District 64 School Board candidates answer questions on challenges, taxes, all-day kindergarten and more

Feb. 28-- Feb. 28--It's a crowded field in the Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 race, which for the first time in eight years includes multiple female candidates.

Running for three, four-year spots on the board are candidates Steven Blindauer, a middle school teacher; Sal Galati, vice president of an insurance brokerage firm; Lisa Page, a Park Ridge-based psychologist; Denise Pearl, an online instructor for a university; and Carolina Sales, an attorney; and incumbent Tom Sotos, an attorney and business owner.

An additional two candidates, Gareth Kennedy, an actuary, and Rebecca Little, a freelance writer, are vying for an unexpired two-year term.

Each of the candidates running for four-year terms recently answered several questions about some of the key issues facing the school district. The responses of the candidates running for the two-year term will be published separately.

Q: What are the biggest challenges currently facing District 64?

Blindauer: Focusing on student achievement; closing staffing gaps of the superintendent [who is leaving in June] and four principals [who are also leaving in June] and ensuring ongoing evaluation of the superintendent with clear expectations; making data-based decisions in open and transparent ways; engaging the staff and community in collaborative decision-making; and creating conditions for student and staff success through technology and a more collaborative exchange of information.

Galati: Replacing the superintendent and [four] principals. [Also], improving the relationship between the board and the community. I would help facilitate the community having more forums outside of board meetings to exchange ideas and get input from all citizens. Then the board meetings could be used more effectively to present solutions arrived at those meetings, rather than only criticism.

Page: The biggest challenges currently facing District 64 is a blatant disregard for the parents showing up meeting after meeting to be heard and going unrecognized by the current school board. While I acknowledge that the school board is not a public hearing but a meeting being held in public, it is imperative for the parents who are constituents of the school board members be heard, recognized and [have] their issues be respected and addressed. The meetings of the current school board are also excessively long and do not following Robert's Rules of Order. Meetings could be much shorter and more efficient and I believe my experience can help them do so.

Pearl: Some of the challenges reported by the community [in a survey] include fostering better communication strategies, clarifying the role of the school board and establishing trust with the community and with the special education program. In all of these areas, I believe that improved communication strategies from the board would address these concerns. I have been attending school board meetings not just for District 64, but for other area districts to gather ideas of practices for the District 64 School Board that might work to improve communication, such as having a district community advisory board, running the school board meetings efficiently and posting board briefs with the purpose of synthesizing the minutes of the school board meeting.

Sales: The Consortium for Educational Change completed its audit of the district in 2015, and most of the issues identified therein still exist. The biggest challenges include the strained relationship between the staff, administration, and board; the need for improved internal and external communication; high turnover of administrators; holding high expectations for all students; and meeting the least restrictive environment special education requirements. These challenges can best be addressed by acknowledging that they exist and having the board ensure that the superintendent is held accountable.

Sotos: The one that I would like to see addressed immediately is the communication between school administrators, teachers, board members and parents. Without a solid plan for continued communication between all stakeholders, everything else can never be addressed properly.

Q: What District 64 programs or practices do you believe are most in need of changes or improvements?

Blindauer: I have heard concerns from parents that ensuring follow-through on the special education agenda and audit recommendations is needed. Full-day kindergarten is another topic among community members that should be reviewed, as well as the development and implementation of environmental initiatives across the district. I'm also interested in a review of best practices from the utilization of one-on-one computer technology as part of evaluating return on investment and future investment in technology.

Galati: Special education is in the midst of a major overhaul. The new board will be tasked with ensuring progress is made there. We need more of the meetings to be held in the open and honestly address the quality of our schools compared to our neighbors, prioritizing the educational needs of all students.

Page: There are concerns from parents of special needs students which must be addressed. I also believe it is imperative to bring spelling and handwriting back into the school curriculum. There seems to be inconsistency across the district in the satisfaction of parents in the school system .... Two issues that [also] stand out most to me are concerns for how the children with special needs are being addressed and parents wanting all-day kindergarten.

Pearl: One of the broad issues for the district that the School Board Special Education Subcommittee has brought to light is the need for alignment among our schools .... Better alignment and collaboration among the schools is needed and is something that can be fostered by a new superintendent partnering with a strong school board. Also, in a broad sense, our feeder district, District 207, is being recognized on a national level for its innovation. I wonder how District 64 might explore innovative educational strategies and practices as well.

Sales: The special education program and our hiring practices are most in need of changes or improvements. The numerous problems with special education were described in Lisa Harrod's May 21, 2018 executive summary of the audit and Mike Padavic's memorandum. Although the district has begun to address these issues, many systemic problems still exist, including lack of trust in administration, the decline of programming options and continuum of services, and the lack of focus on research-based interventions before outplacing students in more restrictive environments. The district should also focus on identifying, training, and mentoring current teachers and administrators for future vacancies instead of reactively hiring people when the need arises.

