Donna Pellar-Ryden: 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: Park RidgeWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Maine Township H.S. D207Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: MarriedOccupation: Retired EducatorEducation: B.A., Southern Illinois UniversityM.A., Northeastern Illinois UniversityCivic involvement: Park Ridge Center of Concern VolunteerMCYAF memberMTSEP ChairpersonElected offices held: District 207 School Board Member since 1995Current 207 Board Vice PresidentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: DNACandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Maintaining educational excellence while facing financial hardship at virtually every governmental level.Key Issue 2 Candidate did not respond.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.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?From the perspective of NCLB, all but two student subgroups are showing significant progress. As with most other districts, the two exceptions are Special Needs and Limited English Proficiency students. We are making a strong effort to address the progress of these two groups.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?District 207 was one of the first in the state to recognize and confront the budget crisis. We took proactive measures in the form of painful cuts. At the time, we took a good deal of criticism for doing so. The public now realizes that this crisis is statewide. Our goal is to live within our budget.NO REFERENDUMIs 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 support or endorsements from any responsible groups or individuals who feel that my contributions have been beneficial to the district.As a retired Chicago Public School Teacher, I recognize the significant educational accomplishments of District 207 and the opportunities if offers to our young people. I also recognize and commend the high competence level and dedication of the administration, teachers and staff of the district.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?In a perfect world, generous pay increases would be a natural expectation. In today's market, it would be wrong to offer large pay raises. As for concessions, our teachers have already seen their class sizes increase due to staff reductions. While we have taken painful steps to reduce the financial hardship, we still need to be fiscally responsible.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. The pension fund is already sorely taxed by administrators receiving such ""golden parachutes"". In today's economic climate, there is no reason to continue this practice.