Grosso, Henry join incumbents on Geneva school board

Geneva school trustees Tim Moran and Bill Wilson managed to hang on to their seats Tuesday. And newcomers Mark Grosso and Matt Henry will join them on the board.

With all precincts reporting, Moran led the balloting with 1,965 votes, followed by Grosso with 1,929, Wilson with 1,771 and Henry with 1,731. There were four 4-year terms available. Lucy Cave received 1,638 votes.

"I'm just very pleased that the voters in Geneva have enough confidence in me to elect me to school board," Grosso said, promising to be "a good steward of their money" and to examine the district's programs and procedures to make sure they are the best they can be.

During the campaign, Grosso questioned whether Geneva High School needs to be expanded, saying when he visited the school he saw empty classrooms. The board earlier this year halted planning for a $95 million expansion of the high school due to the bad economy, even though the school is near its capacity of 2,000 students.

The district also has not grown in enrollment as fast as was expected in the 2006 facilities master plan that called for the expansion, as the housing industry collapse brought a halt to construction of Settlements of LaFox, the last major residential development in the district.

Henry called for the district to examine expenses, such as cutting back on the amount of paper used in classrooms and negotiating with hungry suppliers for lower costs.

Moran, who has been on the board for four years, is vice president, and chairman of its policy committee. He advocated that the board consider asking teachers to pay for a larger share of their benefit costs, if they expect to get a pay raise in their next contract. Wilson also suggested this be considered.

The teachers' contract expires at the end of July.