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Dennis V. Composto: 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: Mount ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Mount Prospect District 57 School Board 4-year term Age: 50Family: Married and have three boys, ages 9, 12 and 14.Occupation: AttorneyEducation: JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL Juris Doctorate LLM (Master of Laws) UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Master of Business Administration: Accounting and Management DEPAUL UNIVERSITY Bachelor of Arts: Political Science, Philosophy, and Business AdministrationCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Current D57 Board Member Past Municipal Pension Board MemberQuestions 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 satisfied our children are being well prepared for high school. There are always changes and tweaks that can be made on the local level, but if I could affect real change I would like to see it on the state and federal level. I would like to see less state and federal governmental mandates and one size fits all solutions and more control on the local level where the participates know what the local district issues really are and what the local district truly needs.What 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.Because of the current environment, it is very difficult to fully prepare for the many "unknowns". The state and federal governments impose numerous mandates on school districts, but don't provide proportional revenue or support. What will the upcoming healthcare Cadillac Tax be for the District? Will pensions be turned over via state legislation to the local disticts at severely under-funded levels and left to the school district to fund? Our District does a good job with the funds that are available. In comparison to our surrounding districts, D57 works with at least $2,500.00 less per student and at most $6,500.00 less per student in funding, but at the same time D57 achievement scores are continually some of the highest. Costs continue to go up faster than revenues, with no system wide solution. I generally am not for a tax increase, but I do not believe it is fair or equitable to penalize our students because of inequitable funding formulas. This all being said, I currently am not for a tax increase.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?I am not employed by or retired from any school district nor are any family members employed by a school distict.As 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?I would hope that the various school district employees would accept increases in-line with the CPI and will work with the District to control expenses.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.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 can't think of a current leader who inspires me, but past leaders Pope John Paul II, Sam Adams and Ben Franklin have inspired me.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?"The real test of success is how high you bounce after hitting rock bottom." Momma Composto quoting I believe General PattonIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Spending more time with family and friends.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math in elementary school and History in high school.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?"A champion is someone who gets up, even when he or she can't." I believe that Jack Dempsey said this.