Mabel N. Umeadi: Candidate Profile

Note: 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. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: BensenvilleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Fenton H.S. D100Age: 44Family: Married with four childrenOccupation: Registered NurseEducation: Bachelor's in NursingCivic involvement: Medical Mission Volunteer,Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: no.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Quality educationKey Issue 2 Balanced budgetKey Issue 3 Improved community involvement in schoolQuestions Answers How satisfied are you that your district is preparing students for the next stage in their lives, whether it be from elementary into high school or high school into college or full-time employment? What changes, if any, do you think need to be made?Although our students are accomplishing great things each day, I am never really content. Just as we expect our students to reach higher, as a board member, I do aspire to do more. I am currently a member of Fenton's curriculum committee, and our priority is to address the needs of our students. We are very excited about the Project Lead the Way Initiative, which will enhance the way the subjects of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are delivered to our students.What budget issues will the district have to confront? What measures do you support to address them? If cuts are needed, be specific about programs and expenses that should be reduced or eliminated. Do you support any tax increases for local schools?Our school continues to fall short in the level of funding it is receiving from the state of Illinois. This makes maintaining our programs difficult, but we will look at ways to tighten our spending while looking at ways to increase funding. Grant funding would be a possible solution to some of the issues. Raising taxes at this point in time would not be something I would support for my community.Is experience as a teacher or support from a union valuable because it suggests educational insights or detrimental because it creates pro-teacher bias? Please clarify whether you have such experience or would accept union support.I do have past teaching experience, but currently work in the nursing field where it is also necessary to work together to achieve a common goal. I am also a parent of a current Fenton student, as well as three graduates. During my time in the school community, our board has maintained a collegial relationship with our teacher's union.As contract talks come up with various employee groups, what posture should the board take? Do you believe the district should ask for concessions, expect employee costs to stay about the same as they are now or provide increases in pay or benefits?We will not be negotiating contracts for another two years. We will closely examine our financial position before entering into talks regaurding the contract. We will need to carefully review all options so we can negotiate in good faith, and come up with a contract settlement that the school can afford. We will do what we have to do to maintain the financial health of our district.If your district had a superintendent or other administrator nearing retirement, would you support a substantial increase in his or her pay to help boost pension benefits? Why or why not?Our retirement incentive for our administrators is normally in line with our teacher's retirement incentive. Our administrative salaries, have always been on the conservative side compared to similar districts. So I would go with the contract, unless under special circumstances, as determined by the board.