Dist. 50 board hopefuls sing a similar tune
Four of the candidates seeking seats on the Woodland Elementary School District 50 board talked about their volunteer work, their goals for the board and other topics during a forum Wednesday night.
About 60 audience members listened to Lawrence A. Gregorash, Bari Faith Loebman, Joan Morris and Catherine Campbell explain their stances on a variety of issues during the forum at Woodland Intermediate School in Gurnee.
Three other candidates - Carla N. Little, Bonnie Berger-Neel and Beth Nguyen - did not attend the discussion. Stand-ins read brief statements for Little and Berger-Neel.
Gregorash and Little are the only incumbents in the race for four seats with 4-year terms.
The debate was moderated by a representative from the League of Women Voters who asked the panelists questions written by audience members.
The candidates' stances on nearly all of the issues were remarkably similar. They've served as volunteers; they opposed teacher salary freezes; they felt volunteers should alert teachers to student discipline problems rather than disciplining kids themselves.
Campbell, who left the forum early because of a family commitment, stood out by repeatedly stressing the need for district officials to reach out to the public more by broadcasting meetings on cable TV and putting more information on the district's Web site. Campbell talked about those communication tools even when they had nothing to do with the question being asked.
After Campbell left, the remaining candidates talked about a few more issues, including whether they'd vote for abstinence-only sex education. While Morris said she would need more information before voting, Gregorash said such programs are required by law in Illinois. The board did adopt such a program, he said.
Loebman sidestepped the question by saying children need to be taught "what to be fearful of."
The district serves all of Gages Lake and Wildwood and parts of Gurnee, Grayslake, Park City, Third Lake, Old Mill Creek, Wadsworth, Lake Villa, Waukegan and Libertyville.