Thomas Edmier: 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: AddisonWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Dupage High School District 88 School Board (4-year TermsAge: 47Family: Happily married to my best friend for 22 years with 3 children and 1 dog.Occupation: Vice-president of an Excavation/Trucking and Site Development companyEducation: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Sociology minor, Elmhurst College, 1995Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: DuPage High School District 88 School Board Member 2009 - presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To ensure that all students in DuPage High School District 88 receive the best education possible in the finest facilities available.Key Issue 2 To ensure that DuPage High School District 88 continues to be fiscally responsible. This includes having to make difficult decisions in order to continue to guide, support and educate our students and staff.Key Issue 3 Continue to represent the taxpayers, parents and students of DuPage High School District 88 as a good listener and a strong voice.Questions Answers What do you think about the shift to the common core standards? How big a role do you think the board of education should play in setting the curriculum for students and what ideas do you have for changes to the current curriculum?Common core standards will provide clarity and consistancy for what is expected of the student learning across the country. This approach should ensure a more consistant exposure to materials and learning experience. Our board of education supports the staff in their mission to work for the continuous improvement of student acheivement.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?Very satisfied. DuPage High School District 88 has a mission to work for the continuous improvement of student acheivement. The dedication of our staff, students, parents, board of education and community members assures that our students are performing at the highest levels. The administration and staff continuously monitor each individual students growth and implements interventions, when needed, in order to maintain our high standards.What budget issues will your district have to confront and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, what programs and expenses should be reduced or eliminated? On the income side, do you support any tax increases?Budget issues are many when you are a school district in the State of Illinois. Fortunately, District 88 has been able to overcome the states mandated burdens and cuts as well as other obstacles to maintain fiscal responsibility. There have been fee increases, course consolidation and staff reductions needed to maintain our reputation as being fiscally responsible. Tax increases are not the answer - being resourceful and unafraid to make unpopular decisions in order to maintain the high standards of the students education are paramount.As contract talks come up with various school employee groups, do you believe the district should ask for concessions from its employees, expect employee costs to stay about the same as they are now or provide increases in pay or benefits?District 88 has had exceptional cooperation from our various school employee groups. The reality is that they share in the economic burden that we are dealing with and to anticipate increases would negatively impact our goal to provide the best possible education for our students.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?I would not support a substantial increase to boost pension benefits. We have seen the result of this practice in our state pension fund crisis that is before us. I think this practice has seen it's better days!