Dane Cuny: 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:Candidate did not respond.Website: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Salt Creek Elementary D48Age: 57Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Retired- Law Enforcement AdministratorEducation: Masters- Law Enforcement AdministrationCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Dist 48 School Board since 2001Have 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 To continuously look at the best ways to help our student achieve excellence. Key Issue 2 To continue to control expenses and remain fiscally sound.Key Issue 3 To work to improve the district by exploring most efficient means to provide superior instruction.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? I am very satisfied with the preparation we give our students for high school. We make a lot of efforts to prepare them not only academically but emotionally for the challenges they will face in high school and beyond. We work very closely with Dist. 88 and follow our students in high school to ensure we are doing all we can in this area. The students from Dist 48 consistently excel. 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?Continuing to have a balanced budget while receiving small increases in revenue and unreliable payments from the State of Illinois is a major challenge. Dist 48 has made tough choices over the years that has allowed us be in a position that does not require us to cut staff like most districts. The property tax cap tied to the Consumer Price Index or CPI erodes our financial position every year due to increases in costs like insurance and utilities that increase faster that the CPI. The board has not talked about requesting any future tax increases and Dist 48 has one of the lowest school tax rates in the state. However, our teachers have already taken pay cuts and the labor contracts holds future increases to the CPI so future reductions in costs will be challenging. 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 have no teacher experience and I have never been offered nor would accept union support. I can only speak of my experience with the Salt Creek Education Association members who have shared an excellent partnership with our school board to stabilize our district finances while providing superior educational instruction to our students. Perhaps because Salt Creek is a small district with a sense of family, our teachers focus truly puts the children first so the only bias everyone shares is pro-student.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?Many years ago the board faced financial difficulty after several failed tax referendums. As a result the teachers accepted significant reductions in salary schedules and a major change in benefits that has allowed Dist 48 to be in the stable financial position it has currently. I suspect employee costs will remain stable and any increases will be modest. 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?I would not support any substantial increase for those nearing retirement. It is gaming the system and that practice has helped the state's Teachers Retirement System get into the condition it current stands.