Board Members
Gary Peccola was appointed to the school board in 2005 following the death of Ronald Ganschinietz. He successfully ran for election to a two-year term in 2007. In 2009, 2013 and 2017, he was re-elected to four-year terms. Gary served on the budget committee from 2005-2009 and in 2009 was elected President of the board and has served in that office since then. Gary achieved Master School Board Member status through the Illinois Association of School Boards in 2009 and has maintained that status each year since.
Gary and his wife, Debbie, both graduated from CHS in 1974. Gary earned a Bachelor of Science degree from SIU-E in 1978. He is a former U.S. Air Force Captain and served four years on active duty. After leaving the service, he started his own construction company and has worked in residential construction and development for over 30 years.
Serving on the board has been a very positive experience for him and he believes that the Unit 10 staff is the district's greatest strength. He visits all of the schools in the district and sees first-hand the dedication and professionalism that is demonstrated on a daily basis at all levels in the district. One of Gary's primary goals is to increase public awareness of the many positive opportunities offered by Unit 10 as well as the unique challenges the district faces. He is looking forward to continuing to serve on the board and is committed to helping make the district the best it can be.
Mr. Peccola completed his Professional Development Leadership Training and Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) Training for School Board Members on November 22, 2013.
Gary Kusmierczak's goal as a school board member is to focus on providing as good an education as possible for students served by Unit 10 in Collinsville, Maryville and Caseyville. He is also interested in fiscal responsibility and providing the best library, media and classroom materials as possible. He takes pride in the fact that he and his wife's two daughters graduated from Collinsville High School and were given the opportunity to participate in the gifted program offered at the school. Gary first served on the Board from 1997-2001 and later was elected again in 2003, 2009, 2013, 2017.
After graduating in 1970 from Collinsville High School, he earned a bachelor's degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois. His master's degree in finance was earned in 1983 at Webster University in St. Louis. He worked in public accounting from 1978-80 and since that time has worked in corporate accounting.
Mr. Kusmierczak completed his Professional Development Leadership Training and Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) Training for School Board Members on September 10, 2014.
Dennis Craft was elected to the School Board in 2015. Dennis is a 1966 graduate of Collinsville High School. He is a Vietnam veteran, having served the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1971. He graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1974 with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and received his Master's Degree in Education Administration in 1978. Dennis continued his education and received a Doctorate in Education Leadership from Saint Louis University in 2001. After proudly serving the students, staff, parents and community for 37 years as an elementary teacher, elementary school principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent in the Collinsville Unit 10 School District, he retired in 2011.
Dennis and his wife Jean (CHS 1971) have been married for 40 years. They have two wonderful children; a son Jeff, who graduated from Collinsville High School in 1996 and a daughter Laura, who graduated from CHS in 2000. Jeff has a M.D Ph.D. and is a radiation oncologist in St. Louis County Missouri. Laura has her Ph.D. and is a speech-language pathology professor at Fontbonne University in St. Louis Missouri. Dennis and Jean are blessed to have four fantastic grandchildren.
Dennis brings a great deal of experience to the school board having worked with curriculum, personnel, negotiations, school finance, facility and building projects, student transportation, and student discipline issues. He also has a working knowledge and history of Unit 10 that he has acquired throughout his tenure in the district.
Dr. Craft's primary goals are to increase the awareness of how good our school district is in providing the best educational programming for our students. He is committed to making sure the school district retains the neighborhood and community elementary school concept. He is also committed to be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of our district
Dr. Craft completed his Professional Development Leadership Training and Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) Training for School Board Members on May 29, 2015.
Jane Soehlke was elected to the Collinsville Unit 10 School Board in April, 2011. Jane graduated in 1962 from the Academy of Notre Dame in Belleville, IL. She attended college at Southern Illinois University obtaining her Bachelor and Master's Degrees in Elementary Education. She continued her education at SIUE and Retired from teaching with 32 hours beyond her Master's. She taught three years in the parochial schools and 34 years in the Fairview Heights District 110. Upon retiring, she served as a substitute teacher for the Unit 10 schools for five years.
Jane is married to Jerry Soehlke (CHS Class of 1964). They have two daughters and four grandchildren. Their oldest daughter, Stacey Lauenstein (CHS Class of 1991) is a first grade teacher at Renfro School. Their youngest daughter, Sara Soehlke (CHS Class of 1994) is an assistant principal at Dorris Intermediate School.
In addition to the classroom teaching experience, Jane brings to the Board a background of working on curriculum, teacher's negotiations, writing teacher evaluations, implementing student assistance program, and knowledge of the standards and goals of the State of Illinois. She wants the public to know about the good things happening in the Collinsville Schools and to focus on making Unit 10 schools a great place to obtain an education.
