Finances top concern for U-46 school board candidates

An earlier version of this story should have read eight candidates are vying for four, 4-year terms on the Elgin Area School District U-46 school board.

Candidates running for the Elgin Area School District U-46 school board said Thursday during a candidate forum at Streamwood High School that finances, inadequate resources and hiring a new superintendent are their biggest concerns.

Eight candidates are vying for four 4-year terms on the board April 7: Lawrence Bury, Phil Costello, Susan Kerr and Ed Novak, all of Bartlett; Jeanette Ward of West Chicago; Arisleyda Taylor of Streamwood; and incumbents Traci Ellis and Jennifer Shroder, both of Elgin.

Kai Rush and Cody Holt, both of Elgin, are vying for a 2-year unexpired term.

During introductions, Shroder, who is finishing her first term on the board, was the only candidate to endorse others, essentially taking herself out of the running. She endorsed Ellis, Kerr, Bury and Taylor for the 4-year seats, and Rush for the 2-year term.

"It's not that I don't want to be re-elected. I want to do what's best for all the district's kids," she said.

Shroder said the district's biggest problem is how schools are funded.

"We haven't got the resources that everyone else has to do the job that everyone else does," she said. "The way we get those resources is inherently unfair. The property tax system hits the people the hardest that can afford it the least."

Kerr, 58, who has been a member of the U-46 Citizens Advisory Council for about 20 years, said this district spends $1,200 less per pupil than the state average on instruction.

"It affects class sizes. It affects the technology we are able to give to our students. It affects keeping libraries open and functioning," she said.

Rush, 37, a teacher at St. Charles East High School, said the district needs to live within its budget, "but I don't believe in cutting our budget."

"We must be creative with our solutions," he said, adding the bigger challenge is promoting the district's positive achievements. "I believe that U-46 is a great school system, but we've got to work on our image. We can rock U-46," he said.

Novak, 59, who works in retail management, said there needs to be better communication between the community and schools.

"Parents don't know some of the programs that are available to their students, especially the special education kids," he said. "We need to be more transparent."

Holt, 23, who previously ran unsuccessfully for the Elgin City Council, said the district needs to invest more into classrooms.

"Another problem is the tax burden," he said. "We have to strive to reduce that burden on the residents because that is something that is affecting families across the district."

Ellis, 52, who is completing her first term on the board, said the state's school funding formula is broken.

"Our current funding formula is inherently unfair to children and burdensome to taxpayers," she said. "While no one loves coming to taxpayers and asking for more money, that is the system of funding that we have."

Taylor, 29, said while the district always can use more resources, she is more concerned about its image with families leaving the district.

"U-46 does (such) a great job with the little bit that we get compared to all the other school districts," she said. "Yes, it can be better, but we have to work together to do that."

Ward, 41, a parent volunteer, said the district's finances, its standards-based grading policy, and the state's higher performance standards and new standardized test, PARCC, are her top concerns.

She said the standards-based grading system is not allowing top performers in high school to achieve a "4" or "A" grade, easily hurting their chances of getting into good colleges.

"We need to push back against Common Core, particularly PARCC testing," she added, saying students are losing too much instructional time due to testing.

Bury, 49, who has served on the U-46 Citizens Advisory Council, said his biggest concerns are hiring a full-time superintendent and modernizing the curriculum so students are better prepared for today's economy.

"We need to provide him or her with the support, resources, guidance and oversight. ... We need to focus on the positive programs and outcomes that U-46 consistently produces," he said.

Costello, 59, who has served on the board of ChildServ and Homes for Children Foundation P.A.D.S., said the district's needs to tighten its belt and not wait for relief from the state or federal governments.

"Springfield is not the answer. Washington, D.C., is not the answer," Costello said. "We need to make sure that we are going through every line item and have zero-based budgeting."