Natalie Brinkley: 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:BioQA Bio City: ItascaWebsite: http://www.facebook.com/votefornatalieOffice sought: Itasca District 10 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Candidate did not respond.Education: Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Iowa Masters of Arts in Teaching from National-Louis UniversityCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.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 common core standards provide teachers with clearer, fewer and higher academic standards for their students. The standards provide benchmarks for the knowledge and skills student's achieve at the end of each grade level. Teachers have the ability to decide on the best academic outline and approach for their students to attain those standards. As a board of education member, it will be important to listen to our teachers and staff's feedback on our curriculum for our students. Our teachers and staff dedicate each day to providing students with curriculm and instruction. Any ideas or changes to our current curriculum should be decided upon by the school board with the feedback that our teachers and staff can provide directly from their classroom experiences.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?District #10 takes great pride in preparing our students for all stages of their education and for the next steps in their academic, social and professional lives.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?The District #10 school board collaboratively faces any budget items with the best interest of our teachers, staff and students in mind. Any cuts and the programs and/or expenses that may be discussed to reduce would be decided upon by the school board depending upon the situation. Increases in taxes could be considered if a situation presented itself to aide the district in providing the best education for our students.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?If contract talks were to arise, any costs, employee and benefit concerns would be discussed and solutions presented based upon the solidified situation.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?Staff that are nearing retirement will make the best decision for their own personal and financial lives.