Carlo Agnello: 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: Crystal LakeWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Crystal Lake Elementary D47Age: 32Family: Married, two childrenOccupation: Technology ConsultantEducation: Bachelor of Arts in Sports Administration, Minor in Business, Loras College, 2001Civic involvement: Youth Athletics CoachElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 A back to basics movement. Education across the nation has drifted from fundamentals to trends. Students need to have a solid educational foundation to excel as they move through the educational system.Key Issue 2 Ensuring district wide academic accountability. Everyone in District 47 should be part of the education process, Board Members, Administrators, Faculty/Staff, Students and Parents. All those groups have an interest in education and should be involved and held accountable.Key Issue 3 Required vs. Requested Spending. With limited resources come limited choices. 'Required' learning has to take precedence over 'Requested' learning. 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?The main goal of Elementary District 47 should be to prepare the students for high school and eventually college. The district should help students develop core learning skills and insure that those necessary skills continue in the lifelong learning process. Although the district is currently not at its best, our ultimate goal is to make sure District 47 is the best.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?Regardless of economic conditions, budget issues are always a concern. District 47 has several budget issues including staffing costs, technology upgrades and tax levies. With limited resources, the challenge is to continue high standards of education with minimal disruption. Core subjects and competencies should continue as high priorities. However, we should consider whether all supplemental programs can continue in their present configurations. Sports, music and encore classes all contribute to creating a well rounded individual but may be areas that need to be considered for cutbacks in these dire economic times.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 welcome all support of my candidacy. My experience is varied. I am the child of an educator, married to an educator and at one time myself an educator in both public education and corporate training. With that being said, educational insights are just that, insights. Decisions that the board makes have to be made with all parties best interests involved. The students are the driving and most important force when choices have to be made. The needs of all students are what has to drive the curriculum and must be taken into account when budgetary needs are discussed.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?I believe reasonable people should expect and follow through with reasonable actions. The Board of Education is in place to ensure the equitable treatment of all members of this district including students, teachers, parents, faculty and staff. Employee costs should stay relative to the expected results.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?All situations are different and currently the state of Illinois allows a 6% increase on top of the salary for a 4 year period, I believe. With this current trend, two things happen, you have a definite timetable for when someone is leaving and you can do some long term planning which is beneficial during tough economic times. If someone can get that little bump it sometimes makes them want to retire sooner rather than later. I think it helps the districts save money in the long run. With that being said, the current finances of the district and the reason for a 'bump' has to be considered. I believe the district should use funding in other areas to enhance the curriculum.