Janice Krinsky: Candidate Profile

Back to Elk Grove Township District 59 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: Arlington HtsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Elk Grove Township District 59 School Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Husband, Stefan TuckerSons Aleksander Tucker, 22 and Derek Tucker, 19Occupation: Candidate did not respond.Education: M.S. Education, Graduate School of Education, University of RochesterB.S. Psychology, University of RochesterCivic involvement: Board Member, Community Consolidated School District 59Governing Board Member, Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO)Member of the Communities for Positive Youth Development Coalition to work on reducing drug and alcohol use.Begun involvement with College Bound Opportunities and hope to be assigned to mentor a young woman starting in high school through her college years.Elected offices held: Vice PresidentQuestions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is it?I am running for re-election because I believe strongly in public education. I have a background in child development and education that helps inform decision-making. I believe all children deserve access to a high quality public education that encourages and challenges them to learn and grow, and that prepares them to become productive members of society. The work of the Board of Education is key to ensuring that a fiscally responsible, quality education is available to all the children in the district. The core values of the Board of Education include research-driven decision-making, continuous improvement, high academic achievement and the development of problem-solving and social skills, among other things.What do you think about the process for measuring student success in your district? Is it adequate? What changes, if any, do you propose?District 59 has moved to a more comprehensive approach to measuring student success that goes beyond standardized tests. Student skills are regularly assessed so that teachers can help each student along based on specific information about where they are and where they need to go next. We also assess the "soft skills" such as collaboration, social problem solving, and social and emotional development. These are skills that predict success because they free up children to focus on learning. I am proud to have contributed to this evidence-based approach to teaching and learning that tests children when they need it rather than at the end of the year when it is too late in the year to address gaps that should have been addressed along the way.Do you support moving forward with relocation of the district's administration center in Elk Grove Village, despite the project's rising costs?I do support moving forward with the relocation of the district's administration center. The current building is no longer adequate for the district's needs. The board room is too small to hold the audiences that come to our board meetings to celebrate student success or when we occasionally discuss topics controversial to our communities. This space is also too small to accommodate teacher and staff training groups. If we were to stay, an addition would be needed. An addition would, by law, have to upgrade the entire building to existing building codes which would be very expensive. It is unfortunate that construction costs have risen dramatically during the past year, outstripping our initial estimate by approximately 25%. Queries to other school architects and builders show that all new construction projects in our area are affected similarly. (There are no longer enough skilled tradespeople living in our state, and as the rate of construction has increased, the cost of materials has also increased.) As a result, we asked our architects to find substantial savings in the design, which they did. Over 1200 sq ft was cut from the plans, and other changes were made to contain costs. Even so, the cost of the building is substantially higher than anticipated. But delaying construction will only lead to the costs rising even higher. This building will be around for at least 40 years, so it's a long-term commitment to our staff, our schools, and our communities.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?Our district has adequate fund balances for current needs. We are careful to live within our budgetary means, except in the case of necessary planned spending for large ticket items. Our large fund balances allow us to pay for things like a new administration building without needing new taxes and without putting our high financial rating into jeopardy.The biggest concern and unknown is the expected shift in the school funding formula and in the cost of teacher pension funding from the state to the school district. The superintendent already has contingency plans to address various scenarios. It should be mentioned that the district has already cut unnecessary spending in many areas such as less dependence on the purchase of expensive text books, to efficiencies in job assignments and new hiring. We will do what is necessary to maintain a healthy budget no matter what happens at the state and federal level. Raising taxes beyond the reasonable and customary level which is driven by a formula based on the consumer price index, would be a choice of last resort.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?Schools with high concentrations of poor families underperform compared to schools in middle-class neighborhoods. School choice does not effectively address these inequities. A school choice program won't work if you have a high percentage of students living in poverty. They can't transfer to a better school because even if such a school exists, it can't absorb such large numbers. Charter schools don't have to educate everyone. They can pick and choose their students. They tend not to serve children with disabilities and they have a poor track record when it comes to handling discipline. Instead of working with children to help them resolve behavior problems, they expel them. Rather than siphon off money, public schools must improve the quality of education poor students receive. Students living in poverty need more enrichment time, more support for social and emotional needs, and a deeper understanding from staff and administrators of the issues they face in their lives. One way to help our vulnerable students close the achievement gap is to increase opportunities for high quality early childhood education. Every dollar spent on children ages birth to 3 returns a savings of $8 to $13. Not only do children in poverty who receive high quality child care from birth do better in school, they hold better-paying jobs, have more stable living conditions, and are healthier. I am committed to providing a word-class education for all our students in our public schools.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?It matters a great deal to me that we continue to work with administrators and staff to set high standards, to teach children how to think creatively, how to collaborate, how to problem solve, and develop in them a love of learning that will last a lifetime. We are also investing heavily in our teachers by providing ongoing high quality professional development. We want all our teachers to consistently provide the highest-caliber teaching and learning for which they are capable. We have excellent, very caring, and dedicated teachers in District 59, and are glad to provide opportunities to help them stay current with the latest scientifically-based teaching methods and tools. In addition, our administrators are always reading and learning to make sure that we provide very focused support to staff and students - support that will lead to student social, emotional, and academic success.I am humbled by this responsibility and grateful that I have been able contribute to our community by serving on the Board of Education for the last six years. Children are our future and they are deserving of the best education, within our means, that we can give them. I look forward to continuing to serve our community.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.President Barack Obama for his intelligence, his decency, his compassion, his grace under fire, and his ability to see things through in spite of obstacles.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?I learned that persistence pays off, and it's not how much money you have, but the content of your character that matters.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would take more and different classes in college. I would take art history, social policy, some political science classes, and more.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I always liked English classes because i love to read. Lots of reading has helped me be a better writer and thinker.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?You can learn just about anything you put your mind to. Persistence - and working smarter - pays off!