District 300 spring slate starts to shape up

It's only been a month since the fall elections, but many are already looking ahead to the spring.

In Community Unit District 300, one familiar face will not be on the ballot in the spring: longtime school board member Mary Warren.

Warren, a teacher in another district, said that after eight years on the board, she would like to take a break to focus on earning her National Board Certification.

"The eight years that I've been here have been very rewarding, very challenging, an intense time commitment," Warren said at Monday's board meeting. "The time I have now I'd like to devote to the students in my classroom."

Warren's seat is one of three that will be up in the spring elections. The other two are currently occupied by board Vice President Karen Roeckner and Secretary Anne Miller.

While Warren has decided to call it quits for the time being, another district resident is looking to enter the fray.

I wrote last month about Robert Lee's candidacy for the District 300 school board. Lee is an East Dundee resident and member of the Community Finance Committee.

Many potential District 300 voters got their first look at Lee at Monday's packed board meeting.

District 300 on Monday passed its 2008 tax levy Monday, and Lee addressed the board on the topic before the vote.

Lee said that as a member of the Community Finance Committee, he understood the levy but that residents who weren't privy to the district's finances did not fully understand the process.

This seems to be borne out in the e-mails and online postings I have seen from residents who believe - because of the Truth in Taxation law - that the district is raising taxes by close to 40 percent this year.

The truth is that tax cap legislation says District 300 can raise taxes no more than the rate of inflation - in this case, 4.1 percent - plus new property growth.

Lee said he could not find any correspondence from District 300 to the public explaining how the tax levy works.

"Adequacy of communication efforts should not be a measure of success," Lee said.

He suggested using the monthly district newsletter or a town-hall meeting to better explain the tax levy.

Lee made sure to emphasize that the district has improved its communications but said more work needed to be done.

The East Dundee resident has also talked about making the district's operations more efficient and tightening internal controls.

It seems like Lee is trying to take a middle way in his campaign for a school board seat - that is, avoiding a stridently pro-taxpayer approach while calling for moderate reforms and acknowledging progress that has already been made.

Will Lee's approach set the tone for the 2009 spring elections? Will distance from the 2006 referendum and the district's sound financial position - largely thanks to the tax increase - spell a less acrimonious election season next year?

Only time will tell.