Richard Oiejniczak: 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: Arlington HeightsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Arlington Heights District 25 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 43Family: Married, one daughter attending Ivy Hill SchoolOccupation: 2d Vice President Operations Project Office for Trustmark.Education: BS Mechanical Engineering - West Point Master Engineering Management - Northwestern Univ. MBA - DePaul UnivCivic involvement: Polish National Alliance Ivy Hill PTAElected offices held: N/AHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Teacher Pensions Concerned with how the state is handling the issue and concerned of the implications (budgets, property taxes, future teachers etc...) of the state demanding more from local school districts. This is also especially important as the school district begins to negotiate a new teacher contract.Key Issue 2 Increased Language Programs This not only includes having children learn another language from an early age (beggining in K) but ELL programs for faster assimilation. Programs can be designed to conduct learning sessions before or after school progrmasKey Issue 3 Increased before and after school programs. Provide increased structured before and after school programs beyond those offered through the Park District. For example using the time to increase the usage of programs available via the web, physical activity programs or musical instrument programs (beyond those already offered).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?Because one of the goals of the program is to provide a roadmap for college readiness, I support this process. However I fear the program will quickly focus on teaching the test or a series of facts vs having the children learn to problem solve. We often focus on our children knowing how to accomplish a certain level of obejctives. However to continue to be successful we need students to be creative and solve problems in different ways.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 the district continues to do an good job of preparing students for follow-on education. I would continue the opportunities in Math and Sciences (technology) and languages. We are fortunate to have many multinational firms as well as smaller start-ups, within the local area. I would establish partnerships with firms where they would provide support (through educational forums for teachers as well as providing employees presentations to students).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?A new Teacher's contract will need to be evaluated within the budget. Over the next two years the district's debt will be paid down thus will enable a reduced property tax requirement. The challenge will be to take the reduction or to invest in other programs for the children. The answer to this challenge is partially dependent upon the actions of the state government on the pension issues.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?I would expect that the employee costs to remain relatively the same. I would strongly support the financial support of employees seeking additional education and skill training in a field or function related to what the needs are of the district. I would also look to methods to increase access to Voluntary Benefits and Wellness ProgramsIf 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?Absolutly not. I view this practice as "taking advantage of the system" and should not be supported. Why should the administrator be afforded special compensation vs a classroom teacher or other support personel.