Eileen Kowalczyk: 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: Mount ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Eileen Flynn KowalczykOffice sought: Mount Prospect District 57 School Board Age: 45Family: Married with 5 children, ranging in age of 5-15.Occupation: Stay at home momEducation: Bachelor of Arts From UIC.Civic involvement: I have been on the school board currently for the last four years. I have been involved and still involved in my children's PTO's at each of their school in some sort of volunteering basis for the past 9 years.Elected offices held: School Board member District 57Questions 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 again because I feel that there is more to do for my community. I have been on the board for four years but there is a lot to learn about what goes into running a School Board/School District that the first year or more is really about learning that whole process. I originally ran because I wanted to understand all the workings of the school district and not just a parent's perspective. The issues that motivate me are giving the students of our district the best education and to make decisions for the taxpayers of our community that increase their property values and keep the community where Mount Prospect District 57 a place where people want to come and stay and be a part of our School District and community.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 District has assessments that are mandated by law as do all districts in the state. We currently have MAP and PARCC testing. As a board member and parent I believe that MAP testing is informative and useful. There is testing in the Fall and Spring . You are able to see the students growth over the school year. PARCC testing is done in the spring and has yet to really show it's value. The state has not been able to provide us with how we are doing compared with other districts. I do believe that we need assessments, but we should not teach to test. Since the assessments that the district does are mandated by law any proposal would have to be to ease up on those mandates and to let school districts have a real say in the type and duration of any assessment.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?I believe the administration and staff have the main roles in setting the curriculum for our district. Our curriculum, like the rest of the state, now have common core standards in guiding the specifics of our curriculum. Our staff do a great job in choosing the curriculum we have. The staff will have a pilot program of at least 2 different types of curriculum in reading and writing, math, science and social studies. They will assess each program throughout the year as they teach our kids. These pilot teams meet, discuss and compare data and opinions and then come to a consensus on which program to pick and move forward with. I believe the role of the board in approving the curriculum is that the staff has brought forth the best choice that they professionally believe is best for our 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?Our district does have budget issues. Our district is a high performing district in spite of the fact that we currently receive the least amount of revenue and spend the least amount per student compared to our neighboring districts. Our district is primarily funded by the taxpayers of this community. We do not get much revenue from business and our main downtown business area is under a new TIF, so we will not be getting new revenues from those businesses. We also do not get a lot of revenue from the state or federal government. In our district we have seen increased enrollment in the district for the last couple of years with a larger spike in our current kindergarten class. I believe enrollment is increasing because of our excellent schools. Our facilities are not going to be able to maintain this growth without issues. Westbrook will have mobile units do to the large kindergarten class entering 1st grade next year. Our other schools our going to be fuller sooner also. With increased enrollment we need to add more teachers. It would be hard to imagine what cuts would occur but there would probably be increased class sizes, which I believe are too big now. If the state passes a temporary or permanent freeze on property taxes then we will be very restricted in how we can attain new revenues. I believe the district would have to do a referendum to increase our revenues for our education funding.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?I know our school district is a high performing school district and I believe vouchers would effect the way we can provide a solid education to our students. A voucher system would be taking money away from public schools, that provide many special services, and giving it to private schools. Our district already receives the lowest revenues compared to other districts. Public schools provide an education to all students. Public schools have many systems in place that help a wide range of learners. We have enrichment classes. We have math and literacy support for children who either need a lot of extra help or just that extra push. We have ESL ( English As a Second Language) programs to help children who don't speak English as their primary language. We have Special Education programs for children with a wide range of needs. A voucher system would be taking away money that provides these services and needs to our students. Public schools also have to abide by State and Federal laws and mandates, whereas private schools don't have that same scrutiny. I am not a believer in schools for profit and that is what I believe a voucher system is.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.Candidate did not respond.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?My parents were immigrants from Ireland and one of the most important things they taught me was to vote and you vote counts.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I think I might have gone to law school.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite subject was History. It taught me how lessons of what I would want our society to redo things or never do them again.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?It would be to be happy and to treat others as you would want to be treated.