Mrs. Soehlke completed her Professional Development Leadership Training and Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) Training for School Board Members on June 30, 2013.
Tim Hasamear was elected to the Board of Education in April 2017. Tim worked as a custodian in the school district for 23 years until his retirement in 2013. Tim and his wife, Pat, have 2 children and 4 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Their children graduated from Collinsville High School and they currently have grandchildren who attend school in the Collinsville Unit #10 School District.
Tim has been an active volunteer for the youth of our community for many years. He has served as PTA President at Kreitner Elementary School and President of the PTA Council. He and his family have volunteered countless hours overseeing the operations of the Collinsville Tepee for nearly 40 years, which includes planning and hosting the annual May Dance. In addition to supporting our youth, he also volunteered as a fireman for the State Park Fire Department for 21 years and currently serves as the Assistant Secretary/Treasurer of the Madison County Fireman’s Association.
Tim realizes the importance of the Board of Education and is proud to serve the community in this capacity. His goal is to provide the best educational environment for our students while working towards achieving a balanced budget.
Mr. Hasamear was elected in 2017 and joined the Board of Education in May. He completed his Professional Development Leadership Training and Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) Training for School Board Members on June 16, 2017.
Vicki Reulecke was elected to the Board of Education in April 2019 and is serving her first term as an elected member of the Unit 10 Board of Education. She was appointed in January 2019 to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Board Member Wayne White.
Mrs. Reulecke is a 1974 graduate of Collinsville High School. She attended Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1977 and a Master of Science Degree in 1981. Both degrees were in the field of Education. In August 2008, Vicki graduated from McKendree University with a Master of Education Degree in Educational Administration.
Vicki is an educator by trade and spent 36 years as an employee of Collinsville Unit District 10. During that time, she collaborated with other district professionals to provide services to students and parents as a Title 1 Teacher, Special Education Teacher, Special Education Supervisor, Director of Services for English Language Learners, Elementary Principal, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Assistant Superintendent.
Since her retirement in 2014, she has returned to Unit 10 to temporarily serve in the roles of Expulsion Hearing Officer, Administrative Coach and Interim Special Education Director. Serving Collinsville Unit District 10 in multiple capacities has afforded Vicki the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in instructional practices, curriculum, assessment, grants and finance, student discipline, school improvement planning and personnel.
Vicki believes Collinsville Unit District 10 has much to offer its students and families. She is especially pleased to be a participant in conversations about curriculum and instructional improvement for our diverse population of learners. Vicki supports a clear vision and goals for the Unit 10 School District, policies and procedures to support the achievement of those goals, and ongoing efforts to improve educational outcomes for all Collinsville Unit 10 students.
Vicki is a lifelong Collinsville resident. She is married to Larry Reulecke, also a lifelong Collinsville resident and a member of the Collinsville High School Class of 1972. Mr. and Mrs. Reulecke are co-owners of Larry’s Automotive in Collinsville. They have two sons; Brian, who graduated from Collinsville High School in 2001 and Matt, who graduated from Collinsville High School in 2003. They are also the proud grandparents of a current Unit 10 student.
Michele Stutts was elected to the school board in April 2019 and is beginning her first term as a member of the Unit 10 Board of Education.
Michele is a 1968 graduate of Wayne City High School, Wayne City, Illinois. She received her Bachelor of Science in Special and Elementary Education from SIUE in 1976 and started teaching that same year at North Jr. High in the Special Ed. Department where she served as Department Chair and IEP Case Manager for several years. While at the junior high she was also an assistant girl’s basketball coach for a time and also started the dance team there. Michele taught at North until 1993 when she moved to Collinsville High School where she coached boys and girls varsity tennis for twelve years and completed her teaching career in 2007 with 31 years of service to the district.
Michele is the proud mother of four CHS graduates. Her daughter Stephanie graduated in 1989 and taught in the Fort Zumwalt School District until taking on the role of school Psychological Examiner there. Oldest son Jeff graduated in 1992 and is a DDS from the University of Colorado. Michele’s other son Adam is a 2000 graduate from CHS. He is also a DDS from the UC School of Dentistry and along with his brother practices in Bozeman, Montana. Her youngest daughter Katie is a 2001 graduate and is a Pre K teacher in Venice, Illinois. Michele has 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. The oldest of daughter Katie’s three sons will begin kindergarten in the fall in Unit 10. Michele is very proud to continue her work with the Collinsville School District.
She believes whole-heartedly that Collinsville has a great deal to offer and that it is not recognized nearly enough for the many wonderful things happening in our schools and plans to give it her utmost, to insure that safe, excellent and opportunity filled education is afforded to all the precious ones who inhabit the halls and classrooms of Unit 10.