Frank Annerino: 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: PalatineWebsite: EngageD15.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Frank-Annerino-for-District-15-School-Board-1069507179732827/Office sought: Palatine District 15 School Board Age: 48Family: Married to Trina Annerino with four children ages 9 to 15.Occupation: Mechanical EngineerEducation: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at ChicagoCivic involvement: Member of the PTAs at Paddock Elementary, Marion Jordan Elementary, and Sundling Jr. High. I'm a member of the Palatine HS Boosters. I'm a member of the St. Theresa Religious Education Board. I teach religious education to 1st graders at St. Theresa. I'm a member of the Knights of Columbus.Elected offices held: NoneQuestions 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?My interest in being a board member is rooted in that I have three of my four children attending three schools within District 15. I want to be involved in making sure that D15 children receive a quality education which will prepare them for their subsequent education and future endeavors. To do this the school board needs to have a strategic plan for the future which takes the best interests of the entire community into consideration. This need was affirmed by the community when they voted down the $130 million referendum. The community wants to be engaged in plans for the district's future, instead of being dictated to. I also feel that while providing the best education possible for our children, the school board must provide thoughtful oversight of the administration and be good stewards of the taxpayers' money.What was your position on the district's proposal to build two new schools, which failed in the November election? Why? How should the district address its facilities needs over the next two years? Would you support another referendum, and if so, how do you think a plan can be developed that would pass?I was not for the $130 million referendum, which was voted down by 70% of the voters. Enrollment in D15 schools has actually decreased some over the last 5 years. In order to determine the facilities requirements of our district we need to collect actionable data. A comprehensive study needs to be performed of the student body as a whole, and available school capacities. This will involve taking several variables into consideration such as student ages, geographical locations, and specific educational needs. In addition, change trends in the district need to be analyzed based on past data in order to predict as accurately as possible the district's future needs. Once this data is collected and analyzed a proper plan can be formulated to determine what can be done to better align schools as a child moves along in their education, improve transportation costs, and keep class sizes as low as possible. The district should not pursue another referendum at this time. A thorough analysis of the district's facilities needs to be done before anyone should even consider whether or not a referendum is needed. All feasible options need to be evaluated with data, along with their pros and cons, and then presented to the community for review and feedback. From there a plan can be carefully crafted that maximizes its benefit to the community as a whole. Our district needs change, but it needs to be done in a methodical, open, and cost effective manner.As contract talks come up with other employee groups, do you believe the district should ask for concessions, expect costs to stay about the same, or provide increases in pay and benefits? If you are an incumbent, why did you support the 10-year teacher contract? If you are a newcomer, what's your view of the contract? Would you support similar length contracts for other employee groups? Why or why not.The school board members are the elected representative of the community. Therefore, it is their responsibility to advocate for all residents of the community so that a fair contract is agreed upon by the unions and the administration. If elected to the school board I will review the details of the proposed contracts and ensure that they are fair and equitable for all parties. The 10-year teachers' contract is a reminder that new leadership is needed on the board. Ten years is an exceptionally long time for a teachers' contract leaving it open to many variables that may adversely affect new teachers and the district's finances. No board members were involved in the negotiations of this contract, which accounts for about 70% of the district's $160 million budget. This is a clear abdication of a board member's duties. Going forward contract negotiations should always involve board members. Contract lengths should be for shorter time periods. Lastly, the board should only vote to approve a contract after the final contract version is written and been made available to the public for review. Voting on a list of bullet points instead of a final contract is unacceptable.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?Like any large organization there are always opportunities for improvement. The process for enacting cost savings would start with evaluating the large cost items first, and then moving down the list through the less expensive items. With each item we can evaluate if any savings can be realized. Some tools for enacting savings would be: competitive bidding, contract negotiations, using economies of scale for purchasing, process optimization, resource pooling, and new technologies. Utilizing continuous improvement processes developed in the private sector, the district's operations could be optimized to improve efficiency and reduce costs.I do not support increases in property taxes or fees. The community current pays high property taxes which generate a substantial amount of revenue for our district. Residents which are on a fixed income, or a tight budget, are being forced out of their homes by these high property taxes. Our community needs tax relief.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?Public schools will always be a mainstay of education for our community regardless if a voucher system is put in place or not. A voucher system would create competition for tax dollars between the public schools and the private schools. This may cause a slight decrease in enrollment in public schools since there would be less of a cost penalty for sending your child to a private school. On the other hand, our public schools are some of the best in the state so I don't think that the effect on them would be very substantial. Parents want to send their children where they can obtain the best education. As long as District 15 can provide a high standard of education at a fair cost, parents will still want their children to attend our D15 schools. Therefore, regardless if there is a voucher system or not, the board of education along with the superintendent and district staff need to always strive to provide the best educational value to the community.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?One important issue that was brought up in the referendum is the reconfiguration of school boundaries. The current boundaries are over 20 years old and are a patch work of areas that present many problems. This patch work has developed over time as new subdivisions were built and areas were annexed into the district. The current boundaries have a serious school alignment problem. Children that go to an elementary school together are frequently divided to go to different junior highs, and then divided again to go to different high schools. Secondly, in some cases neighborhoods are divided, sending children to different schools when they should be kept together since they live geographically in the same area. Lastly, the transportation of our children in the district can be optimized so that they spend less time on busses. This can be accomplished by configuring the boundaries so that children attend the schools which are closest to them. To accomplish this daunting task we will need to take an analytical approach which draws on several variables to determine the optimized boundary configuration. Those variables would come from current data such as age, geographical location, and special educational needs. In addition, we need to analyze the district's student body change trends based on past data in order to predict as accurately as possible the district's future needs. All these variables can be analyzed with software and then a plan can be presented to the community for review, discussion, and feedback prior to implementation.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis is a great leader. He preaches mercy and acceptance of all people. He also leads by example reaching out to everyone.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Working hard and working smart are both required to succeed in life.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Though I have made mistakes in my life, I have no regrets. I accept those past mistakes as learning experiences for a better future.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Science was my favorite subject in school. My interest motivated me to earn my degree in mechanical engineering and have a career I enjoy.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Always do what's right, not just what is easy. If you do what you believe to be right, you ultimately live a happy life.