There are new voices on the Lake Forest District 67 school board with the appointment of two new members, and three existing members taking on officer roles.
The school board appointed Shyama Parikh Chauhan and Gregory Adamo to vacancies on the seven-member board at a June 18 meeting. In a corresponding move, the board named existing members Mark Remus as president, Emily Bernahl as vice president and Carl Kirar as secretary.
Both Chauhan and Adamo have children in District 67 schools.
Chauhan is an attorney and businesswoman, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Lake County Bar Foundation among other community involvements, according to District 67 statement.
“I intend to partner with the community to address the diverse values and needs of our students and vow to bring my knowledge, experience, and positive attitude with me each and every day as I begin working in this pivotal role,” Chauhan said in the statement.
Adamo is also an attorney who has served on the DuPage County Bar Association Board of Directors.
“I look forward to working with the current school board to maintain the district’s current trajectory. Any school board is certain to face challenges, but I’ll do my best as a board member to make sure our schools operate in the best interests of the students and community,” he said in the statement.
Chauhan and Adamo were selected to the board from a field of 18 applicants, according to District 67 spokeswoman Melissa Oakley.
The appointments of Chauhan and Adamo fill the vacancies created by the resignations of Anne Geraghty Helms and Alice LeVert. Earlier this year, Helms was appointed to the District 115 school board and LeVert was elected to the City Council.
Helms and Levert were both officers on the District 67 school board, therefore the remaining members had to move into the open officer positions.
They tabbed Remus for the presidency. He was elected to the board in 2023.
“I am honored to lead this board,” Remus said in the statement. “Together, we will uphold our responsibility of oversight while remaining steadfast in our commitment to academic excellence, wellbeing, and the growth of every student.”
Bergnal and Kirar were named for the two other officer positions.
The composition of the school board could change next year as the terms of Bergnal and Kirar, along with the two newly appointed members, will expire in 2025.
Oakley, the school district spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail it was “simply too early to know” whether any of the four will be candidates in next year’s municipal elections.
