Sign up for email newsletters
Sign up for email newsletters
Trending:
Indian Prairie School District 204 is getting a new board member: Andrew Bernard, a Naperville resident and business teacher at St. Charles North High School.
On Friday, District 204’s school board president Laurie Donahue announced in a message to the district community that Bernard has been appointed to fill the vacancy left by board member Justin Karubas. He is set to be sworn in at the board’s July 13 meeting.
Earlier this month, Karubas announced his intention to step down, citing health issues and the upcoming graduation of his youngest child from Neuqua Valley High School. The Waubonsie Valley High School graduate served on the board for more than a decade.
Karubas’ resignation from the board was effective May 24, and the board has over the past few weeks been undergoing a search for a replacement to serve until April 2027, when the seat will go up for election.
Bernard is a teacher at St. Charles North High School, teaching courses in economics, personal finance and business, according to Donahue’s message. He previously taught at Batavia High School, the message said.
Bernard also formerly served as the chief school business official and assistant director of business services and operations for District 806’s A.E.R.O. Special Education Cooperative in Burbank, according to Donahue’s message to the community. In that role, he oversaw a $54 million capital and operational budget, managed state and federal grants and led fiscal audits, per Donahue’s message.
This background provides him with “an exceptional blend of public education advocacy, high-level school finance expertise and direct classroom experience to our district,” Donahue’s message said.
He lives in the Brookdale neighborhood in Naperville with his wife and two children, the oldest of whom is starting kindergarten this fall, according to the community message.
Donahue explained in the message that the board felt it was “vital” to select a candidate for the seat who has both “a passion for teaching and a sophisticated mastery of Illinois State Board of Education … accounting standards and operational frameworks.”
“Bernard’s unique ability to bridge the gap between classroom realities and corporate oversight ensures he can step into this role and contribute immediately to our strategic goals,” Donahue’s message said.
Bernard is set to be sworn in at the board’s July 13 meeting and serve the remainder of the current term, the community message indicated. Voters will then elect a board member to a full term for the seat in the April 2027 local election.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
Copyright 2026 Chicago Tribune. All rights reserved. The use of any content on this website for the purpose of training artificial intelligence systems, algorithms, machine learning models, text and data mining, or similar use is strictly prohibited without explicit written consent.
Leave a Reply