Barb Conway: Candidate Profile

Back to Warren Township High School District 121 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: GrayslakeWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Warren Township High School District 121 School Board 4-year term Age: 52Family: I have been married to my husband Kevin (Casey) Conway for 25 years. We have three boys: Danny, Sean and Matt Conway who are all currently college students and graduates of Warren.Occupation: Audiologist at the James A Lovell Health Care CenterEducation: Masters of Arts in Audiology-Northern Illinois University, 1986. Bachelor of Science-Eastern Illinois University, 1984Civic involvement: Secretary, Board of Education- Warren (2012-present) Board of Education Member- Warren (2011-present) Deputy Registrar (2008-2011) Blue Devil Swim Club (2005-2012)Elected 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 satisfied that Warren is preparing each and every student for the next stage of their lives, whether that be college, technical school or preparing to join the work force. This year Warren has hired 2 Post Secondary/College Counselor's (without allocating additional funds). Warren has programs such as Project Lead the Way for students interested in pursuing Engineering and The Schuler Scholarship Program, which prepares economically disadvantaged students for college. Warren offers classes at the College of Lake County Tech Campus and has increased its number of Advanced Placement (AP) classes. This has contributed to Warren being ranked as one of America's Best High Schools for the second year in a row by Newsweek magazine. It is the school's responsibility to prepare students to compete in the global economy and to integrate technology into the learning plan. This requires a belief/attitude of continuous Improvement. Warren's Mission is to maximize the achievement and growth of every student through rigor, support and innovation.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.Our schools face serious challenges, especially in Illinois. There are many unresolved issues such as pension reform that will be a factor in future budgetary decisions. Warren has provided consistently sound use of resources and has taken advantage of the efficiencies that are inherent in a large school district. Warren has actually given back to the taxpayer by taking advantage of bond refinancing opportunities. So far, Warren has found ways to avoid cutting programs. Slowly declining enrollment projections and attrition of current teachers will play a factor. Increasing class size has to be considered. If cuts were necessary these decisions would not be made lightly and would be made, in part, by considering class selection choices of the students. I do believe that if school funding continues to decrease a tax increase would need to be considered. I would like to mention that the operating cost per pupil, tax rate and salaries at Warren continue to be among the lowest when compared to other Lake County high schools. As a board member and taxpayer, I take seriously the responsible use of tax dollars.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.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?Warren has actually negotiated a Collective Bargaining Agreement for staff through the 2017-2018 school year. This is evidence of a unique collaboration between the union, school board, administration and support staff. In this contract, all sides had to make concessions. I believe that this positive relationship between the union, administration and school board is an important key formula to follow that has benefited the entire Warren community and, if maintained, will be important for future contracts.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?If pension reform has a negative impact on retiring administrator's pension I don't think it's right to selectively increase salaries in order to game the pension system. I don't think it's justified to raise an administrator's salary in order to boost his/her pension. However, I fully support performance pay plans, and if that means our best teachers/administrators are rewarded, this is justified.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Warren needs school board members who support sound school governance, a community partnership but also an irrepressible faith in our schools, our students and the people who work with them. Our schools face serious challenges and we need serious people to face them. Our kids need our support; our parents need our support. Increasing the number of parent and community partnerships, the number of school-business partnerships and the number of students in service to the community is important to me. This type of involvement will have a distinctive and lasting impact upon the entire community, not just the students.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Candidate did not respond.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Candidate did not respond.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Candidate did not respond.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Candidate did not respond.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Candidate did not respond.