Lincoln-Way D210 Board Elects New Officers

The Lincoln-Way High School District 210 Board of Education elected officers at its May 2 meeting and certified election results from the April 9 school board election. 

Arvid Johnson will continue to serve as president of the board while Jim Gast will serve as vice president and Dee Molinare will serve as secretary.

“I'm honored to continue to serve the District's citizens as a member of the Board of Education--and as president during this period of transition in the District's leadership.  The Board appreciates the tremendous support that the Lincoln-Way communities provide to our schools, our teachers and staff, and our kids,” stated Johnson. 

Johnson has served on the board since Jan. 8, 2009 when he was appointed to serve out the remainder of James T. Fagan’s term of office. He was elected to the board three months later in April 2009 and re-elected in April 2013. 

Also elected to the board in the April 9 consolidated election were incumbents Christopher Kosel and Dee Molinare.

Kosel, who has served on the board since 2005, is a Lincoln-Way alum and lives in New Lenox with his wife, Michelle, and their three children who attend grade school in New Lenox School District 122.

Molinare, who has served on the board since 2011, is a 16-year resident of the district and lives in Tinley Park with her husband, Joseph. They have four children, including two who graduated from Lincoln-Way District 210, one who is a sophomore at Lincoln-Way North and a fourth who attends grade school in Summit Hill School District 161.

Johnson is an educator who was recently appointed to serve as president at the University of St. Francis in Joliet. Previously, he served as Dean of the Brennan School of Business and a Professor of Management at Dominican University.

Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Lewis University in Romeoville and his master’s degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University in Boston. He also holds an MBA from the Kenan-Flager Business School at the University of North Carolina and a Ph.D. in management science from the Stuart School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

The educator has volunteered for the Lincoln-Way school district over the years, serving on a committee of the Future Configuration Commission doing research concerning the growth in the Lincoln-Way district. He also volunteered for the Citizens for Lincoln-Way 2006 referendum committee. 

Johnson has served as president of the Lincoln-Way High School District 210 Board of Education since May 2011.

Johnson lives in Frankfort with his wife, Anne. They have three children, including two who graduated from Lincoln-Way East in 2011 and a third who will graduate from East in May.

Gast, who has served on the board since 1983, is a graduate of Lincoln-Way High School and he lives in New Lenox Township with his wife, Mary Lou. They have two grown children, both of whom graduated from Lincoln-Way.

The article was submitted by Charla Brautigam, assistant director of community relations for Lincoln-Way School District 210.