By Cristina Kumka
Staff Writer
April 15, 2008

With Board of Education election wins under their belts, Jerry Lamb, George Garrison and Margaret Mora are tasked with setting Englewood public school policy and managing a 2008 school budget of $68 million.

Approximately 457 residents voted to approve the school budget, according to Board of Education President Glenn Garrison.

The three will join the current board of six members and become integral parts of a more than 3,000-student district.

Incumbent Mora claimed the most votes, unofficially tallied tonight at 588. First-time candidates Garrison received 583 and Lamb received 561. All three candidates were unchallenged.

Garrison and Lamb replace longtime members Shirley Smith and David Matthews. The new members will be sworn in at a board meeting in May.

The Board of Education is continuously responsible for ensuring directions from the state Department of Education regarding racial integration and improved testing scores.

The new members will become part of a team of school officials in the process of implementing a previous referendum for the construction of new school facilities. The goal is to improve existing buildings and construct new ones in the hope of integrating more students back into the district in the next five years.

The candidates, in preliminary interviews before the election, said one of the biggest issues on their combined plate is equalizing education for every student in the district, beginning with getting more parents involved and invested in their children’s education.

All three agreed that learning starts in school but must continue in the home for all children to become better students.