Jeff Harte: Candidate Profile

Back to Libertyville-Vernon Hills High School District 128 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: Vernon HillsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Libertyville-Vernon Hills High School District 128 School Board Age: 48Family: Souse - Tricia Heidel-HarteTwo daughters, a Junior and Senior at VHHSOccupation: Financial AnalystEducation: Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Wisconsin at MadisonMaster of Business Administration in Finance from DePaul UniversityCivic involvement: District 128 Foundation for Learning - Trustee since 2010 and current serving as Treasurer.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers There's been a lot of talk over the past year in District 128 about school spending and high taxes. Are budget cuts needed? If so, where would you cut and why?My wife and I have been paying real estate taxes in the district for nearly 20 years. I do not want to see my taxes go up. However, budget cuts would have to be approached very carefully to maintain the quality of education our children deserve. With my daughter and many of her friends currently applying to colleges I am seeing first hand some of the benefits of being in a high school district that is ranked near the top nationally.Do you support proposals to build a new pool at LHS or the now-shelved plan for a second gym at VHHS? Why or why not?I will have to be convinced of the necessity before supporting any large spending projects.What do you think about the process for measuring student success in your district? Is it adequate? What changes, if any, do you propose?Measurements of student success seem fairly standardized across major school districts from what I have seen. In general I think it is important to measure the progress of students that are struggling in addition to that of average or high achieving students.What budget issues will your district have to confront and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, what programs and expenses should be reduced or eliminated? On the income side, do you support any tax or fee increases?It is not by chance that we have very high performing schools in district 128. The largest future budgeting challenge will likely remain the ability not to confuse increases in spending with improvements in educational quality.What role can and should school choice play in your district? If Congress or the state approves a voucher system or other means giving students broader choices among public and private schools, how will that affect your district? What is the appropriate response for the board of education of a public school system?The primary focus of the Board of Education and district administration should remain on maintaining/improving the quality of education at LHS VHHS regardless of how school choice plays out in Washington or Springfield.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Candidate did not respond.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pass. I do not want to complicate a local decision about Board of Education membership by injecting the name of another unrelated person.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To sincerely care about other people.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would not use it. It is equally important to let go of the past as it is to learn from it.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Science. I find myself using some variation of the scientific method to help make personal and businesses decisions regularly.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right (Henry Ford said it first).