The Consolidated School District 158 School Board has four seats up for election in the spring and four candidates filed papers for those seats by Monday's deadline.

As of Friday, only one candidate, incumbent School Board Member Michael Skala, had filed petition forms with the District 158 administration office to run in the April 5, 2011 consolidated election.

On Monday, three more candidates threw their hats into the race.

Incumbent school board members Kevin Gentry, Michael Skala, Anthony Quagliano and newcomer William Gerehen filed election petition forms, said Naomi Fettes, District 158 administrative assistant to the superintendent.

Three positions in the spring election carry four-year terms. One post, vacated earlier in the year when School Board Member Shawn Green stepped down, is a two-year term. Green was elected in 2009 and was expected to serve until 2013.

Quagliano was appointed to Green's seat in April 2010.

Quagliano, who lives in western Algonquin, filed his forms on Monday for both the two and four-year terms. He has until Dec. 28 to withdraw one petition and determine which seat he will seek. Quagliano said he has been appointed twice to fill a District 158 post and formerly was elected to a four-year term.

Quagliano has three children attending District 158 schools. His objective for the upcoming four years is to keep the district financially sound.

"We've remained financially stable," Quagliano said. "We've worked really hard to do that the last few years. The district's done really well in terms of academic achievement and the concern is how are we going to continue to climb with decreasing resources?"

Skala, first to file his petition packet last week with the district, has served the board since 1997. He also filed forms for both the two-year and four-year post, and will decide within the next few days whether to seek the two or four-year post.

A Huntley business owner and resident, Skala has two children attending District 158 schools and said he decided to seek re-election because of the district's success.

"The school district is becoming a leader academically in Fox Valley and the Chicago area," Skala said. "It's exciting to be a part of something that's going really well. I still have a passion to volunteer and serve."

Gentry, current District 158 school board president, filed his petition forms on Monday. Gentry is completing his first four-year term on the board. A Huntley resident, he has one child in the District 158 school system.

He said his focus for the upcoming years is dealing with economic challenges and renewing the district's academic strategic plan to continue academic achievement.

"The first challenge is going to be dealing with the economic times, decrease funding from the state and managing the district through this cycle," said Gentry, who has 20 years experience in financial services. "There are going to be a lot of hard discussions in the future, and, given my background, there's a lot I can offer."

Newcomer Gerehen, of Huntley, also filed petition forms on Monday. Gerehen has four children, two of whom attend District 158 schools, and two in pre-school.

Gerehen said he worked as a high school teacher for two years in Stevens Point, Wis., before accepting a position with a schoolbook publishing company.

"I've been thinking of running for awhile," Gerehen said. "This seemed like the right time. My goal is to make good decisions in the best interest of the school and the kids as well as make the best financial decisions for the district."

School Board Member Aileen Seedorf, whose seat also is due for re-election, did not file forms to run for another term. Seedorf could not be reached for comment.