New Yorkville School Board appointee sworn in

A new member has joined the Yorkville School District 115 board, filling the eighth and final school board seat, as Wayland Middendorf took the oath of office at an Oct. 30 meeting.

Middendorf was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Jason Senffner’s resignation and was sworn in at Monday’s meeting by President Darren Crawford.

New Yorkville School District 115 board member Wayland Middendorf takes the oath of office at a board meeting on Oct. 30, 2023.

Middendorf will serve the rest of Senffner’s term which is set to expire at the April 2025 election.

Crawford said previously that 11 people applied for the appointment and that the board conducted interviews with four of them. Middendorf was selected after board members deliberated for more than an hour in closed session at an Oct. 16 meeting.

Middendorf was born and raised in Illinois and has lived in Yorkville for the past 20 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering, and a master’s degree in business administration.

He has been a substitute teacher in Y115 since 2011, mainly at Circle Center Grade School, and has coached the Yorkville High School Robotics Club. He is also a veteran, having served more than 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Army National Guard and Army reserves, retiring with the rank of Captain.

Middendorf said he applied for the position to give back to the community. He has had three children graduate from Yorkville schools, and said with them out of school, he now has time to give back.

“I felt that I should give back to the community,” Middendorf said. “Being a part of the board is really about giving he best possible solutions for the kids, and no matter what they go into, making sure they’re prepared for it.”

Middendorf said there have been practices in the district hasn’t agreed with in the past, specifically the grading policy, which he hopes to start making modifications to.

Another challenge Middendorf cited was the rapid growth of the district, which he said is something the board will need to buckle-down and address, to figure out how to spread out the growth throughout the district.