Krause will head up educational agency

1/17/2007

The Lucas County Educational Service Center, an agency sponsoring area community schools, last night elected a new president and vice president.

Board members, who met at the service center's offices, 2275 Collingwood Blvd., voted 4-1 to elect Karen Krause as president.

Ms. Krause, who has served on the board since 2000, replaces Randy Dixon as president. The board also voted 4-1 to elect Joan Kuchcinski as vice president.

Mrs. Kuchcinski, who has served on the board since 2002, replaces Joe Rutherford as vice president. She previously served once as vice president.

The lone "no" vote was cast in each instance by Judy Hansen, a veteran board member and a former board president.

Ms. Hansen told the board that she voted against Ms. Krause because she "is only interested in being president when she's up for re-election," which is this year.

She said she also did so because "I've heard that [Ms. Krause] was seeking to run as a Democrat for the District 6 seat [on Toledo City Council] against [Republican] Joe Birmingham," whose seat is up for election this year.

After the voting, Ms. Krause took the floor and denied both allegations.

Ms. Hansen also told the board she was voting against Mrs. Kuchcinski because she is "a single-issue board member."

Ms. Hansen later told The Blade what she meant was that Mrs. Kuchcinski's "only reason for being on the board was because she was never in favor of community schools."

Mrs. Kuchcinski told the board at the end of the meeting: "As to community schools, if they are well-run and accountable academically and fiscally, I'm all for them."