Jerry Huang

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Thread for Jerry Huang...

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www.204taxpayers.org/

Jerry Huang

1. a. I have a first grader and a kindergartener at May Watts Elementary and a 20-month old at home
1. b. MBA ¨C Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; MPP ¨C Harris School of Public Policy at University of Chicago; BA ¨C University of California at Berkeley; Program Officer at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Business Owner ¨C Wirth Business Credit
1. c. Board Member ¨C Urban Students Empowered; Treasurer - Windgate Home Owners Association;(Chicago) Mayor¡¯s Advisory Council on the Digital Divide (Staff); Financial Advisory Committee ¨C Fremont (California) Unified School District; Volunteer ¨C Venture Investment Fund - United Way of Metro Chicago; Naperville Citizens Academy; Soccer Coach ¨C Naperville Youth Soccer; Member, River Glen Presbyterian Church

2. I have had the good fortune to work with individuals in the private, public and nonprofit sectors and have learned the value of collaborating with people from diverse backgrounds on difficult problems. If elected, I will strive to bring transparency to the school board¡¯s decision making process insuring that all voices are valued and heard. I will work to change the culture of the Board of Education and re-gain the trust of the community. Please visit our website for more information: www.204taxpayers.org

3. The role of the school board is to represent all the stakeholders (students, teachers, educational support professionals, parents and other taxpayers) in providing for a high quality public education. The school board should reflect the diverse views of the community and use that information to set policy that makes sense. The school board also sets the tone for the rest of the school district. 204 Taxpayers for Excellence will create a culture of open communication and will not tolerate disrespectful behavior towards any student, teacher, educational support professional, administrator, parent or community member.

4. 204 Taxpayers for Excellence will immediately call for changes in the way the school board communicates with the community. We will solicit input at various times between board meetings and will make the board meeting less of a passive activity for attendees by encouraging questions and feedback in real-time during the meeting. We will also look to make our discipline policies more robust and specifically address bullying, including online bullying. We will also address the environment and curriculum by examining possible solutions that would be financially viable and be able to be implemented by the start of the next school year. We will look at ways to address the technology infrastructure and improve our technology curriculum. We will also make the budgeting process more transparent by inviting citizens to join a standing financial advisory committee to meet in conjunction with District staff.

5. I will immediately establish a citizens¡¯ financial advisory committee to analyze the District¡¯s finances and present their findings to the community. This standing committee will have the full cooperation of District staff and independent auditors as required. I will also challenge existing PTA organizations to be stronger advocates for their communities and truly feel like partners with their local school administrators. As we have already done during this campaign, 204 Taxpayers for Excellence will continue to reach out to community groups and meet them in their neighborhoods on their schedules. Further, one ¨Dout of the box¡¬ idea I have, is to encourage people to e-mail there questions to the sitting board members, in real time during the meetings. Right now, those who attend the meeting are completely passive, with no opportunity to give input. Why not allow a question or two from the audience? Won¡¯t that improve our decision making process? A few temporary terminals could be easily set up in the board room. Its worth trying.

6. The attendance boundaries are not up for discussion. 204 Taxpayers for Excellence believes that the boundary decisions have already been made and to re-open those discussions would be to re-visit some groups' desires to pit subdivision against subdivision and neighbor against neighbor. We would like to move past this discussion and begin the healing process for our community by ensuring that all of our schools are of equal high quality and that every child in the district receives a quality education.

7. Site-based management theoretically gives the principal at the local school level a wide range of discretion over matters at the school level. The problem is that some schools are run better than others and not all schools have the same resources. It creates an impetus on the school board to insure that principals are accountable and that human resources remain at equal high quality across schools in terms of talent and work environment. In addition, site-based management theoretically creates the opportunity for all stakeholders (teachers and staff, administration and parents) to have equal say in school decisions. This has not been the case because, in general, the administration has shut out teachers, educational support professionals and parents from the decision making process. 204 Taxpayers for Excellence aims to empower all the stakeholders, so we can get diverse viewpoints and make better, more informed decisions.

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I was asked to post this:

Karl's Notes|Notes about Karl|Karl's Profile

What I learned this week.ShareYesterday at 10:32pm
Up until ten days ago, my attitude toward our local school board was quite indifferent. I did not care about what they did as long as my property taxes didn't go up. But when I saw our school board president disrespect the parents of a victim of a sexual assault that occurred between children from my son's middle school, I got angry. I knew what I saw was not right, however I did not know what I could do to help this family. I also needed to get answers to questions that Michelle and I had about this situation and how it was being handled.

As I began to communicate with other parents in our school district and neighborhood, I was quickly learning of a consistent pattern of disrespect, unreturned phone calls, unanswered emails from the board President and other school board members. As my anger and frustration grew, Michelle and I finally decided it was time to take action.

We decided that we would invite any parents from the school district that were willing to get together to come to our home. I can say I did not know what to expect at the meeting. First and foremost, I was impressed by the caring and concern that was expressed by the other parents in attendance. I was simultaneously disappointed and amazed to hear about the years of struggle that these men and women had endured trying to communicate with the school board on variety of topics. These parents really did care, and had been trying to hold the board accountable for the many years when I did not care.

I invited the local press to the meeting in our home. I did this with intention that having them there would allow us to get media coverage and keep pressure on the school board to act on the situation at my son's middle school. The reporter and a photographer came, and the story was written by the reporter at our dining room table. The next day, the pictures of the meeting were on the front page of the paper, along with ten inches of column space dedicated to the stories that were shared among the parents.

