Sara E. Bruno: 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: RoselleWebsite: www.facebook.com/brunofordist20Office sought: Keeneyville District 20 School Board Age: 43Family: Husband, Daniel J. Bruno Daughter, Katie BrunoOccupation: Preschool Music TeacherEducation: Bachelor of Fine Arts from Millikin University in Decatur, ILCivic involvement: Sara has volunteered as a Girl Scout leader for the past 6 years at Waterbury School. She is also an active member of the Waterbury PTO serving as the chairperson of the Talent Show and volunteers her time as needed for classroom teachers. She served for 15 years on the Church Council at Prince of Peace Church in Elk Grove Village and was a chairperson of an active church committee. Sara has also served on the Keeneyville District 20 Gifted Education Committee and Food Advisory Committee. She volunteers at Feed My Starving Children in Schaumburg packing meals.Elected offices held: n/aQuestions 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?My family's personal experience with District 20 has been outstanding. The teachers of this district are some of the hardest working people you will find in the field of education. I would like to see a more robust summer school program, especially for our English Language Learners. This would provide more continuity for students and prevent summer learning loss. Additionally, to remain competitive in high school and beyond I would like to see the use of more technology in the classrooms. Also, there currently is no program in place to encourage and challenge our more advanced learners. It will be my priority, should I be elected, to put a gifted or enrichment program in place in our K -5 schools in order for our gifted learners to be better prepared for a gifted experience in middle school and high school.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.Most of the potential budgetary concerns facing District 20 revolve around the state of Illinois's current financial crisis. The current Director of Operations does an excellent job maintaining good financial health for our district. If the state of Illinois's funding were to change I am confident that the board and the Director of Operations would work together to come up with a sensible solution for our district's budgets.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?n/aAs 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 District 20 should benchmark against the best districts in the area in an effort to remain competitive in the marketplace in order to attract and retain the best talent possible.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?Absolutely not. Taxpayers should not bear the cost of a superintendent's accelerated retirement.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I would like the board to create a new vision and avenue for opening better lines of communication with the community, teachers and families. Hopefully, this would result in greater parent involvement on sub-committees within the district. It is important that the board build trust and a voice in the community.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Bill and Melinda Gates because of the education and world health initiatives their foundation supports.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To follow through on any commitment.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have majored in Education when earning my Bachelors degree.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite subject was English. It helped me in life to be a good writer and communicator and also gave me the love of reading.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?To be kind to others.