Michael Smolka: 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: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Palatine District 15 School Board Age: 36Family: Son - 8 years oldOccupation: AttorneyEducation: AA - Business - Harper CollegeBS - Marketing - Chicago State UniveristyMBA - Integrated Marketing Communications - Roosevelt UniversityJD - The John Marshall Law SchoolCivic involvement: Commissioner - Palatine Youth Baseball/SoftballCoach - Palatine Youth Baseball/SoftballCoach - Palatine Celtic SoccerCoach - Palatine Park District BasketballDirector - Fathers Helping FathersElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions 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?The current school board has not had the best interests of the stakeholders in the community in mind when making their decisions. They do not engage the community to seek input or seek discussion on matters that will affect not only the children within our schools but with every resident of the school district. As a member of the school board I will ensure that the community's voice is heard by engaging and working with them, using the community's tax dollars in the most effective way possible, and work to build trust between the community and their board which has been broken over the last couple of years. The introduction of the referendum this past winter is what truly motivated me. The current board has made some questionable decisions, but placing the referendum on the ballot and asking our community for more money without engaging the same community you are asking to give you more money truly motivated me.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?With regard to the need for two news schools, until a comprehensive facilities study is performed there is no need to address the building of two new schools. The school board must perform their due diligence in order to determine what the best course of action is. Is it to renovate the current schools, add on to the current schools, or build new schools? With the facilities study, we must address the boundary lines within the district and how to best facilitate enrollment, transportation, existing neighborhoods, and the potential for new residential communities to spring up. Boundaries must make sense from a neighborhood, geographic and demographic stand point. Until the board gets a handle on that, any discussion about a referendum or the building of new schools is premature. If a referendum was needed, was carefully vetted, the community was involved with the development of it and options had been developed and consideration had been giving to those options, I would support it, but not until those necessary steps are taken prior to the referendum being placed on the ballot.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.I believe that there is a give and take with all negotiations. Concessions are made on both sides to come to the best possible outcome, not only for the parties directly involved and named in the contract, but for all of the stakeholders within the community. The community needs to be involved and the board has a duty to keep the stakeholders informed. While I would hope that costs would remain stagnant, the reality is that costs are always going up, finding that balance between controlling costs and providing the benefit package that continues to attract the best teachers, administrators, and employees is what the board must do for all of the stakeholders within the community. I believe that the entry of a contract of that length is highly inappropriate. That coupled with the board having no oversight or input into the terms of the contract is appalling. Unfortunately, none of us can predict how market fluctuations with the dollar, or healthcare, or any number of factors can influence the actual cost that this contract will have on the community ten years from now. I believe the lack of oversight by the board with regard to this contract may have implications that were not carefully considered, nor were they even discussed at the time of entry by the parties.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?As this contract begins to come into full effect, I believe that there may be cuts that have to be made in other areas. The emphasis must be placed on the board using the community's tax dollars effectively to provide our children the best education possible. While cuts may be necessary, to determine in what areas cuts should be made need to be determined as they become available. What trade-offs can be given at the expense of continuing to keep certain programs will be taken as they come available. I do not support a tax increase for the sake of increasing taxes, or to pad the reserve. The board has a fiduciary duty to the community to determine whether an increase in fees and/or taxes are necessary or if costs can be cut. Each program needs to be evaluated on its own merit to determine the continued viability of that program. Each program also needs to be evaluated on the necessity of it continuing to be funded by the community as a whole, if that program can be cut, or to determine a different way to fund that program. Should each individual program be funded by the community as a whole or by those who participate in that program? Those decisions will have to be made as we continue to move forward.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 goal within the district is to continue to attract the best teachers and provide the best education available at every school in the district. The teachers within our school district are the life blood of our children's future introduction into the community as productive members of our community. With regard to choice and vouchers if we have the ability to attract highly qualified and exceptional teachers it should not have any impact on our district. In addition, community engagement is the main focus of my campaign, and with that comes the knowledge that the stakeholders within our community have the ability to make the best decisions for our children and community and that those decisions should continue to be made at the local level and not left to those who have no connection to the community.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?It is important that the incoming school board work with the community. The board working to bring forth community engagement is important in restoring trust between the board and the stakeholders of our community. After the actions that the board taken in recent years, it is imperative that the incoming board work to restore the trust between the board and community. In addition to engagement within the community, it is important that the board is transparent and explain their decisions and have open discussions so the community understands their decisions. In addition, it is important that there is healthy discussion by members of the incoming board among themselves.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Mark Cuban - Not afraid to speak his mind, and does so intelligently, and works with his employees, not above them.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Respect - Disagreements are ok, but everyone deserves respect and a respectful way in which to communicate your differences.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Spend more time working while in college so I wouldn't have to take out the amount of student loans I did.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History - Allows me to understand where we came from and how we got to where we are now.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Stay mentally strong, life doesn't always go the way you want, but you choose how to feel when you wake up every morning.