District 99 Forum: Question 4

Mike Davenport
Obviously we have our ongoing financial concerns with the state. We have ongoing concerns with unfunded mandates, which we're all well aware of. So, I’ll speak to trust. I think that we have a current majority of the school board that doesn’t have the trust of the community right now.  And without that trust, it’s difficult to lead. It’s difficult to bring people together to consensus. I look to improve that situation if I get on the board. I think that primarily that is the biggest issue in this campaign. 

Allyn Barnett
The challenges of the public education are very complex. Finances obviously are a huge issue. There are so many things that are expected of our education and yet the funding comes mostly from the local community, so obviously the local board has a  deep responsibility to make sure the local community understands they're treating their resources wisely in an effort to meet the goals of the institution.

I do think the communication with the community is important. It’s always been an important issue for this district and will continue to be an important issue for this district. But I think the true challenges are making sure our children are prepared for their futures.

Cliff Grammich
The three critical issues I see are first, communication and openness. The board does above all have a duty to represent the district interest as a whole. At the same time, it must be able to recognize that other parties—whether students and parents or other governments which may disagree with them—can sometimes have valid perspective and that their perspectives do need to be respected if for no other reason that that you never know where the next good idea may come from.

The second issue is finances.  The district is in good shape.  Mark Staehlin as far as I can tell, has done an outstanding job of steering the district through difficult fiscal times and adjusting to deteriorating state finances. At the same time,  as state finances deteriorate further or if our commercial property real estate values deteriorate further, we’re going to be placing a greater burden on residential property owners and that's something that the board will have to be prepared to address.

The third one is academic performance. The district is doing very well here. But we have some very ambitious goals set by federal mandates such as the No Child Left Behind Act which are increasingly difficult to meet. At the same time, the good news is the district has been doing better than other districts in meeting those goals.

Nancy Kupka
I think there are multiple issues that we are going to face. First, of course, is change. We have changes in the economy that none of us had anticipated.  We're having changes in the type of reimbursement we are receiving from the state. We also have to help the young men and women who are going to our schools to navigate through life and all the changes they're experiencing, both socially and within the context of education. We have to make sure they are prepared, whether they're going on to college for a trade school or whether they're going directly into the work force, because all of those platforms have changed.

I do think that we need to work on communication, everyone needs to work on communication. I have a little bit different perspective. I think the board has done well in terms of communicating. I don’t think they’ve shut people out from sharing their perspectives. I do recognize that some activities are now occurring—we’ve hired a director of communications to try to enhance what I feel they've been doing well.   

Keith Matune
I believe also that fiscal prudence is going to continue to be something that’s going to need a careful and watchful eye. I also agree that the district administration has done a nice job toeing the line with some of these situations that have not been their fault. I also believe in academic excellence and raising  the standards and also accountability. I know it probably sounds very  strange for some of you in the audience, thinking well, here's a teacher who wants accountability—absolutely.

The way that I was prepared, and I matriculated at Purdue University, I was very well prepared. I was nervous—didn't think I was Big 10 quality—but my teachers did an outstanding job, and again I want to maintain that. But I also believe there’s a real sense in our community that our board is not responsive to community input, be it at the Park Board level, the Village Council level, or just the average citizen. Simply put, I think the board has lost some credibility and confidence with our residents. I want to be part of the solution that rebuilds those relationships.