Scott Summers: Candidate Profile

Back to McHenry Commmunity College School Board 6-year term

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: HarvardWebsite: www.SummersForMCC.orgOffice sought: McHenry Commmunity College School Board 6-year term Age: 65Family: Wife and two children.Occupation: Attorney and authorEducation: Northern Illinois University College of Law: JD Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management: MBA University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: BACivic involvement: Adult literacy volunteer; former treasurer for three nonprofits; former scout leader.Elected offices held: Current: Public Guardian and Public Administrator of McHenry County (2013 to present.) Information: www.McHenryPublicGuardian.org and www.McHenryPublicAdministrator.org Past: Elected trustee at McHenry County College, 2005-2009 Board of Visitors, Northern Illinois University College of Law, 1997-2003 Harvard (IL) Community Hospital Board, 1981-1983 McHenry County Welfare Services Committee, 1982-1984Questions Answers With enrollment up at my many community colleges, it can be challenging to keep pace as far as available classroom/lab space, the number of qualified teachers and available course work options. How would you manage that?It now is plain that distance and Internet-based learning will become important - if not dominant - complements to traditional classroom teaching. In order to continue to offer quality at reasonable prices, and in order to enhance the utility of existing classrooms, labs, and staffing, the college must turn its delivery systems inside out. Rather than continue to concentrate functions on the Crystal Lake campus, MCC now must travel to its students, both physically and online. More emphasis on internet learning will strengthen the reach and effectiveness of the faculty while easing demands on facilities. In other words, the college needs to reorganize -- and decentralize.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 and no.Is a tax rate increase needed and, if so, how do you justify it?No, a tax increase is not needed. The college's physical resources and staffing structures need to be evaluated by a third party managerial consultant. A carefully conceived and executed reorganization will, I think, wring out monetary savings -- while simultaneously achieving new efficiencies in operation and administration.Community colleges provide many services to a diverse population. Is there a service your college should be providing that it is not, or reaching a segment of the population that it is not?Since its founding in 1967, MCC has operated as a commuter campus. Public transportation to and from the college remains very poor. To look at it another way -- car ownership should not be an unspoken prerequisite for enrollment at MCC. Yet it is. Special needs individuals, as well as students without access to automobiles, find that their opportunities to enroll are sharply curtailed -- or precluded altogether. This should not be so. Rather than concentrating functions on the main campus, the college now should be reaching out to towns throughout the county and putting more offerings on the road. There is no new bricks-and-mortar cost associated with evening classes held in our high schools.What do you think of President Obama's proposal for offering two years of free community college education?It is, at once, shrewd and visionary. I think that the president's proposal mirrors the highly successful GI Bill that was enacted at the end of World War II. That legislation provided veterans with the opportunity to attend college for free. Millions of service personnel parlayed this into skilled jobs that collectively helped to strengthen our national economy and raise our standard of living. Importantly, all veterans were on equal footing: poor and rich alike availed themselves of the program. The president suggests that the federal government could fund 75% of the program, with individual states contributing 25%. Unfortunately, the financial condition of the State of Illinois now is so dire that there is no real possibility of coming up with the necessary match. A 90%-10% match arrangement (similar to that of the federal highway program) may put the proposed national program within our reach: Illinois presently contributes to MCC a percentage of overall revenues in the single digits. (That's a sad commentary in itself: years ago, Illinois contributed one-third of all community college revenues.)What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I have serious reservations about the college's sweeping expansion plan. It carries with it a staggering sum: $280 million for the first 10 years. If divided by the 2010 Census figure of 308,760 residents, that's nearly $1,000 from every child, woman and man in McHenry County. But it's not just the eye-popping, jaw-dropping price tag that troubles me. The plan is, I think, fundamentally flawed: as previously noted, MCC is rushing to centralize at the very time it should decentralize. I'm also concerned that the college's past estimates about future county populations and future enrollments have, time and again, been faulty. Projections should be made in the context of data provided by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency on Planning -- and not based on simple straight line projections.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Honesty is the best policy.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Work among the sick, poor, and disadvantaged.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?English literature. By turns, it inspired me and shaped me.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be passionate -- and compassionate -- in everything you do.