Donald Drzal: 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: Lake in the HillsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Huntley Unit District 158 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 48Family: Married, 3 childrenOccupation: Director of Customer Care for Prinova, a Toronto-based software and services companyEducation: MBA, International Management and Marketing Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, Lake Forest, IL BS, Information and Decision Sciences (MIS) University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, ILCivic involvement: Current President, District 158 Board Food Chair, Lake in the Hills Summer Sunset FestElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Progress in the face of financial challengeKey Issue 2 State finances with respect to education funding, with a special focus on the current pension funding debatesKey Issue 3 Continued, constructive relationships between the Board, Administration, Staff, and CommunityQuestions Answers How would you use the $39 million state capital development award that the district finally received last year, after being notified of the grant in 2002?I would continue with the current course that has been chosen. Most of the funds will be set aside to abate debt incurred as a result of the construction. The remainder will be used to upgrade the High School so that we can effectively accomodate 3,000 students (as will be thee case in a few years).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?Public education will always be held to standards. The common core standards are the most recent direction and will require some updates to the curriculum. The Board will need to approve changes, but the Administration will put together the details.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?Our District is doing a great job, yet there is always room for improvement. Blended learning, tablets, programs within the high school (such as the Medical Academy) are all steps toward the future that will better prepare our children for an ever changing job market.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 budget constraints and the State funding challenges are topics that require a great deal of discussion. Suffice it to say the District will continue to work with our state representatives to stay on top of the latest news. I am not in favor of tax increases.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. The current funding model for pensions is inadequate. Inflating salaries for the purpose of inflating pension benefits only adds to the problem. More importantly, I am ethically opposed to the practice of inflating salaries near the end of tenure.