Bob Tarasewicz: 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: LisleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lisle Unit District 202 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 48Family: Married, five children ages 11 to 19Occupation: Electrical Engineer for ARRIS GroupEducation: Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Illinois at ChicagoCivic involvement: Baseball, Softball, and Soccer coach. Cub Scout volunteer.Elected offices held: Lisle Unit D202 school board, 2005 to presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Utilizing all of the District's strengths (experienced, dedicated staff and administration, strong financial postion, small size, etc) in such a way that it provides the maximum benefit to all students. We are a very good school district, but I believe we could become a model district if our strengths and efforts were focused on achieving that goal.Key Issue 2 Having the Board take a more active leadership role by collaborating with administration to create specific, measureable, and long term goals that clearly communicate to the staff, administration, and community what the District wants to achieve for its students and other stakeholders.Key Issue 3 Ensure that the District continues to act in a fiscally responsible manner by considering expenditure recommendations objectively from the perspective of the expected benefit to the District and how the effectiveness of those expenditures will be evaluated.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?The shift to common core standards will be a challenging and time consuming process, but ultimately it will help us to more effectively prepare our students for college and the workplace. The Board should not involve itself in the setting of curriculum but instead work with the administration to set clear and specific targets for implementation, provide necessary support, and then periodically assess the District's progress towards those goals.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?The elementary and junior high schools have consistently demonstrated high achievement levels. I am also very encouraged with the recent increases of the high school's ACT scores. Additionally, not only are we offering more AP classes, but a larger percentage of our students are enrolling in those classes, indicating that more of our students will be better prepared for the rigors of college. I would like too see a greater level of articulation of goals from building to building, and ultimately continued increases in our ACT scores.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?Our primary budget issue is to continue acting in a fiscally responsible manner so that we do not put ourselves in a position of needing to make drastic cuts or eliminate programs. If we continue to act in that manner we will not have to consider a tax rate increase in the near future.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?Given current projections I don't anticipate needing to significantly shift costs in any way. However, since the largest portion of our revenue is tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) via the "Tax Cap" law (aka PTELL, Property Tax Extension Limitation Law), and salaries are the largest portion of expenditures, I feel that salary increases must be linked to CPI to be fiscally responsible.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 in pay to boost pension benefits. Doing so would only take away resources from our core mission of educating the students in the District.