Alex Attiah: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: GurneeWebsite: http://vincent-juarez-and-alex-attiah-for-woodland-district-50-school-boarOffice sought: Woodland Elementary D50Age: 37Family: Married w/3 children (2 girls 1 boy). Two of my children are currently in the Woodland School District.Occupation: Principal Broker of R.E.I.T. Homes, Grayslake, IL A full service real estate company (Realty, Property Management, Investment, Short Sale)Education: Bachelor of Science in Political Science w/Public Law Emphasis, Northern Illinois UniversityAttended Northern Illinois for Master of Public AdministrationCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: NoneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Financial Accountability - the District needs to live within their means. Revenue has risen over the years, however, the current Board and District continue to deficit spend.Key Issue 2 Transparency - Full disclosure. The community needs to be accurately and fully informed of Woodland School District issues, finances, etc. Financial documents and decisions should be readily available and communicated to the community.Key Issue 3 Students First - STOP cutting teachers, increasing class sizes, and cutting education related programs.Questions Answers Do you have concerns about staffing being too high considering fewer children are in the system? Explain your answer.It is important to ensure appropriate student to teacher ratios. Unfortunately, a significant reduction of teachers occurred within in the recent 8 years, not due to lower enrollments, but mainly due to the continued deficit spending.How should the district approach the next teachers union contract talks? Would you be willing to pursue salary cuts or freezes? Explain your answer.The District should defer teacher negotiations until the new Board has been elected and taken office. In today's difficult economy, everyone has been negatively affected and is feeling the financial stress. Being fiscally responsible is important to everyone to ensure no further teacher cuts. Salary cuts or freezes at every level may be necessary to preserve teacher jobs.Woodland has been cutting its budget and coming up with ideas for more revenue in recent years. What other ideas do you have for strengthening finances?STOP SPENDING!! This is not a REVENUE issue as revenue has and continues to rise. It is a spending issue. This District has been deficit spending for years. This is the fourth time in approximately 10 years that this district has faced substiantial deficits. Two of those times were during good economies. The District has not made serious attempts to responsibly manage the District's finances and has not fully explored none education related cuts. A Daily Herald analysis found District 50 spent $1,800 a year on car allowances for administrative employees. Do you support continuing that expenditure? Why or why not?Every expenditure needs to be reviewed to determine whether or not it is truly necessary and how and if it will affect our childrens' education. Everyone is feeling the financial stress in today's economy. It is important to also be cognizant of our community to determine how we can also alleviate the property tax burden.Are current class sizes too large? If so, how would you address the issue, including funding the solution?Class sizes continue to increase as teacher cuts consist of a majority of the current Boards answer to addressing the deficits. Logically, all things created equal, smaller class sizes lend to better learning environments. Unfortunately, the current Board has voted on increasing class sizes and continues to consider further teacher cuts.