Jon Holmberg: 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: GurneeWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Gurnee District 56 School Board Age: 44Family: Wife, Heidi, and three children - daughter 9/yr, 4th Grade, daughter 6/yr - kindergarten, son 2/yr.Occupation: Senior Manager, Supply Chain ManagementEducation: BS, Supply Chain and Operations Managment - University of Phoenix MBA, Strategy Leadership - Lake Forest Graduate School of ManagementCivic involvement: Small Group Area Leader, The Chapel - LibertyvilleElected 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?As a parent, I'm concerned that district standards and initiatives are revised to benefit state test scores and not necessarily learning that will lead to long term educational benefits. Current district practices need to be compared and modeled to what is successful in top rated schools in the area.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.I have not seen gross misappropriation from the budgets I have reviewed. I do believe in fiscal responsibility and full transparency, with public input and support. I'm not completely convinced the iPad program was a sound fiscal decision. I also don't support raising taxes as a first response to budget deficits. My career has been built on finding efficiencies, minimizing costs, and increasing margin; I believe a district budget can be approached in this manner.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?If we want a quality education for our children, we should be prepared to compensate qualified and proven professionals to deliver these results. Increases in pay and benefits for District 56 employees is an option worth investigating and discussing to deliver a level of excellence that will provide students strong advantages as they advance through the education system.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 not support this. Superintendent compensation should consist of a fair base pay with incremental awards for performance-based outcomes. If the district succeeds and meets board-developed goals, the superintendent AND teachers should be rewarded accordingly.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?My children are my investment in this district for at least the next 15 years. I believe that the district has a responsibility to provide strong outcome-based teaching, but also exercise taxpayer and community responsibility, whether it is as complicated as referendums, or as simple as calibrating school calendars with other area districts. I'm running for the School Board because I believe there needs to be parental influence, from parents who have children currently attending a district school, regarding the education decisions being made in the district: THE VOICE OF THE PARENT MUST HAVE INFLUENCE REGARDING DISTRICT DECISIONS. District money should be invested and spent with discretion that favors necessity over convenience. Initiatives should have strategic significance to the education of its children, with strong expectations and firm deadlines for deliverables.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Google's Larry Page Sergey Brin - visionary, not status quo, daring.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?If something is worth doing, do it well - and do it well the first time.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have completed my college education sooner.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Public Speaking / Debate - it taught me to listen to the other side of the argument.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Learn - don't stop learning. Learn from experience, learn from books, learn from travel, and embrace the wisdom of other's experiences when making decisions.