McHenry School District 15 Board
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I have much vested with the schools and the district having two kids in the schools. I am a advocate for better education for special needs children. I am a PTO mom and in school volunteer. I have assisted others in advocating for their rights.
I have worked with various groups among them are volunteering with the Boy Scouts, working with the Kohl\\\'s Care events that raise money for youth groups. Helping out at our church youth group Logo\\\'s. While living in Virginia for 8 years I volunteered for the Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society, the family support group for deployed soldiers and was involved in organizing their home coming events etc.
Last of all, I have faithfully attended the board meetings for the last 2 years to keep abreast of what is happening in District 15.
It’s hard to narrow it down to 2 or 3 priorities there are so many important ones like equal opportunities for all students including special education students, growth in the Landmark program of all year school, full day kindergarten, dual language classes and gifted programs. My major priorities are to keep the schools moving in the forward direction with the hope of not having to raise taxes and to make sure current programs are not eliminated in the District 15 schools.
I am for freezing the taxing levy for a while to let people get back on their feet. But to say until the housing market rebounds is not a good choice. No one can predict when that will happen. At some point costs go up. This is the way of life and to short change the kids because the housing market didn’t recover is not fair to them
I have disagreed with the board on the letting go of SEDOM staff. That was the one constant in the kids lives and they were very well trained staff. I do understand that money was the reason for the cuts. I just felt that the staff had more experience with working with the needs of the kids.
The biggest accomplishment of the board in this rough economy has been the trimming the fat in the budget and keeping us in a upward movement. They have managed to hire new staff, keep up with demands, with slow or lacking funds from the state.
I have attended the board meeting for the last two years faithfully watching and learning. Voters should elect me because I am a dedicated person who wants to make a difference in her school district. I have shown I am willing to take a stand, think out of the box, and be a advocate for all kids. I want this to be a great place for the current generation of kids and the next.
I have worked in the accounting and finance fields professionally for 23 years. I currently work as the VP of Finance for a consulting firm in Schaumburg. I work with many companies of all sizes to help them manage their risk and understand the financial implications of the insurance decisions that they face. In the last 6 years I have served on the school board with the last 4 as finance chair. I have a solid understanding of the challenges faced by our school district and our community.
In the last 6 years, our district has worked hard to improve the quality of education that our students receive in a fiscally responsible manner. We have avoided any deficit spending while doing all this. Yet, this is not enough. In these difficult times, we will continue to be challenged to make sure that we constantly improve the level of education without being fiscally irresponsible. Poor performing schools are a long term threat to the value of our community, whereas high performing schools can be a tremendous asset to that value. Protecting and improving the value of our homes and community through the consistent improvement in the education quality of our schools is the obligation and duty of the BOE and the largest priority that I have.
No. Not with the current political structure in place. School boards are limited in what they can levy by what Springfield has enacted. This limited flexibility in both good times and bad, forces districts to collect what they can when they can. Any freezes in the levy become permanent revenue losses that compound each year into the future. We then run the risk of running deficits which will diminish the level of education for the students, reduce the value of the district to the community and ultimately further reduce the value of peoples homes. It is a short term fix that creates a longer term problem. Couple this with the budget issues that Springfield faces. Currently, D15 receives about 12% of its budget from the state. This makes us a “donor district” as more of our state income tax goes out of the district than comes back. These payments are typically 2 quarters late in arriving. The state, due to their budget and pension mess, is threatening to place even a greater burden on the local districts. When (not if) this happens, our district will increase the level of donation that we make to the other districts in the state and face revenue shortfall. Creating a further revenue shortfall by freezing our levy just compounds the problem our district would face.
In the past 6 years I have been pleased with the decisions that the board has made.
The increase to the teachers school year to improve their teaching skills and integration across the district will have the great impact on the educational quality of the district. It is a longer term investment and though we are seeing positive results in the short term, I anticipate that this will really be of value in the long term in ways that we don’t even realize yet.
I have grown up in this community and benefited from the education that I received in our district. This is my home. I believe that I have an obligation to my hometown to work to give the children in our community even better opportunities than I received while keeping the cost affordable to the members of our community. We should continue to strive to be the destination school district in our county. We should do so while continuing to not run financial deficits and being fiscally responsible. The long term benefits to our kids, our home values and our community are tremendous and can only help to better us all. This is my home and my hometown. Anything less sells us short.
I have been on the dist 15 board for 8 years.I am going for my 3rd term. With that experience, I bring a well rounded understanding of the issues in the dist and how to go about getting a resolution to them.
1. to continue to keeping the dist financially sound.
2. To help maintain the consistency and the positive direction the board is going.
No. Because with the tax cap, we can only get so much.
There has not been any.
Getting the 2 union contracts done for 5 years and the dist staff development for the teachers.
I have served the voters with openness,directness,honesty and providing fiscal responsibility.
For the past 9 years I have served on the McHenry District 15 school board. During this time I have been part of a team that has raised levels of student achievement while implementing the many changes that are occurring in education. Additionally I was part of the strategic planning team that set goals for the District. As a current board member I now am in a position to ensure that these goals are a priority and that District initiatives continue to address the needs outline in the strategic plan. My 9 years of history with the District coupled with my job as an elementary school principal allows me to bring a unique perspective to the role of a board member.
With the adoption of the Common Core Standards, the manner in which students learn and what they will learn is drastically changing. It is important that we continue to provide training and support for teachers as they begin to implement curriculum changes in order for students to not only be successful on the new state assessments, but also demonstrate learning in new and unique ways. We need to continue to provide a platform for teachers to collaborate and design curriculum that best reflects the Common Core Standards. Because the Common Core holds students to high achievement levels and will ask students to be deep thinkers and problem solvers, it is important that we expose students to a variety of technology resources that will allow them the opportunity to take an active part in their learning. Technology not only serves as a resource but it also allows for more engagement with the curriculum. It is important that the District continue to explore ways in which technology and curriculum can coincide for the benefit for student learning. These are the most important issues facing student achievement and are a priority for continued student growth.
No I would not support freezing the District’s tax levy. Because schools cannot rely on the State of Illinois to pay what is owed to schools in general state aide, freezing of the District tax levy would negatively impact District finances. Unfortunately, until our State legislators rewrite the way schools are funded in the State of Illinois, property owners will continue to take the brunt of financing schools.
Believe it or not, there isn’t a decision that I disagree with. Decisions by board members are made through analysis of data. All decisions are made in the best interest of students, staff and community. While not all decisions are easy to make, I respect the board’s decisions and how decisions are made.
This past year the board along with the Teachers Association bargained a 5 year teachers’ contract; allowing District administration to do long range financial planning.
As a parent of a District 15 student, I am committed to seeing that students are afforded an opportunity to grow academically, socially and emotionally. With so many changes in education on the horizon, board members need to vigilant that District staff is provided the needed tools and training to educate students for life in the 21st Century. My nine years as a board member has allowed me to see the path that District 15 is traveling and electing me to the school board will ensure that we continue to provide rich learning opportunities to students by not only preparing them for high school but also by instilling essential skills needed for lifelong learning.
