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Jennifer Kobus: Candidate Profile

Mount Prospect District 57 School Board 4-year term

Back to Mount Prospect District 57 School Board 4-year term

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:BioQA Bio City: Mt. ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Mount Prospect District 57 School Board 4-year term Age: 41Family: Husband--Kenenth Kobus 3 Children--Danny, Mike, Sarah KobusOccupation: Director of Logistics DistributionEducation: MBA--Roosevelt University BA--DePaul UniversityCivic involvement: St. Mark Preschool Advisory Board D57 Board MemberElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers How satisfied are you that your school district is adequately 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 proud of our school district and I believe the teachers, staff, and administration work hard to ensure that the students are adequately prepared. Of course, there is always an opportunity for improvement and our district diligently adapts to the dynamic environment. Some of the areas I would like to improve upon within our district is continuing to expand our technology program, adding music and art classes for all Westbrook students, and providing every child the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities. I am extremely impressed by some of the recent extra-curricular programs that focus on science and engineering. Overall, with the support of our teachers, District 57 will continue to effectively prepare our children to succeed in lifeWhat budgetary issues will your district have to confront during the next four years and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, be specific about programs and expenses that should be considered for reduction or elimination. On the income side, do you support any tax increases for local schools? Again, be specific.District 57 is faced with several upcoming budgetary challenges. Some of those budgetary issues include expanding our curriculum, updating our building assets, updating our technology, and addressing capacity constraints. Lincoln Middle School was built in the 1950's and within the next 10 years will need some large capital improvements. In addition to Lincoln, we are unable to expand our Westbrook curriculum programs based on the capacity constraints. We also have an Administrative building that is too small to provide adequate training rooms for our teachers and an inadequate basement that is currently housing our computer servers. All of these expenses can be challenging especially when you are faced with an uncertainty in your revenue. Several proposed legislative bills could impact the revenue District 57 receives. Thus, we are constantly monitoring all aspects of our environment to ensure that all long term financial decisions are necessary and will ultimately prepare our children for success.Are you currently employed by or retired from a school district, if so, which one? Is any member of your direct family - spouse, child or child-in-law - employed by the school district where you are seeking a school board seat?NoAs contract talks come up with various school employee groups -- teachers, support staff, etc. -- what posture should the school board take? 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?In 2014, the school board approved a pay increase for our teachers and administration. It is extremely important to ensure that District 57 has top educators to continue to drive the academic programs that will help our students achieve. I am also aware of our fiduciary responsibility to all of our stakeholders when financial decisions need to be made. Thus, I believe the school board posture should be to look at both short and long term solutions when negotiating contracts as well as implementing a process that allows open communication between the negotiating parties.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 support a minimal increase only after analyzing the long term impact on the school district's budget.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Candidate did not respond.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.I am inspired by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. Her message to women is truly empowering.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?I learned the importance of a strong work ethic. At 14, I got my first job and always believed in working hard to succeed.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have liked to have changed my career path and followed my dream of being a teacher or lawyer.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite subjects were History and Literature. Both subjects taught me the importance of culture and making well-informed decisions when faced with a challenge.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Never give up and always strive to succeed in life.