Stevenson High School and she heard about Vernon Hills and Libertyville. She decided to retire in Libertyville in order to be closer to her son, who now lives in the district.
Austin’s pathway through school looked different from the traditional educational journey. She took a program in high school and a six-month program afterwards that led her to a secretarial job.
“I [will make] sure courses are available and that we are providing pathways for college or in the real world,” Austin said. “I really don’t think college is the only way [to be successful]…it is a wonderful outlet for a lot of students, but there are some students who don’t [want to attend college], and I really think we need to make all pathways available.”
Doug Fleegle
Fleegle advocates for students and teacher success by providing greater opportunities and resources within the classroom.
“The D128 school district is a good, successful program, and I hope to improve on that by being a listener to the teachers, the students, the parents, as well as any other stakeholder involved in the success of our school system,” Fleegle said.
Fleegle is passionate about achieving academic excellence. Fleegle also advocates for accountability for the board, and for every board member to maintain the responsibilities for which they were elected. He plans on listening to the community and taking their opinions into account before making any major decision.
Rahul Deshmukh
Deshmukh narrowly won the fourth open four-year seat. When the votes were initially getting counted, it was too close to call. He ended up earning 4,412 votes, while Marnie Navarro earned 4,290.
Deshmukh, an assistant professor at Rosalind Franklin University, has done research related to pharmaceutical sciences and has earned a Ph.D. in the topic. He has also volunteered for the D73 Science Olympiad team, coaching a few events and engaging with parents, teachers and other coaches.
“I am a community member here…and I think my professional background of being an educator might help,” Deshmukh said.
One of Dheshmukh’s goals is to provide students with an inclusive education, where they can get the support they need for their post-secondary pursuits.
