CLINTON — Republican Dennis Cook serves as president of his local school board. After working to cure some of the ills of his district, the seventh largest school district in the state, he now wants to make education a focus of his campaign as he runs for Illinois Lieutenant Governor.

Cook was in the area this week to touch on some primary points of his campaign, education in the state being one of them.

“I inherited a construction project that went $28 million over budget, a budget deficit of nearly $6 million and a district that was on the state financial watch list,” Cook said. Cook said the board eliminated some of its administrative positions, leaving some positions open, and reevaluated how the district staffed its facilities. “And we had to make some tough decisions on non-tenured teachers,” he said.

Cook’s suburban Chicago district also capped some of its spending. “Some districts feel that, because they budget it, they have to spend it,” Cook said. Cook’s district implemented an approval process for expenditures over $1,000.

For the complete article see the 01-15-2010 issue.

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