Moran, Wilson, Henry, Grosso for Geneva District 304

The Geneva Unit District 304 board will get some new blood next month, with five candidates running to fill four seats. Incumbents Tim Moran and Bill Wilson are knowledgeable and solid choices and are endorsed. They are not necessarily "yes men" for the administration. We've endorsed Wilson in 2001 and 2005. Moran has been on the board since 2005, and advocates a zero-growth budget, though he's not expecting to emerge from upcoming contract negotiations without teachers getting a pay increase.

Our other two endorsements go to newcomers Matt Henry and Mark Grosso. Both come across as levelheaded thinkers who will not go along to get along. Henry suggested using Coultrap Elementary School (set to close after this year) for overflow from the landlocked high school. While we don't know if that would work, he gets credit for thinking outside the box. Henry also advocates re-examining supply costs and working with vendors to get price reductions on some supplies.

Grosso has been keeping a critical eye on finances, and says the board needs to look at efficiencies because, for one, transportation costs are too high. He favors waiting to expand any school until the economy turns around, and says the district is "top heavy" in support staff. He also would like to save money by curtailing tuition reimbursements, noting "you pay for people to get advanced degrees and then have to pay them more in salary." Grosso also is not in lock-step with the assumption the high school is "bursting at the seams." The board is losing the detail-oriented Susan Shivers, who has not been shy in questioning expenditures. Grosso, who seems to have done his homework, seems like an able replacement.

Newcomer Lucy Cave has been on the Western Avenue School PTO since 2007 and has done other volunteer work in the city. She is energetic and engaged, and we encourage her to stay involved.