7 file for 4 School Board Seats: Carrasco, Elam, Orusa...

[fedupinwaukegan]

7 file for Waukegan School Board seats
January 29, 2009
By RYAN PAGELOW <!-- e --><a href="mailto:rpagelow@scn1.com">rpagelow@scn1.com</a><!-- e -->

WAUKEGAN -- Seven people will compete for four seats on the Waukegan Community District 60 School Board in the April 7 election.

The four incumbents, who filed before Monday's deadline, include Bill Anderson, Anita Hanna, June Maguire and Michael Rodriguez, who was appointed following the death of Patricia Jones in June 2007.

Three challengers have filed for the four 4-year terms. They are attorney Margaret Carrasco, who served on the board from 1992 to 1993 and from 1995 to 1997; retired Navy veteran Tony Elam; and Steven Orusa, a training officer captain for the Waukegan Fire Department.

Rodriguez, Elam and Orusa are running together on a slate.

Challenges to candidacy petitions must be filed by Feb. 2.


posting this again so we can keep track of and discuss in a constructive manner the candidates who could guide the future of my children's and your children's educational future...

[freedomisntfree]

What does their slate stand for?

[fedupinwaukegan]

WKRS said that Ms. Carrasco's signatures were being challenged because many of them were from Gurnee and Round Lake (Beach?).

Anyone know more about that?

[fedupinwaukegan]

Carrasco's school board petitions challenged

February 5, 2009
By JUDY MASTERSON <!-- e --><a href="mailto:JMASTERSON@SCN1.COM">JMASTERSON@SCN1.COM</a><!-- e -->

WAUKEGAN -- Candidacy petitions for Waukegan School Board candidate Margaret Carrasco have been challenged, but the Waukegan School District won't say by whom.

"We haven't been able to get a message to Ms. Carrasco," said Bonnie Kuss, secretary to the superintendent. "We think it only fair that she hear it from us or from the appointed counsel first."

Carrasco, reached late Wednesday afternoon by The News-Sun, said she was not surprised by the challenge.

"Ever since my stance on charter schools I knew I would be targeted," Carrasco said. "I support the concept of charter schools, but not the proposal (voted down by the board Dec. 2) which was not going to be inclusive of all Waukegan students."

Carrasco said she also took issue with the proposed charter because it did not offer the same legal rights for parents and students as provided by public schools under state and federal law.

According to Kuss, a variety of signature-related issues were called into question on Carrasco's petition. Monday was the deadline to file a challenge against petitions for the April 7 school board election in which seven candidates will compete for four seats.

Kuss said an electoral board meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Monday.

Carrasco holds a law degree from Loyola University in Chicago and is a longtime advocate for area Latinos. She was a plaintiff in a successful 2004 federal lawsuit that charged that the city of Waukegan violated First and 14th Amendment rights during an attempted public protest of the city's vehicle seizure ordinance.

Four school board incumbents seeking re-election include Bill Anderson, Anita Hanna, June Maguire and Michael Rodriguez. Challengers also include Tony Elam, a retired Navy veteran, and Steven Orusa, a training officer captain for the Waukegan Fire Department.

[curious]

Carrasco's petitions were tossed out on Monday afternoon, so the field is narrowed to 6 candidates.