Sotos: I would like to see the district work closer with parents to insure parents are doing their part at home to progress our children's education. We must not, and cannot, rely solely on the school system if we demand our children excel at levels our residents are demanding. Although the bulk of the work load falls on the shoulders of our teachers and administration, it is important for the board to stay closely informed of the progress and success (or failures) of our programs and or practices.

Q: The board of education typically approves a higher property-tax levy each year. What are your thoughts on this practice?

Blindauer: Property taxes should not be the schools' only resource for revenue, and an annual levy should not be an automatic process. The district receives general state aid and money from taxes .... Excellent schools enhance property values, and schools are heavily supported by property taxes, but annual levies should not be a typical expectation. We need to balance fiscal responsibility to the public while ensuring our students' achievement.

Galati: My view with money is always we can do more with less. The taxes are in line with our peer districts, but the quality of the overall product does not seem to be. Throwing money at something is not a solution; it is the easy way out. In some cases it may be necessary, but we must be respectful of all citizens in making these decisions.

Page: I do not believe there should be an automatic increase in property tax levy each year. It is important for the board to be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers and to have increases commensurate with the needs of the school system every year. It is important to have an emergency fund, but not to build it every year beyond what is practical.

Pearl: In collaboration with the district's chief school business officer, the board must thoughtfully consider the tax levy amount, taking into account what is happening in the district and in Illinois, which is capped by law and guided by inflation. The board must be strategic about this in considering the aging facilities in the district, accompanied by student enrollment increases.

Sales: The yearly property tax levy increase should not be a standard practice, and the board should only approve an increased levy if it is absolutely necessary.

Sotos: I do not support annual increase in property taxes unless all other means have been exhausted. If the tax levy is to be approved at the maximum level, it is imperative that we first make a strong case to the taxpayers for the added increases and then must show real, measurable results directly related to those increases. However, as I have come to learn over my past four years of service on this board, the property-tax levy is a complicated process and is not as simple as should we increase or shouldn't we. All board members must get intimately familiar with the consequences of raising the levy to the max as well as the consequences of choosing to not raise the levy. Not levying at the appropriate level can have a lasting non recoverable impact on the fiscal health of the district.

Q: Should District 64 implement all-day kindergarten for all students and, if so, how should it be funded?

Blindauer: District 64 should evaluate full-day kindergarten, including a review of academic achievement, local parent need, impact to district finances of free or tuition-based programs, and competitiveness with nearby community offerings. The school board should ensure that clear goals for evaluation are set, decisions are based on data, and that collaborative input of administration, teachers, parents and community members is part of the decision process.

Galati: There is research showing it is beneficial, but we also need to consider the variables in these studies. If we decide to proceed, we need to look hard at our current budget to see why we cannot deliver a service other districts offer at comparable cost per student.

Page: I feel that all-day kindergarten should be a priority for the school board .... Of the options to consider, possibly reopening Jefferson as a district-wide school or building a new school down the road in order to have enough room for all-day kindergarten classes. Parents want their all-day kindergartners to be at their home school, not bused back and forth, so there are a significant number of factors for the board to consider in making this decision.

Pearl: From the superintendent profile data from the Park Ridge/Niles community and from the individual conversations with parents, the school district should explore options for offering and funding full-day kindergarten. The research on student attendance for full-day kindergarten boasts improved academic performance. The funding of this program is complex since it includes classroom space, hiring teaching staff, and providing professional development to adopt best practices for full-day kindergarten programs.

Sales: Yes, the district should implement all-day kindergarten for all students, while also providing a half-day option pursuant to Illinois law .... The district currently provides the extended day kindergarten program at Jefferson for $24 per day (over $4,000 per year). If the district were to implement a non-fee-based full-day program, it would lose the revenue from the current program and also have to pay for additional staff, transportation, and related costs. The district would also have to pay the constructions costs to renovate existing facilities. The district should fund the program with reserves and bonds -- to the extent that a referendum passes.

Sotos: I have supported all-day kindergarten all along. However my experience as a sitting board member has opened my eyes to the various hurdles our district must overcome to make this a reality: Space constraints at the kids' home schools, cost of construction, possible need to reconfigure Jefferson, additional teachers. In order for our district to implement full day, we would need to build onto each of our elementary schools to accommodate for two new classrooms necessary to house full-day kindergarten, or to potentially reopen Jefferson as a full-day kindergarten facility for the entire district. Each has its challenges, and each will be extremely costly. Regardless of if, how, or when this district decides to create a full-day program, it is important to start budgeting for the possibility full-day kindergarten is made mandatory by the state and we are forced to comply.

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