That morning as I was working, I received phone calls from TV reporters wanting to learn more about the meeting. I agreed to speak with them. Having a background in broadcasting, I knew I would have to guard my words, and I tried to answer the questions they asked, in a way that was appropriate and non sensationalistic. I also wanted to keep them in context with the Christian values that I try to live my life by. I am proud to say that approach worked and the coverage of the school board meeting yesterday was accurate and fair.

Looking back, and examining the information I gathered this week, has given me a new perspective. As parents, we have to care what the school board does. We need to research the candidates and not just vote randomly for these positions. I am guilty of having done this in the past. The people that serve in these roles have thankless jobs, they run a huge business, over $270 million dollars in the case of District 204 budget, with total responsibilities that could be close to a billion dollars when you factor surplus funds and properties. We trust them to make wise decisions regarding our children's safety and education.

On Tuesday afternoon, for the first time, I attended a school board meeting, I now understand the process, and how the meetings are organized. As a parent you need to understand this process, in case you ever need to go before the board. Don't get me wrong in the case of this meeting it was like watching grass grow. I did address the board during the public comment time, so I had come full circle from not caring to standing up and fighting for my kids.

On April 7, 2009 we will be electing four school board members in District 204. I have now met many of the candidates and afterward attended a public forum where they answered questions about their beliefs and core values.. For the first time ever, I will enter a voting booth actually understanding where these types of candidates stand on issues that absolutely matter to my children and yours. I encourage you to get educated and become informed. I can promise you that I will take an interest and watch how our school board in District 204 acts from this day forward.

Visit www.204taxpayers.org to learn more about the candidates that I will be voting for and helping to get elected. Bottom line: I ask you to get educated and get involved. Our children are the most precious gift that God gives us. He entrusts us to raise them and be good parents in his likeness. That requires that we learn about things like school boards, whether we like it or not.

Thanks for reading.


Karl Cordes

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www.dailyherald.com/news/politics....&candidate=1002
Unit D204 board member
Jerry Huang Incumbent: No
Occupation: Program Officer at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation working on Program Related Investments. Business Owner - Wirth Business Credit.
Age: 37
Address: Naperville, IL

CANDIDATE INFORMATION
Family
Married, three children, two at May Watts Elementary School
Education/degrees
MBA - Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
MPP - Harris School of Public Policy at University of Chicago
BA - University of California at Berkeley
Civic Involvement
Board Member - Urban Students Empowered
Windgate Home Owners Association Treasurer
Mayor's Advisory Council on the Digital Divide (Chicago)
Financial Advisory Committee - Fremont Unified School District (California)
United Way of Metro Chicago - Venture Investment Fund Volunteer
Naperville Citizens Academy
Volunteer Youth Soccer and Football Coach
Member, River Glen Presbyterian Church
Elected/appointed offices held
N/A
Other Government services
Appointed to Financial Advisory Committee - Fremont Unified School District (California)


Candidate's Key Issues
Key Issue 1 The School Board needs to ensure the community's trust by being accountable for its actions, transparent in its decision making process and effective in its communications. Specifically, the School Board needs to be better listeners and take advantage of the diverse talents and perspectives that make up the community's core strength.
Key Issue 2 We are faced with a global economic crisis. Locally we know tax revenues to the School District will be flat. We need leaders that have the experience to make the difficult financial decisions. We also need transparency in the budget and spending, so that the taxpayers can give us informed input. I would immediately establish a Citizens' Financial Advisory Committee which would be charged with analyzing the budget and presenting it to the community in an easy to understand format.
Key Issue 3 The School Board needs to address the concerns of the community and provide for safe, optimal learning environments. This would include a comprehensive policy that addresses student discipline for both on-campus and off-campus situations. This also includes examining the curriculum, taking feedback from students, parents and teachers. I believe if the community asks for it, the school board should look for creative ways to finance air conditioning and other building improvements. The school district should also examine its technology infrastructure, as well as its technology curriculum, and make use of new and innovative best practices for 21st Century teaching and learning.

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?
The most pressing issue is that the School District is losing the trust of the community. That comes from not being transparent about the decisions that are made and not effectively communicating with all the stakeholders. In particular, we are on the verge of a difficult financial environment with flat revenues and increasing operating costs with a third high school opening. As a community, we need to make sure we understand the financials so that we can make the difficult decisions. We also need leaders with the experience to evaluate everything proposed and the individual conviction to stand up for what is right.
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)?
Without being involved with the negotiations, it is difficult to answer this question. However, we, as a community, need to be aware that we need to be competitive in terms of teacher compensation to retain the best talent. Part of retaining talent, outside of compensation, is insuring a safe and friendly work environment and a culture that encourages professional development.
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?
I do not believe the community has the information required to make the difficult financial decisions we have in front of us. This is why I would advocate for an immediate full disclosure of all financial information and the formation of a Citizens' Advisory Committee to examine the information and present it to the community. We need to be more transparent and open with our information and not require someone to file a Freedom of Information Act request to get it.
4. How can the district improve its curriculum to ensure students are prepared for college and/or the workforce?
We need to get specific feedback from students, parents and teachers to insure that our curriculum is keeping pace with the demands of the world around us. Just speaking with people in the community, I have already heard many complaints about the Everyday Mathematics curriculum. Students and parents do not believe it gives students a solid foundation in mathematics, and teachers often need to add to the curriculum to make it worthwhile.
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.
During my first term I will establish a Financial Advisory Committee to ensure financial transparency and discipline. I will work with the other Board Members to establish a comprehensive student safety and student discipline policy. Finally, I will work to build the community's trust, by improving communications and offering more opportunities to ask questions and debate.