6 Candidates Contest 3 Seats On New Trier High School Board

WINNETKA, IL — Six candidates are running for three open seats on the New Trier High School District 203 board in the April 4 election, according to the Cook County Clerk's Office.

A trio of candidates filed nominating petition hours ahead of Monday's submission deadline, setting up a contested race for school board trustee in New Trier High School District 203.

Incumbents Brad McLane and Cathleen Albrecht will be departing the board following next year's election.

Last month, the New Trier Caucus endorsed three candidates — Courtney McDonough, Sally Pofcher and incumbent board Vice President Jean Hahn.

Hahn, of Glencoe, served two terms on the Glencoe School District 35 board before her election to the New Trier board four years ago. She is an immigration staff attorney with the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic.

McDonough, of Winnetka, has taught second, fourth and fifth grade, worked as a child life specialist at a hospital and spent the past 10 years as education director for Compass Health Center in Northbrook.

Pofcher, of Wilmette, is a past co-chair of the New Trier Parent Association and a parent representative on the district's 2030 Strategic Planning Committee. She has been a partner at the management consultancy McKinsey and private equity firm L. Catterton, a CEO of stationary and children's clothing companies and an active volunteer for the New Trier business program.

Six candidates applied for the 68-year-old nonpartisan organization's endorsement, caucus spokesperson Heather Oliver told Pioneer Press.

Caucus Chair David Eisenberg told the Record North Shore that McDonough had been recommended by an unspecified board member and Pofcher had been recommended by school administrators.

Bernadine Hossfeld, of Wilmette, Blanca Zaragoza-Kaufman, of Glencoe, and Jennifer Yeo, of Glencoe, all filed paperwork Monday afternoon to challenge the caucus-endorsed slate.