Anthony R. Quagliano: 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: AlgonquinWebsite: noneOffice sought: Consolidated D158Age: 50Family: Married, 3 Children Occupation: Certified Public Accountant ndorsements: None requested Elected Offices Held: Other Government Service: Education: BS in Accountancy, University of Illinois (C-U), 1983 Civic involvement: Graduate of Ted Spella Leadership School (Algonquin).Founding member of D158 Financial Advisory Committee.Drafted and assisted in drafting several Illinois legislative bills concerning PTELL laws and School Code. Several have become law. Written several resolutions that have been submitted and adopted by Illinois Association of School Boards. Elected offices held: School Board Member D158 elected 2yr term (April 07-April 09), elected Vice-President during this term. Did not seek re-election.School Board Member D158 appointed to fill vacancies (August 06-April 07 April 10-April 11) Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Budget needs to be balanced or close to it, and current costs must be sustainable with projected revenue in future years. Key Issue 2 Leverage technology software in classroom to produce higher achievement and kids who will be well suited to compete for jobs in the future. Key Issue 3 High School Capacity and continuing the upward trend of our high school graduates having the opportunity to attend top universities and colleges. Questions Answers How satisfied are you that your district is preparing students for the next stage in their lives, whether it be from elementary into high school or high school into college or full-time employment? What changes, if any, do you think need to be made?Currently D158 has improved significantly over the last 4 years in this area as evidenced by test scores and the growth in the number of AP classes that our students are taking. Our 2 Middle schools have been performing at a very high level recently, and the elementary schools have been performing at a high level for many years. This all bodes well for continued improvement, but it will take additional effort and focus to attain an elite level of achievement. Administration has recently proposed use of current technology to transform the delivery of education. I am in full support of their proposal. What budget issues will the district have to confront? What measures do you support to address them? If cuts are needed, be specific about programs and expenses that should be reduced or eliminated. Do you support any tax increases for local schools?D158 like all local districts will have to deal with the uncertainty of the State revenue stream. Technology purchases maintenance projects were cut back significantly last year in order to balance the budget with the least direct effect to the classroom. These items can not continue to be neglected in the future, so we will need cooperation from the teacher's union on the next contract in regards to a freeze on compensation increases (all other district employees have been frozen) They are winding down on a 3 yr contract that provided them an average increase of 5.25% and a solid health insurance package, so the community needs them to do their part in order for the district to continue to balance the budget and take care of items that have been pushed back for the past couple of years in order to take care of them. The District taxpayers approved an increase (.55) to the operating tax rate several years ago. I would not support another increase at this current time. Is experience as a teacher or support from a union valuable because it suggests educational insights or detrimental because it creates pro-teacher bias? Please clarify whether you have such experience or would accept union support.I'm a CPA, never been a teacher or unionized. In general I would not be concerned about some board members being in that situation. There are 7 board members, with the majority of 4 usually deciding on issues of the board. I'm not worried about one or two members possibly having this type of so-called bias. All views are valuable on the Board, regardless of the various biases that may exist amongst them. It is up to the individual board member to sort through all kinds of information opinions before decisions are made. I'm not concerned with whether I have union support or not. I just want their respect, which at times was lacking from some of their members when we last negotiated. As contract talks come up with various employee groups, what posture should the board take? Do you believe the district should ask for concessions, expect employee costs to stay about the same as they are now or provide increases in pay or benefits?As addressed in a previous question, we have had our support staff and administration take a pay freeze and now it is the teachers turn. It would not be unreasonable to request a slight reduction in pay or reduction to benefits, but I would prefer to keep at current level until such time as the revenue existed to support any increase. We have been more than fair in providing increases when the money has been available. If your district had a superintendent or other administrator nearing retirement, would you support a substantial increase in his or her pay to help boost pension benefits? Why or why not?No, in spite of the fact that they may be deserving, the benefit is way too costly to the taxpayers. Additional pension reform needs to be undertaken beyond what went in to effect Jan 1. Pension benefits based largely on the last several years encourages the end of career boosts.