Eric Missil: Candidate Profile

Back to St. Charles Unit District 303 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: St CharlesWebsite: https://www.electmissil.com/Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: St. Charles Unit District 303 School Board Age: 48Family: Wife, child, and dogOccupation: FinanceEducation: MBA, Finance DePaul University - 1998BS, Finance University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "â#128;œ 1991Certified Public Accountant - 2008Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers Do you support the closure of Haines Middle School? If so, what should be done with the Haines campus once it is closed?Yes, I support the closure. As a result of the closure, Thompson and Wredling will be updated. Looking at the enrollment recently provided by the District in November, I see a 32% decrease when I compare the run rate of grades 9-12 (~1,100 students) vs. K-3 (~750 students). Declining enrollment will continue to force the District to make difficult decisions. As our infrastructure ages and requires modernization, we must ensure scarce resources are properly allocated and that our assets are properly utilized. As far as the next use of the Haines campus, I would suggest building a master strategy for the District that encompasses all of its campuses. This document will help provide clarity to the needs of the community and how aligned the District is to meeting those needs. I think looking just at Haines in isolation will not yield the best decision.District officials expect the student population in the district will continue to decline in coming years. Do you believe that projection is accurate? If not, why? If so, would you support the closure of any other district schools, as was contemplated last year?I believe the projections to be reasonably accurate. Look at the current enrollment provided by the District in November. You can see the drop off starting in seventh grade all the way through kindergarten. Geneva and Batavia are also seeing a similar trend of declining enrollment, though not as steep as St. Charles. The enrollment of K-3 vs. grades 9-12 at Geneva and Batavia is declining approximately 22%. St. Charles is declining approximately 32%.I would support the closure of other district schools under the right conditions. Before addressing the closing of other schools, the District first needs to develop a master strategy and share this with the community. This needs to be ongoing and not a one-time event. The District needs to build support and gain positive momentum before taking action. The community also needs to be honest with itself. Enrollment is declining, state funding is uncertain, our infrastructure will need updating, and property taxes should not be increased.Jason Pearson was selected as the next superintendent to replace Don Schlomann. What are your top goals for Mr. Pearson?Reduce expenditures (at worst keep flat), raise academic performance, and develop a master strategy. The largest component of my property taxes is the school district. My property taxes have increased approximately 45% since 2002. This rate of inflation deeply concerns me as it has outpaced the general rise in prices and is not sustainable. We need to spend more efficiently and effectively. Approximately 6.0% of the District's funding (excluding On Behalf Payments) comes from the State of Illinois. Given the State's weak financial status and political climate, I am concerned that this will create an additional burden on the local tax payer. The remedy for the District is to become less reliant on State funding. To offset the loss of State funding and keep local real estate taxes flat, expenditures will need to be reduced.I would also like to see the academic performance of the District improve. Even though our average ACT test score reached a four-year high of 23.8, we need to strive to do better. When I benchmark our results to other towns I consider comparable to St. Charles, we are middle of the road.In recent years, school board members have crafted the budget with guideline of limiting annual property tax levy increases to 2 percent or less. Can/should that guideline remain in place?The goal should be to reduce expenses or at worst, hold flat "â#128;œ not increase. As I talk to people in the community, the biggest concern they expressed is the high property taxes. We need to scrutinize the budget and eliminate unnecessary spending. We need to be more effective and efficient. The good news is that the District has run at surplus the last two years and has a moderate debt level. We need to be able to do more with less resources. Where is there redundancy? Can we competitively bid out large expenditures? Are we too top heavy in administration? Can we extend the useful lives of our assets? How efficiently are our assets being utilized? Can shared services be utilized across the various campuses? These types of challenges are no different than what is faced in private industry.Do you support the current plan to borrow money to replace the athletic field at St. Charles North High School with synthetic turf? Do you support a related plan to borrow money to remodel the Norris Recreation Center?I oppose borrowing money for a synthetic field at St. Charles North. We have more pressing issues. The District has closed one school, contemplated closing two other schools, and now we want to spend $1.2 million on a new football field. This does not send the right message. What are our priorities?Twenty-year cost estimates provided by the District reflects the natural turf option being $518,000 cheaper. I also question the District's assertion that an artificial turf will be used for PE class 960 hours per year.I also oppose borrowing money for the Norris Recreational Center. The District should not be in the health club business. There are many alternative options provided by private industry, which won't place a burden on the local tax payer.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?The basis of my campaign is to protect property taxes and raise academic performance. The District needs to learn to live within its means. Raising property taxes to keep the budget balanced is no longer the answer. The competitive environment for colleges and employers is only going to intensify. In the event that a student's future doesn't involve academics, we still need to ensure that they have the technical skills of problem solving, are able to effectively communicate, and work in diverse group settings.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Theo Epstein, President of the Chicago Cubs. Great strategist who executes his vision and has transformed multiple organizations.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Stand up for what you believe in and hard work will persevere.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Outcomes in life might not always be what you hoped for. Learn from them and move forward. Make the necessary adjustments.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Business (Marketing, Accounting, Finance, and Management). It helped me develop my analytical skills.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be honest, work hard, believe in yourself, and learn to work with others.