Donna Cain: 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: LombardWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Dupage High School District 88 School Board (4-year TermsAge: 49Family: Married - M. David Cain, Jr. Three daughters: Theresa, Senior at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Rachel, Sophmore at Truman State University, Deborah Junior at Willowbrook High SchoolOccupation: AttorneyEducation: University of Illinois - BS Accountancy IIT - Chicago Kent College of Law - Juris DoctorCivic involvement: Past President - Villa Park Chamber of Commerce Chairperson - Partnership for Inspired EducationElected offices held: Board Member - DuPage High School District 88 - 2004 - PresentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 It is important that we provide educational opportunities for every student and help them to achieve to the best of their ability and to prepare them for next step whether it is Community College, 4-year college, trade/vocational school, or employment.Key Issue 2 Maintaining the financial stability of the district.Key Issue 3 To support administration and staff as they continue to look for innovative ways to maximize our resources to teach and support our students given our limited financial resources.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?I do not believe that the common core standards will dramatically change our focus for students and our curriculumn. We have always focused on preparing students for college and future careers. I would like to see more opportunities for our students through online learning so that students have more flexibility in their schedule and to be able to take classes that we might not have enough enrollment to offer.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?I believe that our district does a very good job preparing our students for the next stage in their lives. However, there are always more that we can do. We meet regularly with representatives from colleges and universities to make sure that are students are well prepared. We are also looking at more opportunities for dual credit classes with the College of DuPage. Also, we have encouraged students to take Advance Placement courses and provided extra support through the resource period that we added last year.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?District 88 is no different than other districts across the state. With the uncertainty of funding from the state, it is difficult to plan and budget. Several years ago we made major cuts to the budget which have helped us maintain the financial stability of the district. We have made a concerted effort to keep the elective programs intact and to make sure that students have access to AP classes. We have worked with our staff to provide support for students through the resource period. Since school districts are reliant upon local property taxes for support, we are in a position that we have levy the maximum allowed under the tax cap law. If we do not do this, those dollars would be lost to the school district. At the same time, we have worked to live within the budget so that as a district we would not have to seek a referendum to meet current obligations.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?We will be going through contract negotiations this year with staff. We have worked closely with our staff to review our budget so that our staff understands the financial condition 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 contracts do not exceed what is allowed under the current law. Our contracts for adminstrators are similar to our contracts with teachers.