Jerry Keaton: Candidate Profile

Barrington Unit District 220 School Board (4-year Terms) (Republican)

 

 

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.

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BioKey IssuesQ&A

 

Bio

City: Barrington

Website: Candidate did not respond.

Office sought: Barrington Unit District 220 School Board (4-year Terms)

Age: 48

Family: Married, two children

Occupation: Vice President - Private Client advisor at Barrington Asset Management

Education: Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance, University of Iowa, 1986

Civic involvement: Barrington Honor ride and run board. Father of two in the Indian Princess organization Former president of AH Jaycees

Elected offices held: No

Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No

Candidate's Key Issues

Key Issue 1

Making sure that District 220 continues to provide the outstanding education that the community has seen over the decades. We are fortunate to live in an area that has many talented and intelligent young people, and parents who truly understand the value of quality education. Therefore, it is extremely important to make sure that we continue to see programs that will continue to enrich our students. I even believe that some programs have become too limiting based on the number of talented children we have in the district. Assuch,I would like to see a larger number of very capable student have grater access to these enriching programs

Key Issue 2

Making sure that our children are safe in their schools. This has become a topic of great concern recently. So I would to have every parent understand the safety procedures in place and have any of their concerns addressed.

Key Issue 3

Providing trasparency to the tax paying community in regards to the issues that the board is addressing. The board deals with a budget of over $120 million, yet so many are in te dark as far as the allocation of these funds. Parents who do not use the districts public shool system, retirees, empty nestors as well as those of us who have children in the school system should be informed taxpayers.

Questions & Answers

How do you think District 220 has handled budgetary pressures in recent years? Amid the uncertainties of outside funding sources, are there ways the district could be more in control of its own destiny?

First of all, I feel that the the school district must see themselves in the business of allocation of capital for the educating of students, to each childs highest potential. It appears that the board has had difficulty coming to the realization that it is not a charitable organization with an unlimited supply of taxpayer capital. Recent events have brought to light the need for careful budgeting. Sometimes the board has had difficulty in restricting itself on the spending of funds, even knowing that future outside funding sources may and probably will come to an end. To be in control, the board needs to take a much longer view into the future, especially with the changing demographics and economic times.

How should the district balance the providing of unique programs or classes with being fiscally conservative?

the district has always done a wonderful job of providing a great many programs to enhance the education of our children. However, as funding for many of the programs comes into question, I believe that a close look accross all area is important. We need to make sure that programs that truly help children into the future are well funded.

How would you define the ideal working relationship between a school board and its administrators and teachers? To what degree does your school district represent this relationship now?

Structured mechanism for continued communication and transparency, between the board, administration and teachers. We should not be be in the position that the board currently fnds itself in.

Do you see a present need for redrawing the school boundaries? If so, explain where the need is and how you would go about it. If no at present, will there be a need in the future?

At present, it appears that redrawing boundries is not a major concern. Individual schools look to have the necessary space to handle the existing student population. Additionally, on an individual school basis, their is the ability to move teachers to the grades that they are needed to react to shifting student enrollments.

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 core standards are primarily decided by the state. The board itself can only do so much base on the fnding it has. I find that the curriculum is fine and has and will continue to educate studens to be very capable adults.

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