Sangita Parande: 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: Vernon HillsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Hawthorn District 73 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 42Family: Married with 2 children.Occupation: Worked as a banker. Not working at present.Education: Master Of Science , University of Pune, Pune, IndiaCivic involvement: NoElected offices held: NoHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Living in a county where a considerable portion of taxpayers money goes to public education, My number one campaign issue would be strive to ensure that we achieve maximum educational returns for every dollar spent.I would work with the other board members with an open mind.Key Issue 2 I will strive to ensure that the community understands the importance of proper support for public education and will work unremittingly to create schools which meet the individual educational needs of all children regardless of their ability and social standing.Key Issue 3 I will strive to ensure that the community is fully and accurately informed about our schools. I will work with my fellow board members to see that our schools are well-run through effective policies and good decision making and to best serve in the interest of our kids.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?Enough time has not passed by since the shift to the common core standards. So it is hard to pass a judgment on if the shift is making a difference at all with respect to the students learning. The general opinion I have so far is that it has definitely slowed down the pace of the amount of learning as far as the students are concerned. I have seen that with both my middle school son and elementary school daughter. I would give it some more time, to come to a conclusion.The board of education definitely should play some role in setting the curriculum. The board should be working with the teachers closely to set a challenging curriculum for our kids. We need to set higher standards as far as curriculum is concerned.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?There is a lot of room for improvement as far as our school district is concerned. Our standards need to be much higher. Kids need to be challenged more. Children who are gifted should be provided with access to moving further and not held back to go with the flow. We have to come up with a strong gifted children program. Children who are struggling need to be given special attention so they can be helped to be up to par with other students. Right now I do not see that happening with children in our school district.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?I do not support additional tax increases. We have high taxpaying neighborhoods falling within our school district boundary.The funds are there. We need to come up with measures to use our funds in a appropriate manner. Prioritizing spending on things that are absolutely necessary for the benefit of our children is a must. This will be possible if there is a mutual understanding between the board members, parents and most important of all the district Superintendent.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?The district should definitely not ask for any concessions from its employees.I am definitely not in support of any sort of decrease in employee pay or benefits. Increase in pay or benefits is going to be a unified decision of the board. Our teachers are doing a great job educating our children and should be appreciated for their hard work.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?The decision to approve a pay increase of the Superintendent or any other administrator is again a decision that has to be weighed in by the entire board.