Marcus Hamilton: 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: WheatonWebsite: Hamiltonfor200.wixsite.com/websiteTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: @HamiltonforSchoolBoardOffice sought: Wheaton Warrenville District 200 School Board Age: 43Family: Jennifer - SpouseSpencer - 18Gavin - 15Keaton - 10Cooper - 9Occupation: Global Vice President of Finance - Valspar CorporationEducation: Bachelor of Business Administration - Western Michigan UniversityMaster of Business Administration - University of MarylandCivic involvement: Coach Youth SportsElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers How will you address the success of failure of your building referendum? How will you continue to inform the community about your commitment to funding capital projects regardless of the outcome?I will vote "No" on the referendum. The district cannot afford this level of expenditure. The referendum, if approved, will commit the district to well over $200 million in spending including interest and amounts funded from district cash reserves.Key concerns:- Effectively doubles debt commitment of district- 5 year cash projections show growing year over year operating deficits, e.g. cash out higher than cash in- Inadequate forecasting of potential deterioration of state subsidies and additional state burdens such as funding teacher pensions at district level rather than state level todayI ask the voters: if your paycheck is less than your house and car payment today, would you buy an additional house and car and double your debt commitment? If you say "no" to this question, you should vote NO on the referendum and elect me to the board on April 4th. As a first priority, we must address all of the identified legacy safety and security issues. Funding to address these will be provided from the operating budget and cash reserves as required to complete them as quickly as possible. Going forward, the board approved a policy which requires specific funding be set aside to address building and maintenance issues each year (Sherman Dergis formula). The remainder of the legacy building maintenance issues will be prioritized based on payback analysis of on-going expense to service vs. cost to replace and addressed as the annual operating funding policy allows.What do you think about the process for measuring student success in your district? Is it adequate? What changes, if any, do you propose?The Vision 2018 metrics for the district established by the board are not on track in several key areas: ACT scores, graduate readiness, K-8 readiness in reading and math, graduation rates, etc.. Our practice for annual evaluation of teachers' performance does not specifically include achievement of the Vision 2018 metrics nor does the performance review establish clear PARCC test improvement goals for the grade or district. The teacher's review breaks down 30% of the teacher's performance based on Student Growth which lacks clear linkage to any specific metric or year over year improvement. 70% of the teacher's performance is based on professional practice which is essentially subjective feedback by the supervisor based on in classroom observation. This feedback occurs three times per year for new teachers and one time per year for tenured teachers.I would like to see definition and implementation of clear metrics which tie teacher performance and pay to the desired metric outcomes of the district for educational advancement. In addition, I would like to see us tie our district's program investment strategy to measured improvement in the district's Vision 2018 metrics and PARCC scores to more closely correlate spending with desired educational outcomes. The coupling of specific program investments with desired outcomes enhances understanding of what works and what does not work and enables more effective prioritization of needs vs. wants. This also drives accountability of the administration and teachers to improve the use and efficiency of our community's tax dollars.How big a role do you think the board of education should play in setting the curriculum for students and what ideas do you have for changes to the current curriculum?The board should play a significant role in collaboration with the administration in outlining and establishing a vision for educational advancement. The board should turn the vision into a 3 - 5 year strategy and financial plan along with shorter term goals to glide path achievement of the plans.Once these are set, the teachers in collaboration with the administration should establish the curriculum to achieve the short term goals and desired educational outcomes while ensuring the district remains on the financial plan glide path. It is imperative as part of this process that clear metrics are established consistent with the achievement of the strategy and short term improvement goals to ensure accountability and adherence to the financial plan.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?District 200 fiscal crisis is upon us. The primary cause is years of anemic reinvestment into building repair which snowballed into major issues. Unfortunately, we cannot correct years of deficiency immediately. We must take a step by step approach ensuring the safety and security of our children and teachers first. The remainder of legacy building issues will be prioritized based on payback analysis of on-going expense to service vs. cost to replace and addressed as the annual operating funding policy allows. The need for an Early Learning Center solution is the second major driver. We must find a solution within the current district footprint and other taxpayer funded assets for a solution. Arguably, this may not be optimal but will allow us to meet the needs of our children while searching for alternative, less costly, permanent solutions.Due to the significant financial hole the district has dug, short term program alteration will likely be required. Depth and breadth of alteration will be sized on district need and based on impact to the district's ability to deliver the desired educational outcomes established in Vision 2018.Fundamentally, I do not support tax increases. Our community is already over burdened with taxes. Just as we expect our families to live within our own means so too must the taxing authorities. Not doing so will continue to have dire consequences on home values.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?In theory, I support school of choice as I believe under the right circumstances it would enhance education and create competition amongst schools both public and private to deliver the best education possible at the lowest cost. However, the public school business model would need major changes for this to be successful and allow the public school to be competitive from a cost perspective. Areas such as collective bargaining agreements, pensions, federal and state mandated programs, and commensurate funding, grants and subsidies are among some of the areas that would need to be re-tooled with an eye toward open market competition for the benefit of advancing education for all.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Make no mistake, we are on the brink of a fiscal crisis and approving the referendum will push us over the edge. We can overcome this crisis before it worsens. To do so, we need solid fiscal leadership in the board to establish robust strategic and financial plans, drive enhanced goals and objectives paired with meaningful metrics to guide us to decision points and choices. With time, financial discipline and making of some tough choices short term, I'm confident we can dig out and get ourselves back on a fiscally responsible track that will allow us to advance the education of our district. We are at a crossroads. Your cash out is higher than your paycheck, are you going to buy another house and car or are you going to say NO and elect me, Marcus Hamilton on April 4th to bring the leadership, fiscal responsibility, business acumen and discipline to the district 200 school board to fix our fiscal crisis? Please visit my website hamiltonfor200.wixsite.com/website or my Facebook page @hamiltonforschoolboard or email me at hamiltonfor200@gmail.com for more information on me and my candidacy for District 200 School Board.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Joe MaddonWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Anything is possible when you put your heart and mind to it with intensity and commitment.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I think I would have been an Engineer. I have a passion for creating, building or figuring out how to fix things that are broken.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Language arts because good written and oral communication are the foundation of a successful life.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Don't be afraid to fail.