Jared Ploger
Jared Ploger is an at-large member of the Oswego Community Unit School District 308 school board in Illinois. He assumed office in 2015. His current term ends in 2025.
Ploger (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Illinois House of Representatives to represent District 84. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on March 17, 2026.[source]
Biography
Ploger works as a teacher in the Valley View School District 365U.[1] He has lived in the Oswego Community Unit School District 308 for nine years. He has served on the District Parent Committee and the Bilingual Parents Advisory Council, and he initiated a program called the Father’s Forum at Long Beach Elementary.[2] He has also coached basketball and received the “Coach of the Year” award from Illinois Basketball Coaches Association three times. Ploger earned his bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University and his master's degree from Olivet Nazarene University. He and his wife have two sons who attend school in the district.[3]
Elections
2026
See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 84
Saba Haider (D) and Jared Ploger (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 84 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Saba Haider | ||
| Jared Ploger | ||
| ||||
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Republican primary
Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 84
Brian Scopa (R) is running in the Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 84 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Brian Scopa | ||
| ||||
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Endorsements
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2015
Three of the seven at-large seats on the Oswego Community Unit School District 308 Board of Education were up for general election on April 7, 2015. The seats held by incumbents Bill Walsh, Alison Swanson and Brent Lightfoot were on the ballot. Though he originally filed to run for re-election, Walsh withdrew his candidacy due to a mistake on his petition. Swanson and Lightfoot ran against challengers Brad Banks, Lauri Doyle, Kevin Harris and Jared Ploger. Newcomers Banks, Doyle and Ploger won the three seats.
Results
| Oswego Community Unit School District 308, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Brad Banks |
22.7% | 2,958 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lauri Doyle |
21.9% | 2,857 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jared Ploger |
18.9% | 2,470 | |
| Nonpartisan | Alison Swanson Incumbent | 14.3% | 1,871 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brent Lightfoot Incumbent | 10.5% | 1,371 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kevin Harris | 10.3% | 1,350 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 1.4% | 177 | |
| Total Votes | 13,054 | |||
| Source: Kendall County Clerk, "Consolidated Election April 7, 2015," accessed April 28, 2015, Will County Clerk, "April 7, 2015 Consolidated Election: Results," accessed April 28, 2015, Kane County Clerk, "2015 Consolidated Election Contest Results," accessed April 28, 2015 | ||||
Funding
School board candidates in Illinois are only required to file campaign finance reports if they accept contributions or make expenditures in excess of $5,000 in a 12-month period.[4]
Ploger reported no contributions or expenditures to the Illinois State Board of Elections in this election.[5]
Endorsements
Ploger did not receive any official endorsements for this election.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2015
Ploger highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | Increasing Transparency:
As I meet with community members throughout the district, a common theme in conversation is distrust in our school board. That bothers me. I believe the district administration should be willing to share information with the BOE and explain the process of how that information was created and obtained. Open Communication: As an educator, I have seen many changes in the district over the past several years. These changes have left many students, parents, and community members with questions. We can improve communication to those stakeholders in defining to them what are federal mandates, state mandates, and district initiatives. Leadership is needed which breaks those down for all stakeholders. A 1980s model on how to communicate with our community members is just no longer good enough. Improve Efficiency: As someone whose retired mother lives in the district, I feel that we owe it to taxpayers, especially those on fixed incomes, to be as efficient as possible with our finances. We need to improve academic achievement, and we need to do so without reaching into the purses and wallets of our taxpayers. That’s the reality of the situation. That is why it is imperative for us to focus on where we allocate resources and how we allocate resources.[6] |
” |
| —Jared Ploger's campaign website (2015)[7] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Illinois House of Representatives District 84 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Only Oswego, "Oswego Election 2015: Jared Ploger, Candidate for School District 308 Board," March 17, 2015
- ↑ Elect Jared Ploger SD308 School Board, "Jared Ploger for District 308 Board," accessed March 26, 2015
- ↑ Elect Jared Ploger SD308 School Board, "About Jared Ploger," accessed March 26, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "A Guide to Campaign Disclosure," accessed March 31, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Disclosure Search," accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Elect Jared Ploger SD308 School Board, "Ploger’s Platform and Vision," accessed March 26, 2015
