Gayle Kankovsky: 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: Lombard District 44 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 61Family: Married to Wayne for 35 years One adult daughter, CaitlinOccupation: Administrative AssistantEducation: Purdue University Bachelors Degree Social Studies EducationCivic involvement: Addison Community Band Community Relations Committee Helen Plum Library Past member of The Environmental Concerns Committee Past VP of Dist. 44 Music Parents Past member of Glenbard East Music BoostersElected offices held: Lombard School Board District 44 2005 to PresentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Financial. With the uncertainty of the Teacher Retirement System here in the State of Illinois, all school districts must be prudent with the money they currently possess. How these limited funds are spent needs to be carefully controlled. Most importantly, just because there is money in the bank does not mean it can or should be immediately spent unless necessaryKey Issue 2 All student subgroups need to make AYP. District 44 cannot consider itself an excellent school district until all of its students perform at the appropriate level within his/her grade. To that end, the District must continue to identify these students thru testing and provide the additional help where needed.Key Issue 3 Increase District 44's partnering with other community organizations and resources. For instance, thru my efforts the District 44 website promotes the availability of public internet access at the Helen Plum Library for use by students who may have no or limited internet access outside of school. More curriculum is requiring more internet access outside of school hours.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 support the shift to Common Core Standards. The Board of Education's role in the setting of curriculum for students is that of approving the budget expenditures for all materials as recommended by the educational professionals employed by the District. I will always have an open mind to the curriculum recommendations of our educational professionals as they continually improve the academic performance of our students.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 am satisfied overall that my school district is preparing our children for the requirements of high school. However, we do need to recognize and address individual students? challenges that affect their ability to learn.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?Depending upon the actions taken by our state legislators regarding the collapse of our Teachers Retirement Fund, our district may find itself saddled with the onerous requirement of replenishing our fund entirely from our existing budget and tax-capped revenue. Given the fact that none of the TRS bills have come out of Committee, we do not know to what extent expenditure cuts or tax increases might be necessary. If cuts are needed, they must done on as even and equitable a basis as possible. I would support a tax increase only to the extent necessary to satisfy any legislative requirements passed in SpringfieldAs 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?I don't feel we need to ask any employee groups for concessions in pay at this time. We are expecting to have some benefit costs rise this year and anticipate a minimal cost of living increase.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?If re-elected, I will not support a substantial increase in Superintendent James Blanche's pay to boost his pension benefits when he retires. He has received a fair compensation package during his tenure, which adds to his retirement funds.