Rick Pryor: 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: ElginWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Central Unit District 301 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 48Family: Married for 15 years to Lisa Pryor, with two children Samantha Pryor a freshman at Central High School, and Sydney Pryor a 7th grader at Prairie Knolls Middle School.Occupation: Firefighter Medic and co owner of Pryor Rentals LLC, a residental rental company with my wife.Education: Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement Adminastration, Western Illinois University Associates in fire service adminastrationCivic involvement: President and co founder of Burlington Blast Girls Basketball League. Responsible for securing gym space for league, coordinating game schedules for travel teams, assisting treasurer in coordinating budget and league purchases, and a volunteer coach in the league for past six years.Elected offices held: Secretary of Associated Firefighters of Illinois local 2178Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To insure that with the consolidation of the middle schools, students still have ample opportunities to particapate in extra curricular activities.Key Issue 2 I would like to examine the agreement that 301 has with Elgin Park District to maximize the opportunities for the district students, and to insure that opportunities for students are not lost due to the agreement.Key Issue 3 With the reduction of the number of programs due to the middle school consolidation, I would like to insure the most qualified candidate is running the program. (ie, coaches and assistant coaches)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 Common Core Standards are a step in the right direction in preparing students for their next stage in their lives. It is hard to make a blueprint to fit every student, so some flexibility needs to be left to the teachers discretion, but as a whole they seem very sound. At this time I feel there does not need to be any changes in the curriculum. The board is in place to insure the curriculum is being implemented properly.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 am very pleased at the academic preparation that district 301 does in preparing students for the next stage of their lives.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 pending one at this time is the teachers pension issue, and if the districts are going to have to fund the pensions. The discussion on this down state appear as if the state will continue to be responsible for funding the pensions for the time being. At this time there are no other looming budget issues, so there would be no need to cut any current programs. I would not support a tax increase.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?With the economy improving and with the current revenue projections for the district it would not be necessary to ask for concessions. I would anticipate with the concessions the employees took on the last contract they would be entitled to a raise to keep pace with surrounding districts.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?I would not be in favor of this, and there is legislation in place that makes this practice illegal.