Dist. 95 hopefuls share unique ideas for local schools

The candidates for seats on the Lake Zurich Unit District 95 school board shared unique ideas for improving the schools during a recent discussion with the Daily Herald.

Four people are running for three seats, each with a 4-year term. Three are incumbents: Jim Burke, Doug Goldberg and Tony Pietro. The fourth is newcomer Chris Wallace.

The candidates spoke about the district’s facilities, finances and other issues during a group interview at the Daily Herald’s Lake County office. They also were asked to name one idea none of the other candidates have expressed during the campaign.

Wallace said he believes the school board should be more transparent. Lake County government and the village of Lake Zurich both share information with residents through voluntary e-mail distribution lists, and the school district should implement a similar system, he said.

“I would like to see more participation in the community,” Wallace said.

Pietro suggested making personal high-tech devices, such as iPods, part of school-supply lists. He’d like the district to provide middle school and high school students with laptops for school use, too.

“The kids in our district are tuning out when they go to school,” Pietro said. “Most of them know how to use a computer, and the infrastructure is getting in place where we can support these devices.”

When asked how such devices would be paid for and kept safe, Pietro suggested parents could pay for an insurance plan. Eventually, parents could be asked to buy the computers for students, he said.

Goldberg also is very interested in the possible uses of technology in education. He said teachers should deliver curriculum to students via computer. Computers also should be used to train teachers, he said.

Goldberg also expects distance learning — educating students who aren’t present in a classroom through the Internet or other technology — eventually will be part of primary education.

“We can either embrace this stuff or be run over by it,” he said.

For his unique idea, Burke suggested reducing registration fees by $20 to $40. Those annual fees were raised a few years ago, but now that the district has had two annual budget surpluses, officials should give families a break.

“That will make an impact on the lives of some of our kids,” Burke said. “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

The school board election is April 5. District 95 serves Lake Zurich, Deer Park, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer and North Barrington, as well as unincorporated areas of Lake County.