Angela Wilcox: Candidate Profile

Back to Barrington Unit District 220 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: Barrington HillsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Barrington Unit District 220 School Board Age: 40Family: James (husband) Abigail (daughter) Barrett (son)Occupation: AttorneyEducation: DePaul College of Law, J.D. University of Illinois, Champaign, B.S.Civic involvement: Barrington Children's Charities, Board Member Barrington Junior Women's Club, Board MemberElected 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 very proud to live in District 220 and have two elementary children receiving an excellent education in this district. Each year, District 220 meets or exceeds Illinois' standardized testing benchmarks and boasts higher than state average ACT scores of its high school students. I believe the residents of District 220 expect such academic excellence in our school district. In this regard, our district should constantly strive to not just maintain, but raise the performance averages of our students. As college standards become more rigorous each year and the number of job opportunities shrinks, we really have no other choice than to push for greater excellence if our students are expected to successfully emerge from their time in District 220 schools. I believe quality teachers are the most realistic tool any school has to accomplish this goal, and that our focus should be on hiring and retaining educators of the utmost quality and enthusiasm for learning.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.Although SB16 (education funding reform bill) did not survive the Illinois House vote last December, education funding reform and pension cost shifting back to the districts are still 'hot topics' in Springfield. If legislation on either or both of these issues passes during the next four years, there will be decreased funding and/or increased costs resulting in District 220. The response to either of those scenarios is the exact reverse within our district: cut programs or increase taxes. Neither is desirable. If elected and asked to make this decision, however, I would look to cuts before tax increases. As to specific cuts that I believe are necessary, I certainly do not have a list of 'extras' that our schools have. Like any parent, I only wish for 'more' for our schools. But if faced with the difficult decision of making cuts, I would first start by listing those programs and policies that must be retained. I believe such programs and policies are those that 1) benefit the greatest number of children and 2) provide the most evidence of success for children when they leave the District 220 system. The district surveys are a great way of gauging which programs and policies meet these requirements. My belief is that employing great teachers with access to smaller class sizes is the clearest path to accomplishing both of these goals.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?As to the first question, the school board should take a posture of treating its employees as professionals during contract talks. Ideally, contract negotiation should not be viewed as a once every four or five year occurrence, but rather as a continuous, collaborative process that considers the interests of district employees, as well as the those of district stakeholders. As to the blanket question of employee pay cuts/freezes/increases, this is a data-driven decision. The answer can vary based upon the employee group in question, performance of the district, salaries of comparable districts, consideration of funding, economic stability and a host of other variables. As a general philosophy, if we are to pursue the goal of elevating our students' academic excellence, we will, of course, need excellent academia to accomplish this. Excellent educators, like any sought after professional, come at a cost. I do not believe our district is wary of compensating our educators in a manner commensurate with their value to our district. We will not draw excellent educators otherwise. I believe, however, that these decisions must always be made with the utmost consideration of the fact that tax payer money should be carefully spent and expenses should be thoroughly scrutinized with facts, data and analyses.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. Illinois law limits annual raises for end-of-career administrators (and teachers) to six percent (assuming "substantial" in this question is defined as more than six percent). A district that provides pension-boosting pay hikes for retiring educators can face severe fines.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I began attending District 220 board meetings last year when discussions concerning classroom sizes were a central topic. At that time, eleven teacher contracts were not renewed in the elementary schools, raising classroom sizes beyond our district's recommendations and beyond state averages as well. I am happy to say that the Board eventually funded the replacement of most of those teachers. It was during this process, however, that I began to truly consider the importance of this issue. My father was a high school English teacher for 34 years. He was, in fact, MY teacher for two of those years (not my favorite times in high school!). My dad truly cared about his students. He was a great teacher. It was routine to see him retreat to his office to call parents of his students for a 'check in' most nights after school. When he passed away two years ago, most of the online obituary comments were posted by former students, some of whom he taught over 30 years ago. Even as a great teacher though, my dad said it was nearly impossible to reach kids when class sizes were too large, which they started to become near the end of his career. My dad's school district probably had half the resources of District 220, but some really great kids came out of it. I want to do what I can to ensure even greater success for our children in this wonderful and blessed region in which we live.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Most recently, I find Bruce Rauner to be quite inspiring. His position of not taking a salary or pension truly encompasses public service.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Work hard.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would meet my husband again. I wouldn't change a thing, but would love to relive it.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite subjects were English and Writing classes. These helped me get through law school and also earned my dad's favor as my English teacher.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?If you are honest, true to your beliefs and work hard, you will have no regrets.