District 50 candidates talk about priorities
The people running for seats on the Gurnee-based Woodland Elementary School District 50 board have different priorities if elected.
The seven candidates talked about their goals and other subjects in questionnaires for the Daily Herald.
Four seats will be decided in the April 7 election. The candidates 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.
Berger-Neel said the board should focus on preparing Woodland students to be competitive in the future. District leaders, she said, need to improve the quality of education, especially in the areas of science and math.
The curriculum should be modified to meet gaps identified in the U.S. educational system, Berger-Neel said.
Campbell has made improving communication with the public and open government pillars of her campaign, and she said the board must make being more transparent and more accountable to the public a priority.
She's said board members home addresses, e-mail addresses and phone numbers should be posted on the district Web site, and she supports broadcasting board meetings on cable TV or the Internet, among other steps.
Gregorash, a board member since 2005, said the panel's top priority should be ensuring fiscal responsibility.
The board has been working to reduce the district's multimillion-dollar deficit, he said, and officials are projecting a balanced budget by 2010.
"The economic conditions today dictate continued vigilance and another round of cost-savings measures, with the community's input, in the next two years," Gregorash said.
Little, a board member since 1999, also cited the economy as a top concern. The board must research alternative funding sources, she said, but officials may have to identify possible budget cuts.
She didn't suggest any specific areas where cuts should be considered.
In the questionnaire and in live interviews, Loebman has cited the need to involve Woodland residents who don't have kids in the schools as a top priority.
"Families with students enrolled as well as our residents who do not have children in our schools need to be provided with district information to keep them engaged in the process of education," she said. "We need to pursue a more hands-on approach and examine greater opportunities for our residents to volunteer time in our schools. We can achieve this by beginning to better inform (residents) of how their skills and time are of value to Woodland."
Morris said team building should be a top priority for the new board. The election could result in more than half of the seven-person board being replaced with new members, she said, and "It is this team's relationship that will keep the board moving forward."
Morris did not suggest any team-building exercises to be considered.
Nguyen cited fiscal responsibility as a top concern, saying education should be improved with less money. She didn't provide any concrete suggestions, however.
District 50 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.