Elmhurst D205 Picks Top Finance Official

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst school board voted Tuesday for a new top finance official, who will take over an office that is under investigation.

One board member abstained from the vote.

At Tuesday's Elmhurst School District 205 meeting, Joe Blomquist was picked as the new assistant superintendent of finance and operations. He is set to start July 1.

He is now the director of business services at Lake Zurich School District 95, where he has worked for nearly two years. That position is second in command in the finance department.

The year before that, he was in the same position at Yorkville School District 115. He worked as a teacher from 2000 to 2022.

Elmhurst serves more than 8,000 students, more than Lake Zurich's 5,600.

Before the vote, board member Jim Collins said he would vote present because he had not had the opportunity to interview or meet Blomquist. He said Blomquist's resume was not what he expected to see.

"Based on the resume and someone I've never met, I can't vote for him," Collins said.

After the vote, Blomquist spoke to the board.

"I'm excited to begin the journey to build relationships, developing and refining processes and delivering results for our students, our staff and our community," he said.

In February, Chris Whelton, who had held the assistant superintendent's position since 2011, resigned amid an investigation into a subordinate's questionable credit card spending.

Blomquist will come into a district that is among only a handful of districts that received the state's worst financial rating last fall.

The district has said the rating resulted from an accounting change. Officials expect an improved designation later this year.

Mohsin Dada, a former Hinsdale School District 181 finance official, is serving as the interim assistant superintendent of finance.