Stephanie Clark: 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: Glen EllynWebsite: www.clarkbuchholzrath.comOffice sought: Glen Ellyn District 41 School Board Age: 43Family: Married to Matt. Four children: John - 7th grade at Hadley; Patrick - 5th grade at Lincoln; Aidan - 1st grade at Ben Franklin; Connor - 4 year old preschool.Occupation: Stay at home mom for the past 13 years. Prior to that engineer for Saturn Division of General MotorsEducation: B.S. Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, 1994Civic involvement: - Co-Chair for D41 Special Education Parents' Support Group. - Served on Hephzibah Children's Association Western Auxiliary Executive Board. Current active member. - Glen Ellyn D41 PTA - active member at Lincoln, Ben Franklin and Hadley. - Served on Glen Ellyn Newcomers Board.Elected offices held: NoneQuestions 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 believe that we are a successful district with great teachers that are doing everything they can to prepare our students for the next stage in their lives. That said I do not want our students to be guinea pigs for the sake of innovation. Personally I chose Glen Ellyn as a community to live in for the reputation of a solid school system. I feel to an extent D41 needs to get back to basics with what we are teaching our students versus experimenting with the latest and greatest trends in education. As a district we should be holding ourselves accountable and when we make change it should be backed by data and fully evaluated. I want to be sure that we are making decisions that are in the best interest of the students and teachers while watching the tax dollars that we are spending at the time. D41 spent about $1.6 million dollars over the past five years to our architectural firm that is on retainer. I would question was this money spent in the best interest of the students and the taxpayers.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.While D41 is operating in the black, we need to continually evaluate our spending to be sure it is the best use of tax dollars. We need a long-term, fiscally responsible plan to address space issues. D41 borrowed $7 million on infrastructure and took it out of the budget without public input. This should always be taken to the voters beforehand so the bonds are taxpayer backed. I would like to work on renewing the trust of the community through transparency and open dialogue on all issues, especially budgetary ones.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?The board should be comparing D41 pay and benefits with similar/surrounding districts. Negations of the teacher contract should be done within the boundaries of fiscal responsibility.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. Our superintendent and his administrative team are already adequately compensated. This type of action would only burden the taxpayers who already pay extremely high taxes to D41.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I am running as a slate together with Kurt Buchholz and Kevin Rath. Collectively we have attended every D41 Board of Education meeting for the past two and half years and are up to date on all board business. Our background, experience and involvement in D41 provide a strong leadership team that will bring more accountability, fiscal responsibility and transparency to the board. We are ready to listen and willing to make positive changes in D41. We believe board decisions should be data driven, child focused, and taxpayer accountable. Our goals to accomplish: - We will be accountable and approachable to all stakeholders in D41. - We will make proactive and smart decisions and measure our results in a timely manner. - We will be fiscally responsible with your money. - We will work to increase transparency.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Malala Yousafzai.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Hard work is the foundation for all things in life.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?To know all the things I know about parenting now from the start.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math. It has helped me logically approach things.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Trust your instincts.