Bob Marino: Candidate Profile

Back to Lake Park High School District 108 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: RoselleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake Park High School District 108 School Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Real Estate BrokerEducation: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Lake Park High School Board (3 Terms) Lake Park Educational Foundation Trustee "Class Rooms for Kids" ChairmanQuestions 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?Lake Park does an excellent job preparing students for college and careers. We offer a rich Advanced Placement program which many schools accept for college credit. This is extremely beneficial for those students pursing college. Our comprehensive curriculum addresses the needs of all students and provides many opportunities regardless of post high school plans. With our recent adoption of Project Lead the Way (engineering) and precision machining (manufacturing),we are strengthening our focus on career preparation. This is an area we need to continue to expand. Specific areas of growth include more opportunities for dual credit with the College of DuPage and industry certifications.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.Lake Park is extremely proud of maintaining a balanced budget since 2007. School funding is a challenge for public education. During the next four years, Lake Park may have to confront budgetary issues including the possibilities of pension shift, potential changes in the school funding formula and lower CPI. Lake Park's approach to budgetary challenges has always been to address them proactively and to plan. In order to adopt a balanced budget as we have done consistently over the past 8 years, we continue to review staffing ratio's, class size, special education costs, insurance premiums. Communities are only as good as their schools. If we were in a position to have to make cuts , the focus is on those items that are furthest from the classroom. Examples include supply budgets, capital equipment, purchased services, staff development. The last area is people which would be achieved through a reduction of staffing. Regarding tax increases for schools, I believe it is dependent upon state funding. If the State dramatically changes the state aid formula and potentially passes down pension costs. We would try to avoid going to the taxpayers through internal budget reductions first.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?I am not employed by Lake Park or any other school district. I am not retired from a school district, and I do not have any family members employed by Lake Park.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?Contract negotiations are never easy. As a school board, I believe you need to take a stand and make decisions that align with district finances. This includes taking into consideration future needs and projections. Lake Park has scaled down teachers and administrative compensation consistently over the past five years so we have negotiated lesser agreements. We will continue to monitor the fiances and try to align our compensation with our projected revenue and commitment to a balanced budget.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 am not in support of boosting pension benefits. We have a pension crisis in the State and school boards must play a role in helping reduce future pension costs.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I plan on continuing with the committees that I serve on both in district and in the community in an effort to make Lake Park an even better place for our kids.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.