Woodland candidates share financial ideas

With the recession reducing the property tax revenue schools rely upon for funding, Woodland Elementary District 50 board candidates are endorsing different money-saving ideas.

One hopeful said wind turbines could be installed and used to generate electricity more cheaply. Another suggested Woodland could merge with another area school district to reduce administrative costs.

Seven people are running for four seats in the April 7 election. They are: Lawrence A. Gregorash, Carla N. Little, Bonnie Berger-Neel, Bari Faith Loebman, Joan Morris, Beth Nguyen and Catherine Campbell.

Gregorash and Little are the only incumbents in the race. All seats have 4-year terms.

Some candidates spoke about the district's financial future in a joint interview at the Daily Herald's Lake County bureau; all of them filled out questionnaires for the newspaper.

District 50 has a roughly $81 million budget this year. Officials are predicting a future $2 million shortfall because of the flat inflation rate and other factors.

Campbell criticized district officials for not publicizing the budget, but said she hasn't gone to the district office to request a copy of the current spending plan.

She said Woodland officials should consider merging with another area school district to reduce administrative costs.

Gregorash said members of the district's financial review committee, which will analyze the budget and look for savings opportunities, will search for purchases that can be postponed until more money is available. As an example, he said the last time cuts were needed, the district postponed buying a new telephone system.

Gregorash also suggested the committee will look for ways to reduce staffing without layoffs, such as not replacing retiring teachers.

Little said the district must find alternative funding sources, but didn't specify any possibilities. If spending reductions are needed, officials should look for cuts that least affect student learning.

Loebman suggested delaying some new textbook and computer purchases as ways to save money. She also said the school could consider using wind power - a concept being considered elsewhere in Lake County - to reduce energy costs.

"It also makes our schools look very (ecologically) responsible," she said.

Nguyen said operational and administrative costs need to be assessed in a search for budget cuts. She said educational programs should be examined, too.

Nguyen didn't suggest any specific cuts or money-saving steps.

Morris supported the previous work of the district's financial review committee, but did not share any specific money-saving ideas for the future.

Berger-Neel said a detailed financial review is needed to ensure money is being spent wisely, but said she hasn't looked closely at the budget.

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.