Richard Gerber: Candidate Profile

Back to Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 School Board

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: SchaumburgWebsite: None.Office sought: Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 School Board Age: 56Family: Wife Kathy, Children Jenna, Matt and MalloryOccupation: Real Estate BrokerEducation: Bachelor of Science - Mathematics and Computer ScienceCivic involvement: Member of the Township High School District 211 Board of Education Member of the Olde Schaumburg Centre Commission Director of the Schaumburg Girls Feeder Basketball ProgramElected offices held: None.Questions Answers How satisfied are you that your school district is adequately preparing students for the next stage in their lives? What changes, if any, do you think need to be made?The district offers 3,189 classes in 501 different courses ranging from Applied Technology to World Language to 12,265 students. The district offers strong programs to students considering university, college, service, or a career after high school. Each student comes to school with different interests, abilities and commitments. The district works with students individually to help them be successful while recognizing those differences. This is a direction that the district needs to continue its focus on.Is the current collective bargaining agreement with teachers a good deal for the district? If yes, explain, where you see the district benefitting. If no, be specific about what you don't like and how it should be renegotiated the next time.A good collective bargaining agreement needs to work for all parties to be successful. The district benefits since the agreement will attract, train and retain high quality educators, support professional growth, encourage high levels of teaching success, offer predictability over the next four years, and is affordable. The teachers benefit since the agreement encourages career growth, recognizes professional success, offers predictability over the next four years, and provides a comprehensive compensation package.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.District 211 maintains a balanced budget and this is a high priority for the administration and the board. The main concern of any school district is a predictable and consistent income that supports programs within a balanced budget. In Illinois, the primary source of school district funding is from local property taxes. 86 percent of District 211's budget is funded through property taxes, while 6 percent is funded by the state and 2 percent by federal dollars. There are two significant risks to the school district budget. First is the possible loss of state funding through legislation, representing an estimated $12 million annually to District 211. Second is the possible transfer of the unfunded pension liability from the state to local school districts, representing an estimated $8 million annually to District 211. A contingency plan needs to be in place for both. The impact of either of these risks would result in reductions to programs and staff. The programs offered by the district are evaluated to ensure that they relevant and they fulfill the educational needs of students. Programs that no longer meet those requirements are removed. I have not been approached by anyone in the community asking for additional cuts in programs or activities. I support the minimum tax increase necessary to fund quality programs. An increase equal to the rate of inflation would provide the real dollars, adjusted for inflation, to deliver the same level of programming next year.Are all the high schools in District 211 treated equally, in your opinion? Explain why or why not, or where you think discrepancies lie.Each of the five main high schools across the district offer the same courses taught to the same standards. Each of the high schools is supported by quality teachers and support staff that are held to the same standards across the district. Each of the five high schools offer the same resources to students including learning resources, athletics programs, clubs, transportation, food service, and facilities. The equitability and consistency across the five high schools is by design and is a priority when any change within the district is considered. The differences within the district are with the three District 211 academies located in Streamwood, Hoffman Estates and Palatine. These smaller schools offer a highly focused curriculum, higher levels of support staff, in smaller facilities, to students with highly specialized needs.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?No.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?The most important priorities for me are the forward momentum on the future direction of programs that students will need to be successful, maintaining a balanced budget, hiring and retaining excellent teachers and staff, and providing the resources to accomplish these goals.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.It is hard to pick one. You take the best qualities of those who inspire you and combine them into your own.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Always leave a place better than how you found it.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?A greater appreciation of my parents.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math - it taught me to look at situations from many different perspectives.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Treat other people as you would want to be treated.