4 Run For Lyons Township High School Board

LA GRANGE, IL – Four residents have submitted their names for the Lyons Township High School's April 1 board election.

Four seats are up in the election. So far, the candidates are incumbent Gioia Giannotti Frye and challengers Elias Lopez, Christine Kozelka Campbell and Shawn Kennedy.

Earlier this month, Frye was appointed to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Elvia Nava, who served 15 months and said she was moving away.

The other incumbents whose seats are up are board President Jill Grech and members Michael Thomas and Paula Struwing, who was appointed last spring to fill a vacant seat.

Candidates have until Monday to file their paperwork with Cook County.

On Nov. 4, the board voted unanimously for Frye as a member. She was among nine applicants.

A La Grange Highlands resident, Frye is the co-founder and vice president of operations for (r)evolution architecture, the founder of Giannotti Multicultural Marketing Communications and an MBA candidate.

Shawn Kennedy applied for the vacant position in the spring, while Lopez put his name in twice this year.

Kennedy, an Indian Head Park resident, is a financial adviser.

"I am well versed in looking at a situation from all sides, weighing the pros and cons to make the most pragmatic decision possible," he said in the board's earlier questionnaire for applicants.

Elias Lopez, a Hodgkins resident, is the director of the Hodgkins Park District.

"The biggest challenge that our School District faces is to provide a higher graduation rate, as well as to ensure our graduates continue their education and be placed into a reputable college curriculum," he said in the questionnaire.

Campbell, a La Grange resident, is the founder and president of Gemini Gymnastics Academy in La Grange.