Polly Strzewski: 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: ItascaWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Medinah District 11 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 58Family: Married, three childrenOccupation: Employed NDSECEducation: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: Friends of the Itasca Library Church Committees Former DCFS Surrogate Parent Former NDSEC transportation committee member NDSEC Insurance committee memberElected offices held: Medinah #11 Board Member 1989-2005 Former SASED board member Formee NDSEC board memberHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 My #1 campaign issue is the struggle Medinah #11 faces of continuing to provide a high quality education to all students in the face of significant demographic changes coupled with the District's extremely high mobility rate. Right now 40% of our students in our Primary School qualify for free or reduced rate lunch; our other two buildings are at 30%. Our Primary building also qualifies for a full Spanish bilingual program. We have a mobility rate of 18%. In spite of these challenges our Board and staff is continuing to work hard to meet and exceed our community's traditionally high academic expectations. In addition, the staff and BOE are continuing to look for new and innovative ways to improve District communication with the goal of gaining greater involvement within the schools, from our parents.Key Issue 2 My #2 campaign issue is to support the Medinah #11 BOE as it continues to balance its focus between fiscal responsibility and maintaining our traditionally high educational standards.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.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 believe that the establishment of a common core baseline is a positive development within the State. As a result and as other school districts come online with this idea, it will help to offset our struggles with high mobility. I believe that the board responsibility to make sure that we have in place a procedure for curriculum development and curriculum implementation. It is also the job of the board to make sure that the District administration, principals, and teachers have the resources that are necessary to develop the curriculum to meet the District's challenges.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 think that we are doing a good job of giving our students the strong foundation that they will need to build upon, as they go on in life. One of the greatest things that I see in our schools is that our administrators and teachers are always working to improve, always wanting to do whatever they can to create a great learning environment, with the drive to constantly improve student achievement. We are not perfect, but we continue to work toward improvement every day.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 district continues to face the same budget issues of mandated programs that are either unfunded or funded at less than promised. This will continue to be an issue for Medinah. This is an even greater obstacle to us now considering our changing demographics coupled with the unfunded but mandated programs that come with some of those changes. I do not support a tax increase at this time.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?Over the years we have been very fortunate to have good relationships with our teachers. Our teachers have always been very willing to work with the BOE to come to an agreement that works. With good communication, understanding of each other's situations, respect for both groups, and a common goal to make it work with what we have I believe that we will continue to work together to do what is best.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?No