Lake County Gazette

Dan Orecchio and Aaron Martin will continue serving on the Westminster Public Schools Board of Education after no other candidates filed to run for the open seats. The district announced that, because only two candidates submitted the required petition signatures by the deadline and both are incumbents, there is no need for a Board of Education election this November.

State law permits school districts to cancel elections when the number of candidates does not exceed the number of available seats. This allows Orecchio and Martin to retain their positions without a contested race.

"This outcome ensures continuity of leadership on the Board, with Orecchio and Martin returning to continue their work on behalf of students, staff, and the broader Westminster community. Both members were first elected to the board in 2021."

Martin comes from an education-focused family. He is married to Brenda Martin, who serves as Learning Services Director and is a former principal. Their two children attend schools in the district.

Orecchio and his wife Stephanie both graduated from Westminster High School in 1988. He pursued a career in architecture with offices located in Westminster and Fraser, Colorado. Orecchio has credited a drafting teacher at WPS for inspiring him to become an architect and establish his own business.

With no challengers entering the race, Westminster Public Schools will avoid spending approximately $25,000 on election costs this November.

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 serves numerous schools throughout Lake County, including elementary schools such as Glen Flora Elementary School and middle schools like Daniel Webster Middle School. Additional details about these schools can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

The district's student population is diverse: 3.2 percent White, 13.2 percent Black, 79.5 percent Hispanic, and 1.3 percent Asian according to state data available at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

There are 1,014 teachers employed by Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 earning an average salary of $63,524 before pension contributions; women make up just over seventy-one percent of this workforce while men comprise nearly twenty-nine percent. There have been no teachers reported with more than ten absences during a school year (source: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

In terms of finances, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 spent $23,429 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $359 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).