Jane Gattone: 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: LindenhurstWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Millburn District 24 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 49Family: Married. Two children at Millburn.Occupation: Homemaker.Education: B.S. Architectural Engineering, Milwaukee School of Engineering, 1986Civic involvement: Millburn Board of Education, Member Millburn March Madness Volunteer Lindenhurst Plan Commission, Former ChairmanElected offices held: Millburn Board of EducationHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Maintaining our commitment to our community to operate a balanced budget.Key Issue 2 While maintaining a balanced budget, slowly increasing our fund balances to improve our financial rating with the state.Key Issue 3 Sustaining excellent educational programming during a period of significant reductions in state and federal funding.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?The shift to the common core standards is another unfunded mandate from the state at a time when they are continuing to cut funding to the schools. Our teachers are working very hard to develop curriculum that meet the standards in conjuction with the administration. I feel the board of education doesn't have the expertise to develop the curriculum and needs to rely on our trained staff to make recommendations for our review.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?Millburn students transition to three different high schools. Based upon data and anecdotal feedback we receive, our students are well prepared for moving on to high school.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?Millburn's biggest budget issue is receiving funds from Illinois. As Illinois has continued to "prorate" base funding levels, our revenue has continued to decrease. This has resulted in the loss of a large number of dedicated teachers and staff, and greatly increased class sizes. Should funding levels continue to decrease, we are in danger of having to further cut programs. In light of this, the board unanimously voted to request a referendum on this April's ballot. A referendum is our only foreseeable way to maintain our current programming and reduce class sizes.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?As we are currently in the process of negotiating contracts, it would be inappropriate to comment on this question.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?This practice can no longer be financially supported by the schools or the state.