Sonali Patil: Candidate Profile

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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: VERNON HILLSWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Hawthorn District 73 School Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Married with 2 kids (ages 9 and 12)Occupation: Stay at homeEducation: Ph.D in Pharmacology Bachelors in Pharmaceutical SciencesCivic involvement: Volunteer at Kids' school: in the classroom, in the office and parent outreach programs. Member of the Strategic Planning Committee.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?Since I am a candidate for the elementary school board, I will focus on those students heading to high school. I am satisfied in the way our school district is currently preparing our students for high school. However, there is always room for improvement. I think the best way to address this, is to continue to have a dialogue with the high school teachers and administrators and obtain their feedback regarding our children's preparations and areas we could improve, so the students are better prepared to handle the high school expectations. Then we, the teachers, administrators and school board could work towards implementing the changes needed to attain those goals. Our district is not only preparing our students academically, we are also preparing them socially and emotionally to be successful in the environment they choose.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.Budgetary issues are an important concern, increase in cost of operations every year and the funding (state, federal and local) not keeping up. One of the budgetary issues we might confront could be the capacity of our schools. There are potentially new developments going in at the current Cuneo Museum site and another on the corner of Rt. 45 and Buffalo Grove Rd. This would lead to increase in enrollment and we are currently at desired capacity in each of our school buildings. Some other issues could be implementation of new technology in the classrooms and the building infrastructure. With the latest report of CPI coming in at 0.8% this adds additional stress on the district to maintain a healthy budget, while at the same time needing to grow programs and support at our schools. The school board will work with the administration to be fiscally responsible and to solve potential issues and be able to maintain our current programming and hopefully increase opportunities for our students. I do not support tax increases for local schools. We (community) are currently in one of the highest property tax brackets in the country. Further increase in property taxes might deter people from moving into our community.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?I believe that one of the responsibilities as a board member is to be fiscally responsible while at the same time meet the needs of our students. With the financial constraints on school districts today, we need to look at all facets of our contract simultaneously with the budget so that the best decision is reached and the transition to the new contract is seamless. The Board should collaborate with everyone to make sure that everyone involved feels they were fairly treated while being fiscally responsible. I support providing increases to our teachers but those increases need to be aligned with revenues of the district. There may be times we can give more to our staff and other years that we may need concessions. Our district is currently negotiating the contract with our school employees.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 do not support substantial pay increase for a superintendent, an administrator or a teacher who is nearing retirement. The superintendent and administrators as any other employee of the district are fairly compensated. I do not favor using community tax dollars to support inflation of future pension benefits. To increase pay at the end of their term would be fiscally irresponsible from a district and state level. Given the budgetary constraints, the tax dollars should be used for the benefit of our children.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?As a candidate for Hawthorn District 73, it is important for me to work along with the superintendent and his staff to provide an excellent learning environment for all our students and help them achieve their potential. Our school is currently undergoing reorganization and implementation of a new Strategic Plan. It is very important that the school board support the administration in the roll out of this initiative. The school board should be fiscally responsible to all its stake holders while collaborating with the administration and teachers to "Inspire all students to embrace learning in an ever-changing world."Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Sonia Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Every person's view point deserves respect, treat others the same way you would like to be treated, and freedoms come with responsibilities.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have pursued a degree in medicine (MD) which I didn't due to financial constraints.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite subject in school was Science and I chose to do my undergraduate and graduate work in the field of science.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be kind and moral, dream big and work hard for what you want.