Endorsements: Finger, Shroka for College of Lake County board
Voters won't be lacking for choice when it comes to candidates seeking two College of Lake County board seats. There are seven qualified professionals on the ballot. Catherine Finger, Loretta Dorn, James Creighton Mitchell Jr., Michele Vaughn, Julie Shroka, Gerri Songer and Matthew Stanton are seeking 6-year terms. Lynda Paul and Jeanne Goshgarian are not seeking re-election.
CLC faces the challenge of maintaining a viable curriculum in a time when government funding is decreasing. The Grayslake-based college also sees some uncertainty with its president, Jerry Weber. He is one of three candidates who remain in the hunt for a college president post near Seattle.
Candidates who believe Weber is doing a good job at CLC are Mitchell, a 73-year-old Lindenhurst retiree who has served on the Lake County Regional School Board of Trustees and Stanton, 56, of Gurnee, a lawyer who unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for Lake County state's attorney in November.
Songer, 52, an educator from Hawthorn Woods, said the president is micromanaging the institution. Shroka, 57, of Grayslake, who's retiring from her job as CLC's director of alumni relations, says Weber is a visionary, but has problems with communication. Dorn, 53, of Volo, is director of clinical operations for the Lake County Health Department. She also considers Weber a visionary leader. Finger, 56, says she has heard of communication issues with the president, but as retiring superintendent of Grayslake High School District 127, she notes there is always tension whenever an institution is going through a budget crunch. Vaughn, 41, of Grayslake, is employed in nonprofit and leadership training. She believes the president needs more energy.
The candidates are all knowledgeable and show sincere interest in serving all stakeholders at CLC. We are swayed by relevance of Finger's experience as a top school administrator herself and by Shroka's direct familiarity with operations at the college. Finger and Shroka get our endorsement.