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| Galesburg Parents Save Cooke Elementary School Gain |
FIRST REPORTED 8:30pm 4/12/10, UPDATED 12:14pm 4/13/10 Parents around one Galesburg School District elementary school have essentially saved their school again.
While the Galesburg School Board Monday night voted to adopt nearly $3.5 million in adjustments to the district's budget due mostly to projected state budget cuts for education spending, it was learned that the principal at Cooke Elementary School will be going nowhere.
Doctor E. Jean Brown had been expected to be transferred to Steele Elementary School to replace Rochelle Streeter who is being laid off as a result of the budget plan, with pre-kindergarten program head Maury Lyon replacing Brown at Cooke, as his program's funding is expected to be slashed, too.
That left a number of parents and residents who live around Cooke concerned, like Luz Schick. "Cooke School needs Dr. Brown," Schick said. "I volunteer in the kindergarten there once a week, and I have seen how she is the heart and soul of the school."
District-205 Superintendent Doctor Gene Denisar says he hadn't even had the chance to tell the entire school board yet, but he took those comments and others made in the last month or so to heart.
"I do plan on leaving Dr. Brown at Cooke," Denisar said. "But, I'm also going to recommend to the board -- and this will not be acted on until the June meeting -- but I'm going to recommend to the board that she take on the day-to-day operation of Bright Futures."
Denisar says Lyon would still wright the grant to fund Bright Futures -- whatever state funding may be left for that program -- but Brown would run it.
That's assuming the board signs off on the plan June eighth. Many of the same parents who spoke Monday voiced anger with plans over five years ago to close Cooke due to enrollment decreases.
(Bright Futures Program Head Dr. Maury Lyon watches Monday Night's Galesburg School Board meeting.)
(Cooke Elementary School Principal Dr. E. Jean Brown listens as her future with the Galesburg School District is discussed Monday night. WGIL News Story and Photos by Will Stevenson.) |
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| 04 13 10 by Newsroom |
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