Endorsements: Owen, Lee, Coyle, Austriaco for Maine Township Dist. 207

The original version of this article misspelled Carla Owen's name.

Four seats are open for Maine Township High School District 207 and five candidates are running. Two are currently on the board - board President Carla Owen of Park Ridge and member Jin Lee, of Des Plaines. The remaining three are Linda Coyle of Park Ridge, Dan Gott, of Des Plaines, and Aurora Austriaco, of Park Ridge.

Most have volunteered directly for District 207 or in other education organizations; all are interested in a greater emphasis on college and career counseling and continuing to bring up the student body's college test scores.

The challenges ahead for District 207 are not uncommon: A drop in state funds will force hard choices; and the diversity of the student body - two of the schools have a majority of minority students - present unique challenges. As well, teachers in District 207 are handsomely paid, and currently have the highest average salary in the suburbs - although that's a moving target and partly due to 75 layoffs six years ago, leaving the most experienced teachers behind to drive up the average.

We support the re-election of Owen and Lee, thoughtful and hardworking board members who can tackle these challenges. We also endorse Coyle, a member of District 207's Community Advisory Council, and who is an active advocate for both the schools and for fiscal prudence.

The final seat is between Gott and Austriaco. Both ran unsuccessfully for the state legislature, and we suspect that's where their true interests lie. But because Austriaco has been on the District 207 Community Advisory Council and a volunteer leader at Maine South, she gets our nod for the final seat.