www.dailyherald.com/news/politics/elections/2009/race/candidates/?id=707&candidate=993Unit D204 board member
Mark Rising Incumbent: No
Occupation: 18 years in sales, account management and consulting in the healthcare and legal technology fields.
Age: 41
Address: Aurora, IL
CANDIDATE INFORMATION
Family
Married 12 years Father of 2 daughters, 5 yeras old in her second year of Indian Prairie Preschool and a 10 year old dauther in 5th grade at Nancy Young Elementary.
Education/degrees
Hartland Arrowhead High School Hartland, WI
University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, WI
Bachelors Degree in Communications and Marketing
Civic Involvement
*Representative of Oakhurst North Home Owners Association. *Teach Sunday school and sing in the choir at Our Saviour’s Luthern Church in Naperville.
*Have served and worked with Fox Valley Park District advisory committee as a community leader.
Elected/appointed offices held
No Former Elected Offices Held.
Other Government services
None
Candidate's Key Issues
Key Issue 1 D204 belongs to the community. It is the responsibility of the school board to represent the school district honestly and equally. Unfortunately, the past 3+ years that I've have attended school board meetings that communication or reaching out to the community has gotten worse. I want to encourage more communication and help the IPSD School Board be proactive and communicate better with the parents, the community and staff of IPSD.
Key Issue 2 The Economy and IPSD School Budget. With the state behind in paying public schools and the CPI figure at 0.1 percent from 4.1 the previous year we as a district have a lot to be concerned about. IPSD needs to look at ways from the top down that will allow us as a district to save costs and limit expenditures without affecting our children.
Key Issue 3 I think we need to take a bigger look at reducing the achievement gap between our students. This needs to be a priority to benefit every student in our district. Continually challenge our high performing students while implementing programs to better develop our low performing students.
Questions & Answers
Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted.
1. What is the most important issue facing Indian Prairie Unit District 204 and how specifically would you address it as a member of the school board?
Communication and working together as a dirtrict. We need to and I will encourage more communication and help the IPSD School Board be proactive and communicate better with the parents, community and staff of IPSD. Communication needs to increase between the Superintendent, IPSD School Board, staff, students, parents and the community NOW. School Board Members need to learn more about district programs, personnel and facilities and participate more within the district. The school board needs to listen, learn and understand public opinion to help them make better policy decisions. Share more with the public and community and get rid of executive session except in the case of legally sensitive issues. Post more info about how IPSD school board decisions were reached and why. It is my responsibility if elected to stay informed about issues locally, at the state level, nationally and globally. I will listen to those who communicate with the SB to better represent the entire community. I understand what the responsibilities of a school board member are and the time and commitment it requires, and I plan to dedicate that time and more to make the community feel part of D204 again.
2. The district is negotiating a new teachers contract this year. Do you believe teachers should continue to get raises in this economy? If so, what percentage do you think is fair (counting step increases)?
I believe we should continue to pay our teachers what is fair for our area and for the size of the district we are in. However, with the current economy, less CPI, less state and federal funding I do not believe we should raise taxes on the district. Just like a business our school district needs to find ways to cut costs while still maintaining our amazing teaching staff. Regarding our classified staff they have seen a 2% step increase from 2006-2008 and I believe this is fair for the current economy.
3. The economic downturn will put a strain on District 204's budget. What specific ideas do you have for increasing revenue or cutting spending?
Over the past 3+ years I have learned and become knowledgeable about D204’s finances and operations. With only having general numbers on our school budget I believe we need to get outside consulting on ways to cut costs from the top down. This should be done every year to eliminate wasteful spending. If elected I plan on keeping the D204 School Board accountable and not rush to judgment on important decisions, programs and dollars allocated. We need to take a step back and ask ourselves if something is necessary in today's economy, or if it can wait. The days of free for all spending needs to stop.
4. How can the district improve its curriculum to ensure students are prepared for college and/or the workforce?
I am a strong supporter of state recommended curriculum materials. However, I believe D204 needs to take the lead in this area for our own students and look to other e-learning opportunities like IPSD is currently putting in place. We need to stay strong in math and science and constantly challenge our students while also giving them other learning and studying resources above and beyond standard textbooks. By continuously looking at alternative curriculm we better prepare our students for college entrance exams, college and the future.
5. If you are an incumbent, outline your three major contributions to the school board. If you are a challenger, outline the three contributions you hope to make during your first term.
1. Proactive open communication between parents, the community, school saff, superintendent and D204 School Board.
2. Accountability and keeping the School Board accountable and to facilitate collaberation resulting in smarter fiscal resolutions on important issues, programs and dollars allocated.
3. Student Success - To be diligent and dedicated in improving student achievement for every student in D204 while encouraging parent and community involvement in school programs.
