Erik Sivertsen: 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: McHenryWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Mchenry District 15 School Board (4-year Term)Age: 23Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Candidate did not respond.Education: I graduated from MCC in Dec 2010 with an Associates in Science. I am working towards a Bachelors in Business Administration, with a major in Accounting.Civic involvement: I am a member of the McHenry Evangelical Free Church where I have served as a Leader in the Youth Group for the last 5 years. I have been an AWANA leader for 10 years. I was one of the founding members, and the first President of the MCC Students Supporting the Right to Life. I helped found the MCC Political Theory and Debate Club. I was a member of the MCC Student Senate for 2 years. I am the Chairman of the McHenry County Young Republicans.Elected offices held: McHenry Township Precinct 29 Republican Committeeman.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 Fiscal Responsibility.Key Issue 2 Curriculum Improvement.Key Issue 3 More Community and Parental InvolvementQuestions 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 think it is a bad idea. I think that the common core standards will encourage districts to settle for mediocrity, and would take too much of the control over the children's education, away from teachers and parents. The board should work with teachers and parents to continually improve the curriculum.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?1 improvement that could be made is to offer more opportunities to allow the students to study on their own and teach themselves. This will promote skills that will help with lifelong learning.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?Programs don't need to be dropped, they just need to be run more efficiently. I will not support any tax increases.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?Almost every industry has already seen pay cuts. To say that it won't be necessary, would be foolish. I would always support fair wages for all of the district's staff, and would work to come to an agreement that would be beneficial to everybody.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. I would not support this type of abuse of the system for anybody.