The president of the Belvidere School District 100 Board lost her seat after a contentious election that put candidates into two opposing camps.
Allison Reid-Niemiec lost her re-election bid to Sarah Brenner in the race to represent Belvidere Township by nearly eight percentage points.
Brenner ran with Jorge Herrera and Holly Houk as a slate. Signs with all three of their names listed were visible throughout the county.
Herrera said he’s proud of the nonpartisan campaign they ran.
“It’s great when you have middle of the road, levelheaded people that aren't swayed by the political parties,” Herrera said.
“So, it is important that these races maintain as nonpartisan races.”
Herrera and Houk received the largest number of votes out of four candidates to represent the remaining townships. They ran against Misty A. Coryell and Tosca DeGennaro.
Their fundraising committee, called United for Student Excellence, raised over $15,000 dollars and included donations from unions.
Houk is a paraprofessional in the district and has been on the board since 2015. Herrera says he’s been in the finance industry for over 22 years. This will be his second term.
Brenner is an administrator at Rockford Public Schools. According to her Linkedin page, she previously worked at the Belvidere School district for about 17 years.
Reid-Niemiec had served on the board for two terms and was elected president of the board in May 2021.
In reflecting on her time on the board, Reid-Niemiec said she goes back to the pandemic.
“I don't think I can describe in words, how amazing the perseverance and resilience of the staff was through the time of COVID, the ability to pivot like in a day's notice.”
The board is made up of seven members. One of the key decisions the current board will make is whether to approve a five-year strategic plan for the district. That vote is expected sometime this month.